“It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas” and no where more so than in the romantic setting of Castillo de Monda. We are really getting in the spirit now, and are already taking bookings for all the festive days this December including our popular New Years Eve Fiësta Fiësta complete with fireworks, grapes, champagne and music!
Of course, celebrating Christmas in Castillo de Monda is a great way to spend your festive days, but where else in and around Marbella can you find things to do this Christmas?
Here’s our top 5 of things you should definitely see when visiting the Castle in Monda:
-
Málaga Christmas Lights
Málaga, a city full of light, shops, restaurants and musea… if you thought you had seen it all.. think again! The Málaga Christmas Lights Switch On event has been growing ever more popular over the years. So much so, that nowadays they have to deal with a bit of crowd control for all the spectators flocking the city in the last week of November!
Yes the Christmas Lights Switch On in Malaga should definitely be on top of your “Things to do this Christmas” list.
The lights usually get switched on near the end of November and this year they will be activated on the 24th of November at 19:30. It is a great party with music and the entire town will be out and about to view this spectacle from close up.
Here’s a preview of the event in 2017 so you know what to expect:
2. Visit a Christmas Market
Marbella is top of its class when it comes to Christmas Markets. Many local charities see this as a good
chance to raise some much needed funds for their cause and some of these markets have really grown very popular over the years!
The most popular market, by far, is the Torremolinos Christmas Market. This market has everything from Christmas food, cookies and sweets to toys and trinkets to bring home and fill stockings with.
The Torremolinos Christmas Market opens usually during the first week of December and runs straight through to the 2nd of January, so it is ideal for getting that last minute Christmas gift from!
Apart from the stalls full of gifts, food and wine, there’s lots of entertainment including an ice rink, food trucks and romantic Christmas lighting.
3. Visit a Nativity Scene
Nativity Scenes are a big thing in Spain. Especially here in the south of Spain where tradition is still strongly upheld.
You will find nativity scenes in every town and village these days, but the very best scenes can be admired in the city of Málaga. The town has a deep-rooted tradition of nativity scenes and to make sure everyone enjoys these scenes, the town hall prints a guide each year with all the most popular scenes and where they can be found. The city council’s nativity scene is amongst one of the most visited and the La Mosca nativity scene is the largest as it is 15M long. The latter can be found in the neighbourhood of La Mosca at the Cathedral in Málaga.
4. Do a Christmas Shop
Shopping is a great idea anyway, whatever time of the year! But in the La Cañada Shopping center, it will become an extra special event with it’s beautiful Christmas decorations and large variety of shops open up to the last hour before Christmas. And then when Christmas is over, the super sales start! (usually from the 28th of December) where prices are discounted up to a whopping 80% in some cases!
Now if that isn’t worth buying additional luggage space for, we don’t know what is!
Furthermore, if you have Children with you, in La Cañada they have a true grotto and the children get to visit Santa to pass on their Christmas wishes plus they get a present as well! So it is a win-win for all!
5. Listen to Christmas Carols
In Spain they call them “Villancicos” and they are performed by local children in public places such as the orange square in Marbella or the Plaza in Málaga. Information about the villancicos are usually provided around a week before the event, so ask our receptionists to find the closest Christmas Carol Concerts near you and enjoy!
6. BONUS! – Buy a ticket for “El Gordo”
The Spanish Christmas Lottery is not just any lottery, in fact, it is the biggest lottery worldwide with an estimated total prize fund of over 2 Billion Euro (yes that’s right… 2 with 9 zero’s!)
The top prize is usually a couple of million, but whats more is that there are thousands of people that can win 200€, and nearly 2000 people win a 1000€ prize.
The chances of winning El Gordo is 1 in 100.000 (compare that to the Euromillions where the chance is 1 in 140,000,000… we like the odds of the El Gordo! )
So now you know what to do in Marbella during the Christmas Period. You stay at the beautifully decorated Castillo de Monda, you celebrate Christmas Day with us for Lunch, you Visit a local Christmas Market and get some last minute presents in, you visit Santa in his Grotto and purchase (a winning) lottery ticket and visit the world famous nativity scenes in Málaga.
If that is not a Christmas designed to be remembered, we don’t know what is!
