Glasgow does Christmas in several places at once. For 2026 the city council has dropped the old one-night lights switch-on in George Square and replaced it with weeks of events: a Christmas market in St Enoch Square, a bigger Winter Wonderland with an ice rink on Glasgow Green, and a new Christmas village in the newly renovated George Square. Add three big pantos and free museums open most days of the holidays, and there is plenty to fill a winter trip. These are the 2026 dates we could confirm in November 2026.

Key dates at a glance

  • Winter Wonderland, St Enoch Square: 6 November to 27 December
  • Princes Square Christmas lights switch-on: Sunday 15 November, 5pm
  • Winter Wonders city centre Christmas lighting: from 19 November
  • Good Times Christmas Village, George Square: 19 November to 31 December
  • Winter Wonderland and ice rink, Glasgow Green: 20 November to 3 January
  • Riverside Museum Christmas Market: 28 and 29 November
  • Blessing of the Crib: 2 December
  • Santa Dash: 6 December

Winter Wonderland at St Enoch Square

The city centre Christmas market is in St Enoch Square, at the foot of Buchanan Street, from Friday 6 November to Sunday 27 December 2026. Entry is free and you pay for the rides, food and drink. Expect international food stalls, a covered and licensed festive bar with live entertainment, gift stalls, family rides and a solar-powered giant wheel. Opening hours from 6 November to 20 December are noon to 9pm Sunday to Wednesday, noon to 10pm on Thursday and Friday, and 10am to 10pm on Saturday. From 21 to 23 December it opens 10am to 10pm, on Christmas Eve 10am to 8pm, it is closed on Christmas Day, and on 26 and 27 December it opens noon to 8pm. Central and Queen Street stations are both a short walk away.

Winter Wonderland on Glasgow Green and the ice rink

The larger of the two Winter Wonderland sites fills Glasgow Green, the city’s oldest park just east of the centre, from Friday 20 November 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027. Entry is free. The main draw is an open-air, real-ice rink, described this year as bigger and better, with its own Bavarian-style bar. Skating sessions start on the hour and last about 45 minutes, skate hire is included, and skating aids can be hired from £5. Tickets are split into peak sessions (Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and every day from 18 December to 3 January) and off-peak sessions on other days; the Glasgow Times reported adult tickets from £11.43 and child tickets from £8.93 including booking fees. Book online, where tickets are cheaper and can be bought up to 24 hours ahead, though the box office sells remaining sessions on the day. Tickets cannot be exchanged or refunded. Glasgow residents get 10% off with the code GXMAS26.

Glasgow Green also has the Very Merry Circus in a heated festive Big Top, an observation wheel, rides and Santa’s Grotto. Quieter additional support needs sessions with reduced lighting and sound run on the rink at 11am on Sundays 29 November and 6 December, with a third listed for mid-December, and there are ASN sessions of the circus and grotto too. Opening hours from 20 November to 20 December start at 3pm on weekdays and run to 10pm; from 21 December to 3 January it opens noon to 10pm. It closes at 8pm on Christmas Eve, is closed on Christmas Day and opens 2pm to 10pm on New Year’s Day.

George Square and the Good Times Christmas Village

George Square has reopened after a renovation of around £20 million, and for the first time since its makeover it is back at the centre of Christmas. The Good Times Christmas Village, run by the Glasgow street food operator Good Times Markets, opens at noon on 19 November and runs to 31 December 2026, with food stalls from Glasgow names, bars, entertainment that changes through the week and activities for children. Part of the square is given over to council attractions and festive light installations. There is no single big switch-on night this year: instead, the council’s Winter Wonders lighting installations appear across the city centre from 19 November.

More festive events

  • Princes Square lights. The Buchanan Street shopping centre switches on its Christmas lights on Sunday 15 November at 5pm, with music from 1pm and Santa from 4pm to 6pm. It is free.
  • Riverside Museum Christmas Market. A weekend market at the transport museum on 28 and 29 November, with festive storytelling on 19 and 20 December.
  • Festive tours at the Burrell Collection. Free tours on selected dates from 1 to 15 December.
  • Blessing of the Crib. The city’s traditional crib blessing in early December, on 2 December.
  • Santa Dash. The annual fun run in Santa suits on 6 December.
  • Clydeside Christmas Village. The covered ice rink and funfair on South Street in the West End ran in 2024 and 2025. Local press reports it returning from 29 November, but the organiser had not confirmed 2026 dates on its own site when we checked, so check before you go.

Panto season

  • Aladdin, King’s Theatre. Glasgow’s biggest panto runs from Saturday 21 November 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027 at the King’s Theatre on Bath Street, starring Elaine C Smith as Mother Goose and Johnny Mac as Aladdin, with Darren Brownlie and Hannah Jarrett-Scott. Tickets start at £15. There are captioned performances on 29 November at 1pm and 9 December at 7pm, BSL-interpreted shows on 10 December at 1pm and 7pm, an audio-described performance on 15 December at 7pm and a relaxed performance on 17 December at 1pm.
  • Goldilocks and the Three Bonnie Bears, Pavilion Theatre. The Pavilion’s traditional family panto runs from 26 November 2026 to 10 January 2027, suitable for ages three and up, with BSL, audio-described, captioned and relaxed performances.
  • The Snaw Queen, Tron Theatre. The Tron’s Scots panto, written and directed by and featuring Johnny McKnight, runs from Wednesday 18 November to Thursday 31 December 2026, with previews from 18 to 20 November. It is recommended for ages seven and over.

Museums and attractions over the holidays

Glasgow’s free Glasgow Life museums, including Kelvingrove, the Riverside Museum, the Burrell Collection and GoMA, close on 24, 25 and 26 December and on 31 December and 1 January, and the Riverside, Burrell and GoMA also close on 2 January. They are open on 27 to 30 December. Glasgow Cathedral is closed on 25 and 26 December and 1 and 2 January. The Hunterian closes from 24 to 28 December and from 31 December to 4 January, opening only on 29 and 30 December in between. Glasgow Science Centre is open every day from 18 December except 25 and 26 December and 1 January, closing at 4pm on Christmas Eve and Hogmanay. The Tenement House closes from 24 December to 4 January. City Chambers tours stop for public holidays, and several December dates are already cancelled.

Getting around at Christmas

Single bus fares on First Glasgow are capped at £2, and the Subway is capped at £3.40 a day with contactless, but remember the Subway closes at around 6pm on Sundays. Holiday timetables for Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year had not been published when we checked; ScotRail and First usually run a reduced service or none on Christmas Day, so check before you travel.