The Best Christmas Lights

In Madrid, thousands and thousands of lights illuminate the capital and remind us that we are in Christmas time. In addition to Puerta del Sol, where the Christmas trees seem to look at the clock that on the night of December 31 will announce the arrival of the new year, Madrid has streets and squares where Christmas takes on a different color. On Alcalá Street, between Cibeles and Puerta del Sol, the lights evoke the sky of Madrid covered with stars. On Serrano Street, the lighting motifs represent fabrics and textures in homage to the fashion stores located here. There's even a bus known as Naviluz that takes a route through the center to enjoy the best Christmas lights.

The terrorist attacks on Las Ramblas in Barcelona on August 17 have marked the aesthetics and memory when turning on the Christmas lights in the city. The Christmas lights on Las Ramblas evoke the victims and are a tribute to the merchants and neighbors who aided the wounded that afternoon. There are peace doves that emphasize Catalonia's commitment to coexistence and trees that evoke tall, illuminated firs in the vicinity of Plaça de Catalunya and Passeig de Gràcia. In these important arteries of the city, the lights serve as a reminder of the cultural symbols of the capital.

Málaga has once again lit up some of the best Christmas lights in Spain. Larios Street, the main artery of the city, elegant, pedestrian, and decorated with the best shops in the capital of the Costa del Sol, has been illuminated with a canopy of lights that resembles a cathedral, where every evening after six-thirty, thousands of locals and visitors gather to wait for the lights to turn on. There is also special lighting on Granada Street, in Plaza de la Merced, where Picasso was born, and on Alameda Principal.

The Christmas tree that stands in front of Valencia's City Hall is one of the most important decorative elements in the city. Inside, it is accessible, and locals and visitors can enjoy its thousands of lights. In addition to this large tree, the city hall has installed other trees that evoke the classic firs of Northern Europe in the squares of Patraix, Campanar, Benimaclet, Sant Valer, Creu del Canyamelar, and Doctor Collado. These aesthetic elements are complemented by lights on the main streets and avenues of the Turia capital.

The streets of the Ensanche and the old town of Santiago de Compostela have been decorated this year with three-dimensional Christmas figures that evoke gift boxes for all neighbors and visitors. The boxes are the main motif of the special lighting this holiday season and are accompanied by the Nadal market, with its eighty-seven exhibitors located on Rúa Carreira do Conde, and an ice rink, located at Paseo Central da Alameda until January 28, 2018.