Spanish families have been bringing children to Cortylandia since 1979: an animated Christmas show that fills the front of the El Corte Inglés department store on Calle de Preciados, a minute from Puerta del Sol. There is no ticket and no seat. Each show lasts about 15 minutes, and in 2025 there were 8 a day between 12pm and 9pm. The 2026-27 edition runs from late November to 5 January 2027, with more than 25 characters. Find it on the Maestro Victoria side of the store, about 55 metres from a Sol Metro entrance, and skip 25 December and 1 January, when it does not run.
What time is Cortylandia and is it on every day? Cortylandia ran eight free shows a day in 2025, at 12, 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9pm, each about 15 minutes, on the front of El Corte Inglés on Calle de Preciados. On 24 and 31 December and 5 January only the midday shows ran, and on 25 December and 1 January there were none.
Is Cortylandia worth it on a trip to Madrid?
It is worth it if you have young children and are already in the centre, because it costs nothing and takes a quarter of an hour. It is not worth crossing the city for.
The show is in Spanish and built around songs and moving figures, so small children follow it without the language, and adults treat it as a short stop between the lights and dinner.
Expect to stand: the show plays to the street, with no seating, no booking needed and no queue to join, and the pavement in front of the store is part of the Puerta del Sol shopping area. Keep bags zipped and phones in a front pocket, as on any busy evening around Sol; the advice is in pickpockets in Madrid.
Which show to catch, midday or evening
For the lights. Take a show from 6pm onwards. The Christmas lights in the centre come on at 6pm and stay on until midnight from Sunday to Thursday and until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays, so the 6, 7, 8 and 9pm shows lead straight into the walk in Christmas lights in Madrid.
Around Spanish meal times. Lunch here starts at about 2pm and dinner at 9pm or later, so the 1pm show fits before lunch and the 8pm show before dinner. Between 2.15pm and 5pm there is no show at all.
On a short day. The 9pm show is the last one. After it, the lights and a cup of thick chocolate round off the evening; where to have it is in chocolate and churros in Madrid.
The Christmas dates that change the timetable
Plan around five dates. On 24 December, 31 December and 5 January only the three midday shows run, at 12, 1 and 2pm. On 25 December and 1 January there is no show. Those two days the big museums close too, as set out in what’s open in Madrid on Christmas Day, and on the evening of the 5th the city’s plan is the Three Kings parade, which sets off at 6pm.
These are the times the City of Madrid publishes on esMadrid for the 2025 edition. The 2026-27 timetable is announced in November, so check it in the week the show opens.
Getting there, and what is a five-minute walk away
The show is on the Maestro Victoria side of El Corte Inglés at Calle de Preciados, 3. The nearest Metro de Madrid entrance is about 55 metres away on Preciados itself, at Sol station (lines 1, 2 and 3); Callao (lines 3 and 5) and Sol Cercanías station are also close. Any Metro single or the tourist travel pass gets you there; fares are in Madrid Metro ticket prices.
Three free things are close by. The nativity scene in the Real Casa de Correos on Puerta del Sol, which the Comunidad opens from 10am to 10pm, is a 342-metre walk. Plaza de Pontejos, where the Wishing Forest went up on 4 December in 2025, is 357 metres away, and the Plaza Mayor Christmas market is 444 metres away; its dates are in the Plaza Mayor Christmas market. The whole season is in Christmas in Madrid.
Fifteen minutes on a pavement, and the rest of a December evening within a five-minute walk.
Cortylandia questions from visitors
What time is the Cortylandia show in Madrid?
In 2025 there were eight shows a day, at 12, 1 and 2pm and at 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9pm, each lasting about 15 minutes. On 24 and 31 December and 5 January only the three midday shows ran.
Is Cortylandia on Christmas Day?
No. There is no show on 25 December or on 1 January, and on 24 and 31 December only the 12, 1 and 2pm shows run, because the evening belongs to the family dinner.
Is Cortylandia free?
Yes. It is a street show on the front of the El Corte Inglés department store on Calle de Preciados, with no ticket, no booking and no seating. You stand on the pavement and watch.
How long does Cortylandia last?
About 15 minutes per show, so it is a stop on a walk rather than an outing in itself. Pair it with the Puerta del Sol nativity scene, 340 metres away, or the Plaza Mayor Christmas market, 440 metres away.