If you arrive expecting rows of stalls selling sausages and mulled wine, Madrid’s best-known Christmas market will surprise you. The Plaza Mayor market, with 104 stalls, sells nativity figures, tree decorations and joke items, and that is all. The food-and-drink version is La Navideña in Plaza de España, with 40 stalls, German mulled wine, churros and a 600 m² ice rink, open until 11 January in the 2025-26 season. Handmade gifts are at the Recoletos crafts fair, with more than 150 makers from 1 to 30 December in 2025, run by the Community of Madrid. Entry is free and needs no booking at all three.
Which Christmas market in Madrid should you visit? Madrid’s Christmas markets each sell one thing. Plaza Mayor, with 104 stalls, is for nativity figures and decorations; the Recoletos crafts fair, with more than 150 makers, for handmade gifts from 1 to 30 December; and La Navideña in Plaza de España for mulled wine, food and an ice rink until 11 January.
If you are expecting a German Christmas market
Spain’s Christmas tradition centres on the belén, the nativity scene, and that is what the old Plaza Mayor market exists to supply: figures of shepherds, animals and the Three Kings for the family nativity, plus decorations. It is shopping, not an evening out.
For the Northern European atmosphere, go to La Navideña, whose food area serves hot chocolate, churros and German mulled wine around the skating rink. The German-speaking Protestant community’s Adventsbasar is the real thing, but in 2025 it ran only from 28 to 30 November, before most visitors arrive.
Which market for what you want to buy
- Nativity figures and decorations: Plaza Mayor. What to expect from the stalls and when to go is in the Plaza Mayor Christmas market.
- Handmade gifts: the Feria Mercado de Artesanía on Paseo de Recoletos, between Colón and Cibeles, for jewellery, ceramics, leather, toys, hats and bookbinding.
- Food, drink and skating: La Navideña in Plaza de España. Other rinks around the city are in ice skating in Madrid at Christmas.
- Design and vintage: the indoor Mercadillo del Gato at Gran Vía, 13, from 12 December to 6 January in 2025, and the Mercado de Motores, held on 13 and 14 December among old trains at the Railway Museum.
- Something British: the Christmas fair of St George’s Anglican Church, held on 13 December in 2025.
A one-evening route through the central markets:
- Start at Plaza Mayor in daylight for the nativity stalls, open from 10am.
- Walk 510 metres to Plaza de Isabel II and on to Plaza de España, 1.3 km from Plaza Mayor.
- Have mulled wine and churros at La Navideña, and skate if you want, at €9.50.
- On another day, take in the Recoletos crafts fair between Colón and Cibeles.
When each market is open
In 2025 the Plaza Mayor market ran for 35 days, from 27 November to 31 December, from 10am to 9pm and until 10pm on Fridays, Saturdays and the eves of public holidays. If your trip falls in early January, only La Navideña and the Gato are still running. What else opens on the holidays is in what’s open in Madrid on Christmas Day.
Where the markets are
The central markets are walkable: Plaza Mayor to Plaza de España is 1.3 km, and to Recoletos 1.8 km, along streets that are part of the Christmas lights walking route. Sol Metro is 290 metres from Plaza Mayor and a single ticket costs €1.50 to €2.00.
The small Madrid Río market, about twenty stalls behind the Casa del Reloj, and the Railway Museum lie to the south. Entry is free at Plaza Mayor, Recoletos and La Navideña; the stalls do not post prices, so ask at each one. In the Plaza Mayor crowds, keep your phone and wallet in a front pocket; the hotspots are in pickpockets in Madrid. Markets that run all year, such as the Sunday Rastro, are in street markets in Madrid.
Plaza Mayor for the figures, Plaza de España for the evening.
Madrid Christmas markets, frequently asked questions
Does Madrid have a German-style Christmas market?
Not as a permanent fixture. The closest is La Navideña in Plaza de España, with 40 craft stalls, German mulled wine, churros and an ice rink. The German-speaking Protestant community holds an Adventsbasar, which in 2025 ran only from 28 to 30 November.
What is the best Christmas market in Madrid?
For an evening out, La Navideña in Plaza de España, with food, mulled wine and skating. For shopping, Plaza Mayor, with 104 stalls, is the place for nativity figures and decorations, and the Recoletos fair, with more than 150 makers, for handmade gifts.
Are Madrid Christmas markets open after New Year?
In 2025-26, La Navideña in Plaza de España stayed open up to and including 11 January and the indoor Mercadillo del Gato on Gran Vía until 6 January. Plaza Mayor closed on 31 December and Recoletos on 30 December.
Is there an English Christmas market in Madrid?
Yes, the Christmas fair of St George’s Anglican Church, which in 2025 was held on 13 December. It is a one-day event, so it is worth planning around.