With 2025 drawing to a close, Andalucia is already slipping into its festive glow.
- Estepa (Sevilla): The capital of mantecados and polvorones
- Higuera de la Sierra (Huelva): Andalucia’s oldest Three Kings parade
- Jerez de la Frontera (Cadiz): Where flamenco meets Christmas
- Rute (Cordoba): Home to Spain’s biggest chocolate nativity scene
- Baeza (Jaen): A monumental Christmas experience
- Torrox (Malaga): A Christmas built around community and tradition
- Mojacar (Almeria): A seaside Christmas bathed in golden lights
- Capileira (Granada): A postcard-perfect Christmas in the Alpujarra
While big cities like Sevilla and Malaga are stringing up their famous illuminations and Christmas markets, it’s in the lesser-known villages where the season takes on its most magical form.
Across the region, each town brings together its own blend of lights, sweets, music and scenery. Here are some of the must-visit destinations to experience this season.
Estepa (Sevilla): The capital of mantecados and polvorones
You can’t talk about Christmas in Andalucia without mentioning Estepa.
The town’s identity is inseparable from its legendary mantecados and polvorones, in a tradition that stretches back to 1599, when the first recipe was documented in the Convent of Santa Clara.
Centuries later, Micaela Ruiz, known as La Colchona, developed the drier flour method that gave birth to the modern recipe. Today, more than 20 local factories start production in September, turning out 40,000 kilos of mantecados by December.
Visitors can watch the process up close on guided tours at the Museo del Mantecado, the ‘Ciudad del Chocolate’, or the striking La Estepeña nativity display.
Higuera de la Sierra (Huelva): Andalucia’s oldest Three Kings parade
If there is one magical night children wait for all year, it’s the arrival of the Three Wise Men. And nowhere celebrates it quite like Higuera de la Sierra.
This village hosts the oldest Cabalgata de Reyes in Andalucia and the second-oldest in Spain, with over a century of uninterrupted tradition.
Despite having barely 1,300 residents, the parade attracts around 30,000 visitors every year.
The procession is famous for its ‘living floats’, which recreate biblical scenes with an impressive level of detail and craftsmanship.
Jerez de la Frontera (Cadiz): Where flamenco meets Christmas
In Jerez, Christmas has its own sound in the rhythm of zambombas, which are gatherings where families and friends sing flamenco-infused carols accompanied by the instrument of the same name.
What once took place informally in neighbourhood patios has grown into a cultural phenomenon recognised as a Bien de Interes Cultural.
Today, zambombas fill theatres, squares and taverns, always paired with local wines and seasonal sweets like pestiños and roscos.
Rute (Cordoba): Home to Spain’s biggest chocolate nativity scene
Rute becomes a magnet for sweet-toothed visitors each December.
The town is known for its culinary museums, from anise to ham, but the star attraction is the artisan turrón and mantecado museum, where the largest chocolate nativity scene in Spain takes centre stage.
Created annually since 2000 by the family-run Galleros Artesanos, the display uses over 1,500 kilos of chocolate spread across 52 square metres, making it one of Andalucia’s most impressive edible artworks.
Baeza (Jaen): A monumental Christmas experience
Baeza’s Renaissance streets take on a theatrical air during Christmas. Last year the town introduced guided tours that blended its architectural heritage with local festive stories.
A sprawling living nativity featuring more than 200 participants and recreating around 20 scenes, from Herod’s palace to traditional artisan workshops, transformed the old town into an immersive biblical world.
Children also flock to the Plaza de Santa María to meet the royal postman beside a giant illuminated Christmas tree.
Torrox (Malaga): A Christmas built around community and tradition
For 44 years, Torrox has celebrated its famous ‘plato de migas‘ the Sunday before Christmas, which is a local dish made with semolina, garlic, oil and salt.
Declared a Festival of Tourist Interest, it brings thousands of people together at long communal tables.
The day ends with carols, concerts and the town’s festive lights, turning Torrox into one of the Costa del Sol’s most atmospheric Christmas destinations.
Living nativity scenes and community celebrations round off the experience.
Mojacar (Almeria): A seaside Christmas bathed in golden lights
Mojacar offers the most unexpected winter combination: Mediterranean beaches and warm golden Christmas lights.
Since winning Ferrero Rocher’s ‘Juntos brillamos más’ competition in 2022, the town has adorned its whitewashed streets with shimmering decorations each December.
The glow reflects beautifully off the village’s white façades and the nearby sea, creating a stunning Christmas ambience.
Capileira (Granada): A postcard-perfect Christmas in the Alpujarra
High in the Poqueira valley, beneath the snowy peaks of Sierra Nevada, Capileira offers the most ‘classic’ winter landscape in the region.
The village doesn’t rely on elaborate light shows or themed events, as its charm comes naturally.
Snow-dusted rooftops, artisan stalls and crisp mountain air give visitors the feeling of stepping into a Christmas postcard.
With views of the Mulhacén and a setting straight out of a Nordic fairytale, it’s a perfect choice for a more serene festive escape.
