The cold weather is here, which means the festive season is under way. Need to buy some decorations for the house? Or a gift for a loved one? Come and explore Girona’s Christmas markets and enjoy a holiday season full of hope!
There can be little doubt about the fact that the region’s biggest and most magical Christmas market can be found in the capital of Girona. This year, the market’s opening hours run from 10.30 am to 9 pm, from 25 November 2022 to 5 January 2023.
The market features everything you could possibly wish for to celebrate Christmas in the best possible fashion. Traditional Christmas sweets, nativity scenes, decorations, and small gifts to bring a smile to your nearest and dearest’s face.
Girona’s Christmas market is the only one in the region open throughout the Christmas holidays, so you can spend as long as you want exploring the narrow, winding streets full of magic in this charming city, in preparation for this most wonderful time of the year.
If you fancy exploring smaller Christmas markets in unique places, try visiting the coastal villages of the Empordà or travel up to the beautiful villages in the Girona Pyrenees on the days when their annual Christmas fairs are held.
Let’s look at what these fairs entail, and when they’re being held.
An annual tradition, the eagerly anticipated Olot Nativity Fair takes place in early December, a Christmas market showcasing handmade figures and the perfect place to buy a nativity scene. This is not any old market. Enjoy live music and craft workshops, along with a wide range of other activities.
Olot also has an extensive schedule of Christmas activities for young and old alike throughout December, ensuring everyone enjoys a unique experience beyond the market stalls. Check here for information about everything going on!
We travel down from mountain to the coast, because Tossa de Mar hosts one of the region’s most beautiful Christmas markets thanks to the fishing village of Tossa’s unique setting. Right next to the sea, a wide range of Christmas items are on sale. Take a stroll around the laid back town, far quieter outside summer.
But that’s not all. Tossa de Mar is home to one of the most traditional ‘living nativity scenes’. Do you know why it’s a living nativity scene? We’ll expand further below but take our advice and visit on 28 or 29 December at 6 pm and find out!
On the weekend of 3 and 4 December, the 9th edition of the Tió de Arbúciesa Fair will take place, hosting many types of handmade traditional Catalan Christmas logs, which are for sale, alongside other handmade crafts, and toys, made with wood from the nearby forests.
This fair also features a comprehensive schedule of activities, with entertainment for children, handicraft workshops, and of course the icing on the cake: making a giant Christmas log defecate by beating it with a stick!
Check the whole schedule here.
Without having to travel too far from the previous fair, you’ll find a fair with plenty of tradition paying homage to a mainstay in any home at this time of the year: the fir tree. Espinelves is home to top quality fir trees of all shapes and sizes, all in the same place.
The Inspírate blog has already mentioned this fair, and for further information, visit the following link. However, to provide a brief summary, it hosts a fair with a quintessentially Christmas vibe largely due to the beauty of the small mountain village of Espinelves. Come and take a look for yourself!
Lastly, we go back to the Costa Brava, specifically to the beautiful town of Sant Feliu de Guíxols, which hosts a Christmas fair with stalls selling handicrafts and Christmas products, as well as a schedule of activities to ensure visitors take home pleasant memories.
During the fair, workshops and shows are held, some for children and others for adults. Check the schedule of activities here and come to Sant Feliu de Guíxols to enjoy a wonderful December day out.
Christmas activities in the Girona region do not only involve fairs and markets. There’s also a wide range of Christmas activities for adults and children alike.
The ‘living nativity scenes’ found regularly throughout the region are fine examples. Visit the following towns to see them: Amer, Castillo de Aro, Bascara, Fontcoberta, Brunyola, Joanetes, Santa Pau, Pals, Avinyonet de Puigventós, Bescanó, Flaçà, Llers, Peralada, Puigcerdà, Riudaura, Santa Cristina de Aro, Celrà, Tossa de Mar, Vilavenut, and Navat
If you weren’t aware, a ‘living nativity scene’ is a theatrical recreation of the birth of Christ, as depicted in the Bible, drawing on the villages’ beauty and local rural environments. Participants dress in contemporary attire and act out scenes from this special moment for Christians and non-Christians alike.
You can also visit towns like Platja d’Aro, which hosts an ice rink or walk under the ‘tunnel of light’ erected on Miramar Street in the old town, and enjoy the audiovisual show that they put on.
This a sample of everything that awaits you during the Christmas holidays in the Girona region. Girona campsites extends an invitation to come and stay at our facilities.
Holidaying at campsites is not only a good option in summer, because Open 365 campsites are open all year round and allow you to celebrate these special dates at one with nature.
So, if this Christmas you feel like connecting with nature and not worrying about anything other than visiting the Christmas markets and fairs, come to the Girona campsites!
That’s all from us. We’d like to wish you a very merry Christmas with your loved ones. See you soon!