Perhaps it’s the festive lights, the bustling streets, the shopping, the mulled wine they serve in the pubs, or the tranquillity of your own home, the fire, a good book, a blanket or a good film in good company. Getting together with family, or having dinner with friends or work colleagues. It’s the month of lights, the month of love, of caring for one another and saying it to each other’s faces. It’s the time to get a bit ‘cheesy’, and also a bit ‘crazy’; it’s the month of fun, parties, festive celebrations and good food.

Madrid has something to suit every taste – an array of options you simply won’t be able to resist. From the finest cuisine, Christmas sightseeing tours and illuminations to ski resorts just a stone’s throw away.

Here are some ideas for this month that you can enjoy whether you’re staying with us, live in Madrid or are just passing through.

1. Christmas shopping

If you missed out on the big discounts during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the Constitution Day long weekend – which is celebrating its 40th anniversary – offers the chance to buy the items you want at normal prices. Shops are raising their prices as Christmas draws nearer. So, given how packed the calendar is, doing your shopping early will work in your favour.

2. Illuminated stroll

The reopening of Gran Vía after nine months of building work gives Madrid a fresh look along one of its main thoroughfares. The new street furniture and greenery, as well as the widened pavements, complement the traditional Christmas lights in the streets and at the city’s most iconic landmarks. This year, the Gran Vía’s illuminations, on display daily from 6 pm, feature a cat trying to catch the stars.

3. ‘Auschwitz’ Exhibition

The Arte Canal Exhibition Centre will bring the‘Auschwitz’ exhibition to a close on 3 February, marking one year since it opened at the venue. Under the slogan ‘Not so long ago. Not so far away’, this exhibition uses original images and artefacts from the period to commemorate the persecution of the Jewish population in Hitler’s Germany. Almost half a million people have visited it. Admission costs six euros, or seven if an audio guide is included.

4. Prado Museum

The art gallery on Paseo del Prado is celebrating its bicentenary with the exhibition‘Prado Museum 1819–2019: A Place of Memory’. According to the description, “a chronological journey through the museum’s evolution, an approach that highlights its character as a living institution particularly attuned to the country’s historical ups and downs”. It features 168 works by Spanish and international artists. The free admission times remain the same: Monday to Saturday from 6 pm to 8 pm, and Sundays and public holidays from 5 pm to 7 pm.

5. Juvenalia

Among the activities for children during this December bank holiday weekend, the Children’s and Young People’s Leisure Fair (Juvenalia) is particularly worth highlighting. Held at the IFEMA exhibition centre, it features activities for young children, including video games, robotics, cookery, magic and music, amongst others. General admission costs €9.50, and there are discounts for families and groups.

6. Artificial snow

With the ski slopes in the Sierra closed, the artificial snow area at the Madrid Xanadú shopping centre, situated in the town of Arroyomolinos, is a pre-Christmas alternative for lovers of this sport. Open every day of the year, 18,000 square metres of slopes are available to the public this Thursday from 10.00 to 22.00; on Friday from 10.00 to 23.00; on Saturday from 9.00 to 23.00; and on Sunday from 9.00 to 22.00.

7. Chocolate shops

The cold has arrived quickly and the low temperatures show no sign of letting up. To combat this, the city’s chocolate shops offer hot treats to enjoy on the spot. And if your diet (if you have one) allows it, what could be better than some churros with a hot chocolate?

And if you haven’t fancied any of our suggestions, we’ve got El Mundo’s 150 December ideas for you, tailored to your interests and preferences.

Enjoying December in Madrid is so easy!!