PROGRAMME OF ACTIVITIES
CHRISTMAS TOURS
Meeting place at City Hall Plaza
Stops along the route:
• City Hall Plaza: Here, we’ll take a head count of those registered for the tour and begin with an introduction. In this place, an emblem of the city, we’ll talk about the significance that the port area has had for the globalisation of Spanish products. We’ll also direct special attention to the lighting that decorates the Palacio Consistorial, and we’ll note the importance of the region’s toy-making tradition that has filled the lines of letters to Santa with children’s wishes for generations, both in Spain and outside of our border.
• Santa María Basilica and tour of Santa Barbara Castle: Through the tour of our emblematic ‘Cara del Moro’, we’ll introduce our visitors to the medieval Alicante in which Christian and Muslim cultures coexisted and which granted us with a rich gastronomy that gives prominence to the almond and to the tradition of the turrón, an unequivocal international symbol of Christmas.
• Convent of Las Monjas de la Sangre: We’ll stop next to this imposing structure to speak about the variety of typical Christmas sweets in the Alicante culture, produced by hand in convents that once existed and others that are still found in the city today. We will also refer to the Nativity Scene Museum that is found just opposite the convent, and we’ll use the proximity of the offices of the Alicante appellation of wines to discuss the characteristic Vinalopo grape, which is eaten in all of Spain in time with the 12 chimes of the bells that ring in the new year.
• San Nicolás Co-cathedral: Santa Claus is Alicantino. Did you know that? We’ll delve into how the figure of Santa Claus is closely tied with our city and subsequently extended throughout the whole world.
• Rambla Méndez Nuñez: We’ll admire the lights in this important Alicante thoroughfare.
• Explanada de España: We’ll conclude the route at the Explanada’s impressive Nativity Scene that has been recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records as the tallest Nativity Scene in the world.
DATES AND TIMETABLES
22 December: 10:30, 12:00, 16:30, 18:00
26 December: 10:30, 12:00, 16:30, 18:00
27 December: 10:30, 12:00, 16:30, 18:00
28 December: 10:30, 12:00, 16:30 (IN ENGLISH), 18:00
29 December: 10:30, 12:00, 16:30 (IN ENGLISH), 18:00
30 December: 10:30, 10:30 (IN ENGLISH), 12:00, 16:30, 16:30 (IN ENGLISH), 18:00
31 December: 10:30
2 January: 10:30, 12:00, 16:30 (IN ENGLISH), 18:00
5 January: 10:30, 12:00, 16:30, 18:00
TOURS WITH HISTORICAL REENACTMENTS (in spanish)
Meeting place at City Hall Plaza
Synospsis: A seventeenth-century Dutch sailor will join us during the guided tour, underscoring the topics with anecdotes and interesting facts. The sailor will provide a connecting point between traditional Alicante Christmas products, their globalisation and the legend of Saint Nicolas, the man who inspired the figure of Santa Claus. He’ll recount personal stories about how Christmas began in our port and later travelled to the Netherlands and then to New Amsterdam, which would eventually become New York.
DATES AND TIMETABLES
23 December: 10:30, 12:00, 16:30, 18:00
24 December: 10:30, 12:00
3 January: 10:30, 12:00, 16:30, 18:00
PERFORMANCES (in spanish)
Place: Plaza de Santa María (Alicante)
Duration: Approx. 50 minutes
Ages: 5 to 10
23 December
11:00 to 12:00. “Clásicos Navideños” (“Christmas Classics”). Traditional storytelling of Christmas classics.
12:30 to 13:30. “Mágica Navidad” (“Magic Christmas”) If this season is anything, it’s magical. Family-friendly magic show.
16:30 to 17:30 “La Navidad de Nicolás” (“Nicholas’ Christmas”) A Christmas tale, based on the true story of Saint Nicholas.
24 December
12:00 to 13:00 “La Elfa adormilada y su maleta encantada”. (“The Sleepy Elf and her Enchanted Suitcase”). The story of an Elf who is about to miss out on Christmas.
27 December
11:00 to 12:00. “El show de Navidad” (“The Christmas Show”). An interactive show where children have to respond to questions in order to advance in this magical story.
12:30 to 13:30. “Peque-Cuentos” (Tales for the Tots) Stories for the littlest ones, tales told with love.
16:30 to 17:30 “Mágica Navidad” (“Magic Christmas”). If this season is anything, it’s magical. Family-friendly magic show.
28 December
12:00 to 13:00. “El show de Navidad” (“The Christmas Show”). An interactive show where children have to respond to questions in order to advance in this magical story.
16:30 to 17:30. “Clásicos Navideños” (“Christmas Classics”). Traditional storytelling of Christmas classics.
29 December
11:00 to 12:00. “Peque-Cuentos” (“Tales for the Tots”). Stories for the littlest ones, tales told with love.
12:30 to 13:30. “Clásicos Navideños” (“Christmas Classics”). Traditional storytelling of Christmas classics.
16:30 to 17:30. “El show de Navidad” (“The Christmas Show”). An interactive show where children have to respond to questions in order to advance in this magical story.
30 December
12:00 to 13:00. “Clásicos Navideños” (“Christmas Classics”). Traditional storytelling of Christmas classics.
16:30 to 17:30. “Elfos gruñones, y canciones…” (“Grumpy Elves and Songs…”). These elves don’t seem to like Christmas much, but through their stories and songs, they’ll start to see the error of their ways.
31 December
12:00 to 13:00. “El show de Navidad” (“The Christmas Show”). An interactive show where children have to respond to questions in order to advance in this magical story.
Place: La Marjal Park, San Juan Beach
Duration: Approx. 60 minutes
Ages: 5 to 1
2 January
12:00 to 13:00. “¿Dónde se fue Papa Noël?” (“Where did Santa Claus go?”) It’s already January. And where did Santa Claus go? Help us find him through games that include clues and questions and answers in this family scavenger hunt through the park.
3 January
12:00 to 13:00. “Regalo o Carbón” (“Gift or Coal”). The Three Kings are on their way and it’s time to see out if you’ve been good. We’ll find out together through a fun family game of challenges.
4 January
12:00 to 13:00. “¿Dónde se fue Papa Noël?” (“Where did Santa Claus go?”) It’s already January. And where did Santa Claus go? Help us find him through games that include clues and questions and answers in this family scavenger hunt through the park.
5 January
12:00 to 13:00. “Regalo o Carbón” (“Gift or Coal”). The Three Kings are on their way and it’s time to see out if you’ve been good. We’ll find out together through a fun family game of challenges.
Place: Plaza la Cruz (calle San Antonio, 23)
Duration: Approx. 120 minutes
Ages: 5 to 10
5 January
11:00 to 13:00. “El Cartero Real y sus leyendas mágicas” (“The Royal Letter Carrier and his Magic Legends”). Bring us your letter to the Three Kings and listen closely to the tales of the Royal Letter Carrier. The smile it leaves you with will be your first gift.
