Lights, nativity scenes and verdiales: the Christmas that already has a date in Málaga and its province
Topics Carpena Paseo del Parque Plaza de la Constitución
Fuengirola opens its Christmas market on Thursday, November 26 and switches on its lights on the 27, the same day that La Concepción premieres its Jardín de Oz. The rest of the province is still preparing its programme: we tell you what there was last year in the capital and in the villages.
Redacción ·
Christmas arrives in the province of Málaga at the end of November, when the lights on calle Larios and in the towns are switched on. After that come the nativity scenes, the markets, the zambombas, the living nativity scenes and, on December 28, the Fiesta Mayor de Verdiales.
At the beginning of November only a few events have an official date for 2026. We list those first. For the rest, which the town councils usually announce in the second half of November, we give what was done last year so you know what to expect.
| Fecha | Lugar | Cita |
|---|---|---|
| Del 26 de noviembre al 20 de diciembre | Fuengirola, plaza de la Constitución | Mercado Navideño |
| 27 de noviembre | Fuengirola | Encendido del alumbrado, que dura hasta el 6 de enero |
| Del 27 de noviembre al 6 de enero | Málaga, Jardín Botánico-Histórico La Concepción | Navidad en el Jardín de Oz |
| Del 27 de noviembre al 10 de enero | Benalmádena, Museo Arqueológico y Precolombino | El belén del museo |
| 11 de diciembre | Málaga, Palacio de Deportes Martín Carpena | «Así canta Jerez en Navidad» |
| Del 28 al 30 de diciembre | Ronda, Centro Fundación Unicaja | Talleres «Navidad Creativa» |
| Hasta el 14 de marzo | Málaga, MUCAC La Coracha | Exposición «La Fiesta, Verdiales de Málaga» |
Fuengirola, the first to switch on
Fuengirola is the early bird this year. Its Christmas Market opens on Thursday, November 26 in plaza de la Constitución and runs until Sunday, December 20, with 17 wooden stalls from local shops and artisans. It opens from 10:30 to 14:30 and from 17:00 to 21:00. We covered it here.
The next day, Friday the 27th, the Ayuntamiento switches on the lighting, which will stay up until January 6. That is 2,771,512 LED light points, almost 287,000 more than last year, with 446 arches, 164 decorated street lamps and 63 ground figures. Plaza de España will once again be the centre of the programme, with shows and sessions. Here are the details.
Last year, the market had a «Gran Nevada» at 20:00 on several days in December, the Belén Municipal was set up in the Museo de la Ciudad and on December 23 there was a big bonfire with free chocolate in plaza de la Constitución.
From November 27 to January 6: a Garden of Oz at La Concepción
The Jardín Botánico-Histórico La Concepción once again fills with lights at night. This year the route is called «Navidad en el Jardín de Oz» and invites you to follow «the yellow brick road» through nine scenes, with luminous sculptures, music and characters. It opens from Friday, November 27 to Wednesday, January 6.
There are eight sessions each night, from 18:30 to 21:30, of 200 people each, and the walk lasts about 70 minutes. General admission costs 15.50 euros for adults and 11.50 for children aged 3 to 12; under-3s enter free. There are cheaper time slots and half-price days: November 30, December 9, 14, 21 and 28 and January 6. Tickets are sold on the show's website.
Benalmádena already has its nativity scene
In Benalmádena, the Museo Arqueológico y Precolombino sets up «El belén del museo» from Friday, November 27 to Sunday, January 10. It can be visited from Wednesday to Saturday, from 9:30 to 13:30 and from 17:00 to 19:00, and on Sundays and public holidays from 10:00 to 14:00. It is free. Listing in the municipal agenda.
On Saturday, November 28, at 17:30, the museum also offers a family visit with a Christmas theme, free and with reservation.
In the capital, what comes back every year
The Ayuntamiento de Málaga has not yet presented Christmas 2026. Last year it unveiled the lighting on November 7 and the full programme on December 3.
Be careful with the dates circulating online for the switching on of calle Larios and for the city-centre markets: the Ayuntamiento has not announced them yet. This is what there was in 2025, according to the municipal programme, and what can be expected this year:
Christmas 2025 in the capital
- Lighting: switched on on Friday, November 28 in calle Larios, with the new design «Natividad de luz», of large medallions with scenes of the nativity. There was a light and sound show at 18:30, 20:30 and 22:00 until January 4, and lights in some 500 streets across the districts.
- Projection on the Cathedral tower, from calle Molina Lario: «El pescador de sueños», a story about the cenacheros, at 19:00, 20:30 and 22:00, from November 29 to January 4.
- Belén Municipal, in the courtyard of the Ayuntamiento: from December 5 to January 6, from 10:00 to 14:00 and from 17:00 to 21:00, free. More than 400 figures and nods to Málaga, such as an espetero and a biznaguero.
- Guide to nativity scenes: the Ayuntamiento gathered 73 nativity scenes from brotherhoods, organisations and shops in a leaflet and a map.
- Interactive nativity scene at the headquarters of the Diputación, on calle Pacífico: from November 27 to January 5, from 10:00 to 21:00.
- Zambombas in the centre, at 19:00: in plaza de Félix Sáenz, plaza de la Merced and calle Tomás Heredia, on December 12, 13, 17, 18 and 19. And pastorales through the streets of the centre from December 10.
- «Música en Navidad» series in plaza de la Constitución, from December 20 to 29, with bands, zambombas and pandas de verdiales.
- Giant Reyes Magos on calle Alcazabilla, plaza de Félix Sáenz and calle Compañía, and royal mailboxes in the eleven districts.
- Lights at La Concepción: last year it was «Alice Christmas», from November 28 to January 6.
December 28: the Fiesta Mayor de Verdiales
If there is one event typical of Christmas in Málaga, it is the Fiesta Mayor de Verdiales, held for more than six decades every December 28, the Day of the Holy Innocents. This year it falls on a Monday. The Ayuntamiento has not yet presented the 2026 edition.
Last year's, the 64th, brought together 28 pandas of the three styles, Comares, Montes and Almogía, at the parque Andrés Jiménez Díaz site, in Puerto de la Torre, from 12:00, with 34,910 euros in prizes. Two weeks earlier, on December 14, there was also an Encuentro de Verdiales en Navidad at the Parque Artesanal in the same district.
For context, MUCAC La Coracha is hosting the exhibition «La Fiesta, Verdiales de Málaga» until March 14, on the history of this tradition. We covered it here.
On December 11, Jerez sings at the Carpena
The show «Así canta Jerez en Navidad» comes to the Palacio de Deportes José María Martín Carpena on Friday, December 11 at 21:00. It is organised by HERMAR Producciones and tickets are sold at enterticket.com. More information.
January 5: the parades
The Cabalgata de Reyes de Málaga will set off on Tuesday, January 5, but the Ayuntamiento has not yet given the time or the names of the Reyes. Last year it announced them on December 3. According to the system agreed by the Junta de Portavoces, Melchor is played in turns by a representative of the media and one of the Corporación; Gaspar, by someone from the Agrupación de Cofradías, and Baltasar, by a Black person proposed by the alcalde.
In 2025 the parade set off from the Ayuntamiento with 13 floats and about a thousand participants, who handed out 20,000 kilos of sweets. It went along the avenida de Cervantes, the paseo del Parque, the Alameda Principal, the Puente de Tetuán, the calle Hilera and Atarazanas, and ended with the offering of the Reyes to the Child in a living nativity scene at the Catedral. It was scheduled for 18:00 and set off at 19:00 because of the rain.
In Ronda it is already known who will bring the gifts. The Ayuntamiento has announced that the Reyes will be Álex Cantos, Antonio Alfaro and José Carlos Romero, and the Cartera Real, María Dolores Pacheco, according to its note. Last year Ronda had an ice rink from December 23 in the plaza Teniente Arce and a parade of 20 floats.
Living nativity scenes in the province
None has announced a date for 2026 yet. They usually do so at the end of November or in December. These are last year's dates, to give an idea:
Living nativity scenes in 2025
- Nerja: Belén Viviente de Las Protegidas, Fiesta de Singularidad Turística Provincial, with more than a hundred residents. On Sunday, December 21, from 16:00 to 20:00, in the plaza de Andalucía.
- Alhaurín el Grande: living nativity scene of the Hermandad de Jesús Nazareno. On Saturday, December 20, at 16:00, in the plaza de San Sebastián.
- Torremolinos: living nativity scene of the parishes and brotherhoods in the Jardín Botánico Molino de Inca. On Saturday, December 20, from 11:00 to 13:30, free and with a shuttle bus.
- Benalmádena: on Sunday, December 14, at 16:00, in the parque de los Limones de Benalmádena Pueblo.
- Estepona: on Saturday, December 20, at 19:30, in Nueva Atalaya.
- Fuengirola: three, on December 18 at the parroquia del Carmen, on the 19th in Los Boliches and on the 20th in the plaza Islas Baleares.
- Marbella: two in Nueva Andalucía, on December 13 at the parroquia Virgen Madre and on the 21st at El Ángel.
Light switch-ons, markets and nativity scenes in the towns
The ayuntamientos are preparing their programmes. Last year it was like this:
Christmas 2025 in the towns
- Marbella: switch-on on Saturday, November 29 on the avenida Ramón y Cajal, and on Friday the 28th in San Pedro Alcántara. Christmas Market on the avenida del Mar from November 28 to January 5, from 12:00 to 22:00, with more than 30 stalls. In San Pedro, Parque Mágico de Navidad with a synthetic ice rink, free, from December 29 to January 4.
- Mijas: three switch-ons, on December 3 in Mijas Pueblo, on the 4th in La Cala and on the 5th in Las Lagunas, and a Christmas market in the plaza de la Constitución del Pueblo from November 28 to January 5. On December 21, its 40th Certamen de Pastorales.
- Estepona: switch-on on November 28 in the plaza Antonia Guerrero and a Christmas park with an ice rink next to the Teatro Felipe VI, from November 29 to January 4.
- Torremolinos: Luz Casal switched on the lights on Saturday, December 6. Christmas market on the avenida Palma de Mallorca until January 2 and Parque de la Navidad in the gardens of the Centro Cultural Pablo Ruiz Picasso from December 19.
- Benalmádena: switch-ons on November 28 in the Pueblo, la Costa and Arroyo de la Miel, Christmas Market in Arroyo de la Miel until January 6 and four nativity scenes: the Mexican one at the museum, the artistic one of the Ayuntamiento, one of Playmobil and the municipal one in Pueblosol.
- Vélez-Málaga: switch-on on December 5 on calle Canalejas and municipal nativity scene in the courtyard of the Ayuntamiento. In Torre del Mar, a large nativity scene with more than 2,000 figures in the Antigua Azucarera.
- Nerja: municipal nativity scene and switch-on in the plaza de España on December 5, and a Christmas park and market from the 19th.
- Rincón de la Victoria: municipal nativity scene in the Casa Fuerte Bezmiliana, switch-on on December 5 and Mercado de Navidad in the plaza Al-Ándalus from December 5 to 8.
- Coín: switch-on on November 29, Belén Municipal made with Playmobil in the Antiguo Hospital de La Caridad and Feria Navideña in the Recinto Ferial from December 5 to January 5.
- Alhaurín de la Torre: switch-on and municipal nativity scene on December 5, and XXXI Certamen de Pastorales on December 8.
- Antequera: municipal nativity scene and dioramas of the Asociación Belenista «Noche de Paz» in the Centro Cultural Santa Clara from December 5 to January 5, free. On December 25, the Día de Jeva in La Higuera, with «Choque de Pandas».
In What's On: Así Canta Jerez en Navidad · 11 de December
In What's On: La Fiesta, Verdiales de Málaga · from 15 de October to 14 de March
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