This Spanish city has everything to guarantee a perfect winter escape: Festive activities, Christmas markets, live music and authentic Madrilenian cuisine

Madrid knows how to celebrate the festive season in style, with the streets magically lit up with Christmas lights, sparkling window displays, a sky-scraping Christmas tree and towering evergreens decorating the streets.

From the end of November, the Christmas decorations transform the city - filling it with a magical atmosphere - as Madrid welcomes all to celebrate their favourite holiday. This year the local government has invested in new designs for the street's decorations, including a gigantic light ball that will appear in front of the landmark Metropolis building, making it one of the most Instagrammable spots of the year.

Madrid's Christmas hot spots

Festive activities around the city include Madrid's main traditional Christmas market, which is held on the city's main square, Plaza Mayor. The Christmas market hosts over 100 exhibitors selling traditional handicrafts, intricately detailed handmade decorations and artisan products.

The whole city not only comes alive in celebration of the festive holiday but also stays awake with bars staying open into the early hours of the morning, including Ginkgo Sky Bar and Restaurant, sitting on the 12th floor of VP Plaza de España Design hotel, another perfect spot for Instagram inspiration. Ginkgo Sky Bar & Restaurant offers the perfect viewpoint to enjoy Madrid's glittery outline, providing a much-needed recovery from the bustling Christmas-filled city and offers a truly gastronomic experience for guests to delve into and celebrate Christmas in style.

For Christmas day, guests will enjoy a special design menu that highlights the best of Mediterranean cuisine, paired with live music and open bar until sunrise. The menu (from €110 per person) included appetizers such as Sorlut no.2 oysters with chipotle and ponzu, Iberian ham with cristal bread, tomato and extra virgin olive oil, chicken gyozas with sweet chili sauce, salmon sashimi on crispy rice and kimuchi; two main dishes like sea bass marinated in miso with wild asparagus and toasted almonds and beef tenderloin tataki with sesame; for dessert white chocolate mille-feuille, with cream and raspberries and Christmas sweets and nougat.

Another great spot in the Royal Botanical Garden. From 19 November to 6 January, the garden opens its gates to reveal The Christmas Garden Project. Similar to that at Kew, the botanical garden showcases Christmas lights and figures that complement the beautiful and varied plant life.  

New year, new you

Travellers wanting to treat themselves and freshen up prior to the new year festivities should look no further than Biloba Spa at the VP Plaza España Design 5*. Biloba Spa offers the most exclusive treatments from facials to body treatments with the opportunity to relax overlooking Madrid's iconic Gran Vía, also perfect for late-minute Christmas shopping.

2019's grandest party

Offering the best  seat in Madrid to enjoy the famous 'Puerta del Sol' fireworks, visitors can see in 2020 in a truly Spanish-chic way with a black-tie party until 4:00 am with live music and an exquisite Spanish menu including the 'lucky grapes' to enjoy the typical Spanish custom of consuming one grape on each of the twelve chimes of the clock at midnight.

To say farewell to 2019, Ginkgo Sky Bar and Restaurant offers a New Year's Eve party & dinner priced at €400* per person. The menu for the night includes flame-roasted king crab with yuzu foam, spider crab salad with trout roe and spiced bread, roasted lobster with noisette butter, shallots and toasted ginger and aged beef tenderloin with mini mushrooms and soy-honey emulsion. For dessert guests will enjoy a roasted apple, crème brûlée and almond crumble and Christmas sweets and nougat. All accompanied with a great drink offers including Veuve Clicquot Champagne, red wine D.O. Ribera del Duero Matarromera Crianza (Tempranillo) and white wine D.O. Rías Baixas Granbazán (Albariño).

To book a table call +34915 955 512 or contact the hotel via mail ginkgo@vphoteles.com. Double rooms are priced from €220 per night based on a room-only basis. For more information or to book, visit www.plazaespana-hotel.com/en.   

Direct flights to Madrid from London Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol can be book from £226.

*Late-night snacks included in the menu's price.

ENDS

VP Plaza España Design 5* is represented by LOTUS. For more information or for editorial enquiries, please email Kate@wearelotus.co.uk or isbel@wearelotus.co.uk or call 0207 953 7470. For more information on VP Hotels, please visit http://www.vphoteles.com/en/