In this guide
💡 The Short Version: The Alhambra is closed on 25 December and 1 January, and so are the Archdiocese’s churches, the Museo Cuevas and the Andalusian monuments. The 2026 Christmas programme has not been announced. In 2025 it ran lights from 29 November, a craft market from 4 December to 6 January, a party in Plaza del Carmen on New Year’s Eve, the Toma de Granada on 2 January and the Three Kings parade on 5 January. December averages 13.1°C by day and 2.7°C at night (AEMET). The Sierra Nevada resort’s calendar marks 6 December 2026 for the start of the season, if there is enough snow. Prices are in euros. Or book a tour: the Alhambra tour with ticketsad is from €49 and the Albaicín and Sacromonte sunset walkad from €15 (GetYourGuide).
⚠️ 25 December and 1 January. The Alhambra, the Cathedral, the Royal Chapel, the Cartuja, San Jerónimo, the Sacromonte Abbey, the Museo Cuevas and the Andalusian monuments are shut on both days. The tourist office is shut on both and on 6 January.
What shuts
| Sight | Closed |
|---|---|
| Alhambra | 25 December and 1 January |
| Cathedral and Royal Chapel | 25 December and 1 January |
| La Cartuja and San Jerónimo | 25 December and 1 January |
| Sacromonte Abbey and Museo Cuevas | 25 December and 1 January |
| Bañuelo and the Andalusian monuments | 25 December and 1 January |
| Parque de las Ciencias | 25 December, 1 January and 6 January |
| Fine Arts, Archaeological and Casa de los Tiros museums | 24, 25 and 31 December, 1 January and 6 January |
The City says the Alhambra closes only on 25 December and 1 January and that most monuments open in the morning only on 24 and 31 December. On 25 December and 1 January it says the monuments stay closed, and suggests the streets, the Sierra Nevada and Granada’s food instead. What to book before you go to Granada has the hours of every sight.
The City’s programme
The 2026 programme has not been announced. The table shows the 2025 programme.
| What | In 2025 |
|---|---|
| The lights | Switched on Saturday 29 November at 20:30, lit from 18:30 to 00:00, to 03:00 from Friday to Sunday and to 05:00 on 24 and 31 December |
| The light show, Plaza del Carmen | Passes at 19:30, 20:30 and 21:30 |
| The craft market, Fuente de las Batallas | 4 December to 6 January, 11:00 to 14:00 and 17:00 to 21:30, with stalls free to close on the afternoons of 24 and 31 December and all day on 25 December and 1 January |
| The municipal nativity scene | 3 December to 4 January, in the Town Hall courtyard |
| The funfair, Paseo del Salón | An ice rink, a train, a big wheel, trampolines, a slide and a zip line |
| Video mapping, Edificio Zaida | 30 November to 6 January, passes at 19:00, 20:00, 21:00 and 22:00 |
On Friday and Saturday evenings from 28 November 2025 to 6 January 2026, Calle Reyes Católicos was closed to traffic from 17:00 to 21:00, which affected the airport bus: Granada airport to the city has the bus. The City says the Tardebuena is a Granada classic until eight in the evening on 24 December, when people go home for the family dinner, and that few restaurants open that night. It recommends the midnight Mass, the Misa del Gallo, in the Cathedral.
The Fuente de las Batallas, where the craft market stands. Photo: Jebulon, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.
New Year’s Eve
The City’s page gives three ways to spend it: a cotillón dinner, a dinner in a restaurant, or bars in the lively centre. In 2025 the Plaza del Carmen party handed out grapes from 22:30, put a live act on the Town Hall balconies at 23:15, and followed the chimes with a fireworks-and-music show and a concert until 02:00. The 2026 programme is not published; the City’s tourist office, at Acera del Casino, corner of Almona del Campillo, has it when it is. Taxis charge the higher tariff, Tarifa 2, from 24 to 31 December. Where to eat in Granada lists the restaurants and the days they shut.
2 January: the Toma de Granada
The Toma marks the handing of the city’s keys to the Catholic Monarchs by Boabdil in 1492. In the City’s 2026 programme, which fell on a Friday, a civic procession went between the Town Hall and the Royal Chapel, the royal standard was waved in the Royal Chapel at 13:15 and the royal pennant from the Town Hall balcony at 13:40, and the altar at the Puerta de la Justicia was open from 08:30 to 18:00. The Alcazaba of the Alhambra usually opens that day so that visitors can ring the bell of the Torre de la Vela, with invitations from the Patronato’s ticket shop. The Cathedral and the Royal Chapel were closed in the morning of 2 January 2026. In 2027 the day is a Saturday, and the programme is not published.
The Three Kings
The Cabalgata de Reyes sets out on the evening of 5 January, a Tuesday in 2027. In 2026 it left at 17:00 from Avenida de la Constitución and finished at the Town Hall, with a drone show on the way. The 2027 route and time are not published. On 6 January the Science Park, the Junta museums and the tourist office are shut.
December in Granada
AEMET’s normals for Granada Base Aérea, 1981 to 2010, give December a mean daily maximum of 13.1°C and a minimum of 2.7°C, with 50 mm of rain on 7.2 days and 148 hours of sun. The shortest day, 21 December, has about 9 hours 36 minutes of daylight, with sunrise at about 08:24 and sunset at about 18:00. The station is outside the city. San Nicolás church and tower open from 17:00 to 20:00 in December. The best time to visit Granada has every month.
The Sierra Nevada resort’s calendar marks 6 December 2026 for the start of the season and 25 April 2027 for the end, if there is enough snow. Sierra Nevada from Granada has the bus and the ski pass.
Granada’s rooftops under snow. Photo: CFA1877, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Staying
The centre is the place to be for the lights, the market and the Plaza del Carmen: where to stay in Granada compares the areas.
Next
Semana Santa in Granada 2027 covers the next festival, and 3 days in Granada fits the sights round the closed days. Granada tapas tours and free tapas in Granada cover an evening out, and Christmas in Seville covers the same weeks in Seville.
Common questions
Is the Alhambra open on Christmas Day?
No. The Alhambra closes on two days a year, 25 December and 1 January. Its winter hours, 08:30 to 18:00, apply on the other days.
When are the Christmas lights switched on in Granada?
The 2026 date is not published. In 2025 the lights were switched on on Saturday 29 November at 20:30, with the City's programme running to 6 January.
What happens in Plaza del Carmen on New Year's Eve?
In 2025 the City held a party there with grapes handed out from 22:30, a live act from the Town Hall balconies at 23:15, the chimes with a fireworks-and-music show, and a concert to 02:00. The 2026 programme is not published.
What is the Toma de Granada?
The ceremony on 2 January that marks the surrender of the city's keys to the Catholic Monarchs by Boabdil, the last Nasrid king, in 1492. In 2027 it falls on a Saturday.
When is the Three Kings parade in Granada?
On the evening of 5 January, a Tuesday in 2027. The 2027 route and time are not published; in 2026 the parade set off at 17:00.
Can you ski near Granada at Christmas?
The Sierra Nevada resort's calendar marks 6 December 2026 for the start of the season and 25 April 2027 for the end, if there is enough snow. A one-day ski pass is from €56, and the bus from Granada is €5.50 one way.
