Land in Granada on 24 December and you can still walk into the Alhambra the next morning only if the next morning is not the 25th. The monument, Granada Cathedral, the Royal Chapel and the Parque de las Ciencias close together on 25 December and 1 January, and this season both dates fall on a Friday.
Granada at Christmas is a city that stays open except on two days, and the Alhambra is the place that decides most itineraries. Its winter hours run from 8:30 to 18:00 every day from 15 October to 31 March, and the general ticket costs €22.27.
Is the Alhambra open over Christmas? Every day except 25 December and 1 January. The Patronato de la Alhambra y Generalife keeps its winter hours of 8:30 to 18:00, with the ticket office from 8:00, on 24 and 31 December. Night visits to the Nasrid Palaces run only on Fridays and Saturdays from 20:00 to 21:30.
Which days does Granada close at Christmas
Granada closes its paid sights on two dates at Christmas, 25 December and 1 January. On the 24th and the 31st almost everything opens, with shorter afternoons at the Cathedral and the Parque de las Ciencias. The table below is arranged by day, so you can check the dates of your trip in one line.
| Day | Alhambra | Granada Cathedral and Royal Chapel | Parque de las Ciencias | Granada Card |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday 24 December | 8:30 to 18:00, no night visit | last admissions brought forward | 10:00 to 15:00 | valid |
| Friday 25 December | closed | closed to visitors | closed | not valid |
| Saturday 26 December | 8:30 to 18:00, night visit 20:00 to 21:30 | regular schedule | 10:00 to 19:00 | valid |
| Thursday 31 December | 8:30 to 18:00, no night visit | last admissions brought forward | 10:00 to 15:00 | valid |
| Friday 1 January | closed | closed to visitors | closed | not valid |
| Saturday 2 January | 8:30 to 18:00, night visit 20:00 to 21:30 | hours may be shortened around Epiphany | open | valid |
The Archdiocese charges €7.00 for the Cathedral from 29 November, once the KERYGMA exhibition prices end; the details are in Granada Cathedral and Royal Chapel tickets. A Granada Card bought for a trip that includes the 25th or the 1st loses a day of use.
What to do in Granada on Christmas Day
Christmas Day in Granada is a day for viewpoints and streets, not for tickets. The Mirador de San Nicolás in the Albaicín charges nothing and has the Plaza de San Nicolás stop 44 metres away, served by the C31 and C32 minibuses at €1.60 for a single fare.
Spanish families celebrate on the night of the 24th, Nochebuena, and the 25th is a slow day at home. A simple plan for the day:
- Morning in the Albaicín. Take the C31 or C32 up to San Nicolás and walk down to Plaza Nueva.
- Lunch booked in advance. Reserve Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas Day lunch before you travel, not on arrival.
- Evening lights from 18:30. If the 2025 schedule repeats, a Friday keeps the centre lit until 3:00.
Bus and metro are separate systems with separate fares: €1.60 for a single ticket on the urban bus and €1.35 for a single metro trip, a fare cut by a temporary state subsidy.
The city restarts on Saturday 26 December. The Alhambra reopens at 8:30, and that evening is one of only two night visits to the Nasrid Palaces between Christmas Eve and Epiphany.
When you can see the Nasrid Palaces at night over the holidays
The night visit to the Nasrid Palaces runs on Fridays and Saturdays only in winter, from 20:00 to 21:30, at €12.73, the price the Patronato charges for the palaces after dark. Between 24 December and 6 January that leaves exactly two nights, Saturday 26 December and Saturday 2 January, because both Fridays in the period are closing days.
If both are gone, what to do when Alhambra tickets are sold out covers the alternatives, and the Alhambra night visit explains what the evening ticket includes. The full day-by-day holiday calendar is in Alhambra opening hours at Christmas.
Where to eat the twelve grapes on New Year’s Eve in Granada
On New Year’s Eve Spaniards eat twelve grapes, one on each stroke of midnight, and in Granada the public place to do it is Plaza del Carmen. In 2025 the free party held 3,500 people, the gates opened at 22:00 and the bells rang at 23:59.
The catch for visitors is transport. Metro de Granada runs its last trains at 21:15 on 31 December and restarts at 1:00, so a hotel near the centre beats a cheap room by a metro stop. Entrances, exits and taxis are mapped in New Year’s Eve in Granada.
How the December long weekend works in Granada
The 2026 December long weekend in Granada runs for four days, Saturday 5 to Tuesday 8 December. Constitution Day falls on a Sunday and the Junta de Andalucía moves it to Monday 7, and Tuesday 8 is the Immaculate Conception.
The Alhambra opens all four days from 8:30 to 18:00, with a night visit on Saturday 5. The Parque de las Ciencias opens from 10:00 to 19:00 on the Saturday and from 10:00 to 15:00 on the other three days. Shops can open on Monday 7, a day of authorised Sunday-style trading in Andalusia.
Where the lights, markets and Three Kings parade are
The rest of Granada’s Christmas sits within 800 metres of Plaza del Carmen. The Christmas lights run from late November; the Christmas markets fill Plaza Bib-Rambla; and the Inverland fairground occupies the Paseo del Salón, extended in 2025 to the Paseo del Violón with a Ferris wheel by the Palacio de Congresos.
For church and convent cribs, see Granada nativity scenes; for village living nativities, Christmas day trips from Granada. Spanish children get their presents on the morning of 6 January, after the Three Kings parade on the evening of Tuesday 5 January, and on 2 January the city marks the Día de la Toma. Piononos and roscón are covered in Granada Christmas sweets, and a snow day in Sierra Nevada at Christmas.
Is Granada worth visiting at Christmas
Granada is worth it at Christmas for a trip between 14 and 23 December: no public holidays, the Parque de las Ciencias open from Tuesday to Saturday until 19:00, the Alhambra on its 8:30 to 18:00 schedule and every Christmas setting already in place.
The weather is the trade-off. December in Granada averages 13.4 °C by day and 1.7 °C at dawn at the AEMET airport station, so pack for frost; the month in detail is in Granada in December. Families can plan by age with Granada at Christmas with kids.
For an evening plan, see Christmas concerts in Granada, from flamenco zambombas at 13 euros to Handel’s Messiah.
With monuments shut, lunch becomes the plan on the 25th: which Granada restaurants open on each Christmas date.
Frequently asked questions about Granada at Christmas
Is the Alhambra open on Christmas Day?
No. The Patronato de la Alhambra y Generalife closes the whole complex on 25 December and on 1 January, the only two closing days of the year. It opens as normal on 24 and 31 December, from 8:30 to 18:00, with the ticket office open from 8:00.
Is Granada worth visiting at Christmas?
Yes, if your dates avoid building the trip around 25 December or 1 January. The week of 14 to 23 December has no public holidays, the Alhambra keeps its 8:30 to 18:00 winter hours, the Parque de las Ciencias opens until 19:00 and the lights, markets and nativity scenes are already up.
What time do the Christmas lights come on in Granada?
In 2025 the centre lit up at 18:30 every evening and switched off at 1:00 from Monday to Thursday, at 3:00 on Fridays, Saturdays and holiday eves, and at 5:00 on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. The light and carol show in Plaza del Carmen ran at 19:00, 20:00 and 21:00.
Where do people spend New Year’s Eve in Granada?
In Plaza del Carmen, in front of the City Hall, at a free public party. In 2025 it held 3,500 people, gates opened at 22:00 and the bells rang at 23:59. Metro de Granada stops running at 21:15 that night and restarts at 1:00, so plan the trip back first.
Can I use the Granada Card on 1 January?
No. The Granada Card does not work on 25 December or 1 January, because the Alhambra, the Cathedral and the Royal Chapel it covers are closed. On 24 and 31 December it works normally, although the Cathedral and the Royal Chapel bring their last admissions forward.
Do shops open on Sundays in Granada in December?
On three of them. The Junta de Andalucía authorises shops to open on Sundays 13, 20 and 27 December and on Monday 7 December, the moved Constitution Day holiday. Sunday 6 and Tuesday 8 December are not on the list, so large stores may stay shut on those two days.
At Christmas Granada keeps its doors open for all but two days, and both of them are Fridays.