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He officially kicks off the festivities. Christmas lighting turns the streets of our geography into a spectacle. This is the ranking prepared by the cheap travel website Holidayguru of the best Spanish cities to see the Christmas lights.

1. Madrid

Once again, the capital has emerged as the city with the best Christmas lights in the country. Among the novelties is the new luminous fir tree in the Plaza Mayor, designed by Roberto Verino, or the winter garden of Gran Vía, where poinsettias, holly or mistletoe will illuminate the main artery. With a budget 7.5% higher than in 2022 (around 4.3 million euros), it will be this Thursday 23rd when the millions of points of light will begin to shine until culminating with the chimes in the renovated Puerta del Sol.

The centre of Madrid at Christmas.SHUTTERSTOCK

2. Malaga

No one with a more appropriate name than Luz Casal to be in charge of lighting up the particular decoration of Malaga on November 24th. This year the main novelty will be in its Alameda Principal, which will become a luminous forest. The great attraction will be, as every year, Larios Street, with 16 "Celestial Angels" that will shine to the rhythm of different musical passes and where this year Mariah Carey and her famous All I want for Christmas is you will not be heard but other more traditional melodies such as Hacia Belén va una burra or Jingle Bells, by André Rieu. Throughout the city there are decorated more than 500 streets, of which 86 correspond to the Historic Center, to which will be added drone shows and video mapping.

Spectacular lighting on Calle Larios in Málaga.SHUTTERSTOCK

3. Vigo

In third place and with 11.5 million LED lights, Vigo promises, as every year, to be the 'capital of Christmas', with the attractions being one of the main novelties of this year in addition to the 20-metre star that crowns its 44-metre-high luminous tree. A structure that has entered the competition for being the largest in the country against new 'competitors' such as those in Badalona, Granada or Cartes, a small town in Cantabria that promises to raise it to 65 meters.

Christmas lighting in Vigo.SHUTTERSTOCK

4. Barcelona

The successful immersive show L'Univers de la Llum in which visitors can feel like they are walking among stars will return to Barcelona, as will the music tunnels or the projections at Casa Batlló, until January 7. Among the novelties this year is the lighting inspired by manga stores, Kawaii comics and the Chinese community of Passeig de Sant Joan. With a contract of 1.9 million euros, this year's Christmas lighting in Barcelona occupies 104 kilometres of public roads and symbolically joins the illumination of the four Towers of the Evangelists of the Sagrada Familia, inaugurated just a few weeks ago.

The Santa Lucia Fair, next to the cathedral of Barcelona.SHUTTERSTOCK

5. Palm

With the aim of "being the Mediterranean focus of Christmas market tourism", Palma's Christmas lights become an eye-catcher every year, thanks to their elegant and classic design. Almost 400 kilometres of decorated streets where the promenades of the Born and the Rambla undoubtedly stand out, showing off trees adorned with garlands and boasting of being the favourites and most photographed by passers-by.


Palm trees decorated for Christmas in Palma.SHUTTERSTOCK

6. Torrejón de Ardoz

Declared a Festival of Tourist Interest, Christmas in this Madrid town appears once again in the ranking of the best Christmas lights in Spain. From the Asian Lanterns Festival with more than a kilometre of route, the largest Nativity scene in Spain, the Magic Gate, a dazzling exhibition with a million energy-saving LED bulbs or Ice Festival returns with the largest exhibition of ice figures in Europe.

Festival of lights in Torrejón.SHUTTERSTOCK

7. Genil Bridge

Described as the "most groundbreaking" lighting in Spain, this city in Cordoba enters the ranking having the honour of manufacturing a large part of the Christmas decorations that are distributed throughout our country, so its streets become a showcase where to show the new designs to locals and visitors. Puente Genil has installed 270 arches along 77 streets in which one million points of light have been installed and using a system that achieves a saving of 60% in consumption.

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