10 Things to do in Vigo at Christmas

Vigo lives Christmas in a unique way. And although seeing the Christmas lights is an essential activity, enjoying this season goes much further.

Buy the best gifts at the Christmas markets, taste the traditional cuisine, ice skating, driving a motorcycle dressed as Santa Claus, enjoy the attractions specially installed for the season or see the Three Kings parade are just some of the proposals that can not miss on your list.

Vigo at Christmas time is characterized by the illumination, with several tours included in the best tours of Vigo. There is no specific place to see the lights because they are spread all over the city. It is one of the main activities of this season.

It is usually the first city to turn on the Christmas lights in all of Spain and it is usually done around the second week of November. From then on you can enjoy the Christmas lights until late at night.

Some of the most emblematic places to see these Christmas decorations and take some pictures are: La Alameda, Plaza de Compostela, Plaza de Porta de Sol, Casco Vello and the Port area.

Interesting details

• Price: going on your own will not have any price, but if you want to take a guided tour you will have a specific price depending on the tour.
• Date: from the second week of November. If you want to attend the lighting, you must check the date on the website of the City of Vigo.
• Hours: from 18:00 to 24:30.
• How to get there: you can get there by public transport or private car.

If you book your ticket to the Gallery Selfie Vigo, you will enjoy visiting each of its 15 rooms decorated mainly in pop-art style with light rings, spotlights, objects and much more. All in the style of the 80s and 90s, combining the old and the modern.

In addition, you will be dazzled by the virtual reality experience of approximately six minutes. A unique plan whether you go with friends or family where you will take some dream photos.

Details of interest

• Price: approximately 17 € for adults and 13 € for children.
• Date: open all year round from Wednesday to Sunday.
• Hours: from 11 am to 2 pm and from 5 pm to 8 pm.
• How to get there: it is located on Rúa de Venezuela and can be easily reached by public transport.

If there is something Christmassy to do in Vigo is to walk down Príncipe Street. It is synonymous with Christmas with its shopping, its nuances and its joys. You can find multiple Christmas stores to do your shopping in advance. In addition, there you will find different places of tourist and cultural interest, such as, for example, the Museum of Contemporary Art, MARCO, which is one of the best museums in Vigo.

Christmas decorations take over the entire avenue from end to end, making it one of the best things to see and do in Vigo at night. 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, where you can go to take many Christmas pictures.

Interesting details

• Price: you can take the tour along El Príncipe Street free of charge.
• Date: El Príncipe street usually welcomes Christmas from the end of November.
• Hours: you can walk along this street all day long, from morning until late at night. But if you want to shop you will have to do it during the day.
• How to get there: by private car and you can park near Porta de Sol, or you can go 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. It is one of the best places to do your Christmas shopping before the season starts.

This market is installed the second week of November and the atmosphere inside is unparalleled. In addition, around the market and the square, you can find a number of attractions to 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. It is one of the most desired attractions 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: approximately 5 € per person. To enter Cíes Market you do not have to pay additional money.
• Date: from the second week of November.
• Hours: from Monday to Friday, from 5 pm, and on Saturdays and Sundays, from 11 am.
• 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 popular events in Vigo at Christmas is that 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.

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

This activity usually takes place at the beginning of Christmas, as a way of welcoming the season.

Details of interest

• Price: it is a free event.
• Date: between the second week of November and the first week of December.
• Hours: during the day, although there is no specific schedule for it.
• How to get there: they are all over the city.

One of the most awaited attractions that takes place in the last days of the year is the Christmas circus in the Coia neighborhood, which year after year is inaugurated with the intention of attracting more tourists and locals.

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 multiple inflatables for all ages that are installed.

In addition, the Christmas lights that adorn the neighborhood since mid-November dazzle all visitors. It is definitely one of the best places to take pictures at Christmas in Vigo. The attractions may change from year to year, but what is certain is that this neighborhood is a must-see of the season.

Interesting details

• Price: approximately 7 to 10 € per person.
• Date: at the end of December.
• Hours: from early afternoon until late at night.
• How to get there: to get to Coia you can do it by bus or private car, because there are plenty of parking spaces.

It 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 rink is that it is roofed as opposed to 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.

If you doubt which one to go to, keep in mind that in the Real Club Nautico there is also a big roller coaster for the bravest visitors.

Interesting details

• Price: skating 50 minutes has an approximate price of 7 € per person.
• Date: from mid-November to mid-January approximately.
• Hours: Monday to Friday, between 16:30 and 22 hours. On weekends and holidays, from 11:00 am to 10:00 pm. Hours may change depending on the policies of each track.
• How to get there: to get to both the Real Club Nautico and Samil Beach you can get there by bus or private car.

It is one of the busiest squares you will find on New Year's Eve, because this is precisely the main meeting place for the people of Vigo to welcome the New Year to the rhythm of the countdown clock located in the Santa Irene Institute, one of the most emblematic buildings of the city.

In addition, in the square you will see a large monument known as Porta de Atlántico, whose most special feature 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.

Interesting details

• Price: free event.
• Date: during New Year's Eve, that is, every December 31st.
• Hours: from early afternoon until after midnight.
• How to get there: 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 walking along it is one of the best activities to do with the family during this time of the year. It has a large number of stores for Christmas shopping.

In addition, in this street you can enjoy different Christmas attractions par excellence, among which are the sleigh train, the free fall or the virtual simulator.

Details of interest

• Price: varies every year, so I recommend you visit the website of the City Council of Vigo to have information on updated prices.
• Date: it is available throughout Christmas, from November to January.
• Hours: open in the afternoon until late at night.
• How to get there: if you go by car, there is parking nearby. The other option is to go by public transport, such as bus or train.

There is a tradition in Vigo that I love. It is the tourist trains and buses that go all over the streets with Christmas decorations.

The service is available throughout Christmas 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 amount of places you will be able to visit, as one is shorter and the other is longer. Some of the places you will be able to see and visit are:

• Plaza de Compostela.
• Plaza Fernando el Católico.
• Policarpo Sanz,
• America Square.
• Plaza del Bicentenario.

Details of interest

• Price: children up to two years old enter for free and the rest of the public can pay between 2 and 4 € depending on their age and condition.
• Date: from the last weeks of November to the first week of January.
• Hours: from 5 p.m. to midnight every day.
• How to get there: you can board the train at Plaza de Compostela and Pintor Lugrís.

The Three Kings Parade is another of the best things to see and do in Vigo. It takes place on January 5th, on the eve of Epiphany. It is one of the most important in Spain and every year it takes place according to a different motif.

Many children participate in this activity where the Kings on horses pass through the streets of Vigo spreading happiness. But it 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 who come from the East. An essential plan to see and do in Vigo with children.

Interesting details

• Price: there is no cost.
• Date: January 5th.
• Hours: from sunset.
• How to get there: to get to Compostela square you could arrive by private car or using public transport.