10 Things to do in Vigo at Christmas

Christmas in Vigo is one of the most joyful that you will find in Spain, and enjoying it in this city goes far beyond seeing the Christmas lights that are lit in the most iconic places of the city. Although seeing the Christmas lights is a perfect activity to include among the best things to see and do in Vigo this season.

Christmas markets, which are one of the best traditions in Spain, are also available in Vigo and are an excellent alternative to take home some souvenirs of the city during this season. Another thing you can't miss in Vigo at Christmas time is to try the special gastronomy of this season.

At Christmas time the city becomes illuminated Vigo, so you can find tours that are included among the best tours of Vigo, to get to know the city and see its lights. There is no specific place to see the Christmas lights because they are all over the city. This is one of the main activities to do in Vigo during this season.

Generally this is the first city to turn on the Christmas lights in all of Spain and usually this is done around the second week of November. Since then you can enjoy the Christmas lights until late, so it is one of the best things to see and do in Vigo at night.

Some of the most emblematic places to see these Christmas decorations and take advantage of taking some pictures are: La Alameda, Compostela square, Porta de Sol square, Casco Vello and the Port area, but each of these places have their particular attractions during this time of the year.

Interesting details

• Price: Going on your own will be free of charge. But if you want to do a guided tour of lights in the city of Vigo, you will probably have to pay, although you can also do a free tour.
• Date: You can start enjoying the Christmas lights in Vigo from the second week of November. And if you want to witness the lighting, you should be aware of the news from the City Council to know when the date will be set for it.
• Schedule: You can enjoy the lights from 18:00 until 00:30 when the lights are turned off.
• How to get there: You can move around the city of Vigo using public transport or you can also do it by private car.

If there is something Christmassy to do in Vigo is to walk along the Calle del Príncipe. This has become in the more modern years, synonymous with Christmas, its shopping, its nuances and its joys. In El Príncipe street you can get multiple Christmas stores to do your early shopping for Christmas.

Also in this street is where you can breathe the most Christmas atmosphere of the city, taking into account that it is located in different places of tourist and cultural interest, such as the Museum of Contemporary Art, MARCO, which is one of the best museums in Vigo.

Christmas decorations completely take over the entire avenue, and from end to end you can enjoy them. At one end of the avenue, you can find the large square of Porta de Sol, where you can see the statue of the Siren, but it is also one of the places with the highest concentration of tourists at Christmas.

At the other end of the avenue you can find the big Christmas ball, a typical and traditional Christmas decoration located at the Farola de Urzáiz, a place where you can go to take many Christmas pictures.

Interesting details

• Price: You can do the tour along El Príncipe street free of charge. But with so many nice things to buy, you will probably spend some money.
• Date: El Principe Street usually welcomes Christmas from the end of November.
• Hours: You can walk this street all day long, from early in the morning until late at night. However, if you want to shop you will have to do it during the day.
• How to get there: To get to this street you can do it by private car and park near Porta de Sol, or arrive by public transport.

Cíes Market is a large Christmas market that is set up every year in Compostela Square, where one of the most popular sculptures in the city, El Dinoseto, is also located. This is one of the best places to do your Christmas shopping before the season starts.

This market is set up from the second week of November and you can see any number of things inside. In addition, the atmosphere inside is unparalleled. But in the surroundings of the market and the square itself, you can find other important attractions that you can enjoy, especially if you go with children.

Just outside the market is usually located the Christmas Ferris wheel, where you can climb and see the city of Vigo from another point of view. This is one of the attractions most missed by the people of Vigo every year for two reasons, the first is the large number of lights with which it is decorated, and the second is its height of about 55 meters high.

Interesting details

• Price: You have to pay approximately 5 euros per person to get on the Ferris wheel in Vigo at Christmas. To enter Cíes Market you do not have to pay additional money, the prices of the items inside are determined by each stand.
• Date: The market is generally available from the second week of November.
• Hours: You can enjoy the market from Monday to Friday from 17:00 and Saturdays and Sundays from 11:00.
• How to get there: To get to Compostela square you can go by private car because there is parking nearby, or you can also go by public transport.

Perhaps one of the most crowded events in Vigo at Christmas is this of the bikers who go around the city of Vigo bringing sweets, candies and happiness to all the residents of the city and also to tourists who are visiting Vigo. It is an event that attracts more people every year and it is definitely one of the activities that you will like the most.

The many bikers who gather in Vigo every year to carry out the Papanoelada, do it dressed up as Santa Claus and go all over the streets talking to people and giving away all kinds of food and sweets for the little ones.

This activity usually happens at the beginning of Christmas, as a way to welcome the season. It has been going on for a few years now and it is definitely one of the most special events in the city.

Details of interest

• Price: You don't need to pay anything to enjoy the bikers in the city.
• Date: Generally this happens between the second week of November and the first week of December.
• Schedule: This event usually takes place during daylight hours, although there is no specific schedule for it.
• How to get there: They are all over the city, so you won't need to get to a specific place to see them.

One of the most awaited attractions of the year, which is scheduled for the last days of the year, is the Christmas circus in the Coia neighborhood. Year after year this circus is inaugurated with the intention of attracting more tourists and locals to enjoy the Christmas experience in a big way.

It is also possible to find in the Coia neighborhood, a good dinosaur exhibition to entertain children and adults. This family plan is not complete without the attraction of multiple inflatables that year after year are placed in this place as an additional playful activity for children. You can find inflatables for all ages.

But this is not all the fun you will see in the Coia neighborhood, you can also see the Christmas lights that adorn the place since mid-November. Definitely one of the best places to take pictures at Christmas in Vigo.

The attractions may change from year to year, what is certain is that in this neighborhood Christmas and fun for locals and tourists is taken very seriously, so this is a must for the Christmas season.

Details of interest

• Price: Tickets for the circus and the dinosaur exhibition can cost approximately 7 to 10 euros per person.
• Date: Generally the circus and other attractions arrive in the neighborhood at the end of December.
• Hours: You can enjoy these attractions from early afternoon until late at night.
• How to get there: You can get to Coia by bus or private car, as you will find plenty of parking spaces.

This is one of the best attractions in Vigo, because it is enjoyed by children and adults alike. It is a large ice skating rink located inside the Real Club Nautico. The advantage of this ice skating rink is that it is roofed, unlike the one set up in the parking lot of Samil beach, which is outdoors.

Either option is an excellent alternative if you want to have time to do a more extreme activity and test your skills on the ice. In the place you will always get rentals of all the implements, so do not deprive yourself of this fun activity if you do not have skating clothes.

In both rinks you can go with children, which is one of the best advantages of doing this activity as a family, because they have as much fun as you do trying to skate on the ice. To complete the attraction, in the Real Club Nautico there is also a big roller coaster for the bravest visitors.

Both attractions can be enjoyed from mid-November until January, that is, during the whole Christmas season in Vigo, being one of the best things to see and do in Vigo in winter.

Interesting details

• Price: Skating 50 minutes can have an approximate price of 7 euros per person.
• Date: You can enjoy this attraction from mid-November until January.
• Hours: The ice skating rink is open from Monday to Friday between 16:30 and 22:00. On weekends and holidays it is open from 11:00 to 22:00. Hours may change according to the policies of each rink.
• How to get there: To get to the Real Club Nautico you can do it by bus or private car. As you can do to get to Playa Samil, in case you go by car, you can park in the parking lot near Playa Samil.

This is one of the squares that you will find most crowded during New Year's Eve, because it is precisely at this time of the year where the people of Vigo gather to say goodbye to the old year and welcome the new year. In that sense, this square becomes the main meeting place of the Vigueans and visitors for this date.

The spectacle of waiting for the new year is the most expected and the countdown is in charge of the clock that is located in the Santa Irene Institute, which is one of the most emblematic buildings that you can see in this city. In addition, in the square you will see a large monument known as Porta de Atlántico.

The most special feature of this monument is that it was erected in recognition of the Galician migrants who decided to leave from the Port of Vigo to America during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Details of interest

• Price: It is free to attend the multitudinous farewell to the old year in the Plaza de América.
• Date: This activity takes place on New Year's Eve, that is, every December 31st.
• Hours: All the people of Vigo gather in this square from early afternoon until after midnight to welcome the new year.
• How to get there: To get to the Plaza de América you can follow Castrelos Avenue, the same one that leads to Castrelos Park. You can go by private car or by public transport.

Rosalía de Castro Street is one of the most commercial streets in the city of Vigo during Christmas, so this is one of the best activities to do with the family during this time. It has a large number of stores for Christmas shopping.

In addition, in this street of Rosalía de Castro you can enjoy different Christmas attractions par excellence, among which are the sleigh train and free fall attractions. You will also enjoy other attractions such as the virtual simulator with different Christmas motifs.

Details of interest

• Price: The price may vary from year to year, so I recommend you to visit the website of the City Council of Vigo to have information about updated prices.
• Date: This amusement park is available during the whole Christmas season, from November to January.
• Hours: Generally open from the afternoon until late at night.
• How to get there: If you go by car, parking is available nearby. The other option is to go by public transportation, such as bus or train.

There is a tradition in Vigo that I love and you have to know about, it is the tourist trains and buses that go through all the decorated streets of the city, showing you each of the Christmas places par excellence.

This service is available during the whole Christmas season and there are at least two routes, so you can do each of the routes as many times as you want. The difference between one and the other is the number of places you can visit. One is shorter and the other is longer.

Some of the places you will be able to see and visit in these Christmas train routes are: Compostela Square, Fernando el Católico Square, Policarpo Sanz, America Square, Bicentennial Square, among other places. Some of these places belong to the first route and others to the second route. It is up to you to choose the route you want to do.

Details of interest

• Price: Children up to 2 years old are free. The rest of the public can pay between 2 and 4 euros.
• Date: The train is activated in the last weeks of November and stays in the city until the first week of January.
• Schedule: From 17:00 to 00:00 every day.
• How to get there: You can board the train at Plaza de Compostela and Pintor Lugrís.

The Three Kings Parade is one of the most popular Christmas activities in Spain, and Vigo is no exception. It is one of the last Christmas celebrations of the year, and takes place on January 5, on the eve of Three Kings' Day, to celebrate their arrival.

The one that takes place in Vigo is one of the most important Three Kings' Parades in Spain, and every year it is carried out according to a different motif. Many children participate in these activities where the kings on horses pass through all the streets of the city to spread happiness to all the local children.

But this is an activity not only for locals, but also for visitors, so you can not miss the opportunity to see the dramatized visit of the kings coming from the East. It is one of the best activities to see and do in Vigo with children.

Interesting details

• Price: There is no cost to go to see the Three Wise Men parade.
• Date: It takes place on the night of January 5th.
• Schedule: It usually takes place in the evening.
• How to get there: To get to Compostela square you could arrive by private car or using public transport.