Umbria
Gubbio Christmas Tree 2026: The World’s Largest, Dates and How to See It
Gubbio's Christmas tree 2026, the world's largest, is lit on 7 December on Monte Ingino and shines until 10 January: where to see it and how to get there.
Gubbio's Christmas tree is lit on Monday 7 December at 18:00, on Monte Ingino above the town.
It is not a tree but an outline of light, more than 300 points linked by about 8,500 metres of cable up the side of Monte Ingino above the town, topped by a comet near the basilica, according to Umbria's tourism board. It has climbed the mountain since 1981, and Guinness World Records listed it in 1991 as the largest in the world.
From then on it lights up every evening from 17:00, visible for miles across the valley. You do not buy a ticket or join a queue. You find a dark spot and look up.
Quick answer
Lighting: Monday 7 December 2026 at 18:00, on Monte Ingino above Gubbio.
Lit until: 10 January 2027, the Sunday after Epiphany.
When it shines: every evening from 17:00 until late.
What it is: an outline of more than 300 lights up the mountainside, with a comet at the top.
Where to see it: from the valley below, the approach roads and the town itself.
Getting there: Gubbio has no station; the nearest is Fossato di Vico, then a bus.
The trap: arriving by train and expecting the town at the door. It is not.
What it is, and when it shines
The lights are switched on at 18:00 on 7 December, in a ceremony the town builds its December around. After that first night, the figure shines every evening from 17:00 until late, through Christmas and the New Year, down to 10 January, the Sunday after Epiphany.
It is best seen from a distance, from the valley floor or the roads that climb towards Gubbio, where the whole shape reads at once against the dark mountain. Up close, in the town, you see it rising over the roofs. Both are worth an evening.
A medieval town under the lights
Gubbio is one of the best-kept medieval towns in Umbria, grey stone stacked up the slope of Monte Ingino, with the vast Palazzo dei Consoli over the main square. In December the town adds a Christmas market and a programme for children to the lights, and the funicular climbs to the Basilica of Sant'Ubaldo near the top of the figure.
So the evening has two halves. The lights from below, and the old town above, with a hot drink in a stone lane between them.
Getting to Gubbio without a car
This is the hard part, and worth planning. Gubbio has no railway station. The nearest is Fossato di Vico-Gualdo Tadino, about 20 kilometres away on the Rome-Ancona line, and from there a bus runs to Gubbio in roughly half an hour. Perugia, the regional capital, is the other gateway, with buses to the town.
Check the bus times before you travel, because they thin out in the evening, and the lights are an evening thing. If the last bus back does not suit, a night in Gubbio solves it, and lets you see the figure both from below on the way in and over the roofs after dark.
Where to stay in Gubbio
The old town, on the slope of Monte Ingino, puts you under the lights and among the stone lanes and the main square.
The lower town and the edges, near the road in, are the practical choice if you arrive by bus with a bag, a short walk or ride from the centre.
Or base yourself in Perugia and come for the evening, if the bus times line up. Gubbio rewards a night, though, for the lights at both ends of the day.
The mistake to avoid
Do not treat Gubbio like a town on the railway. It is not, and the evening buses are few, so a day trip that ignores the timetable can strand you after the lights come on.
The second mistake is coming only for the switch-on of 7 December. It is a fine night, but a crowded one. The figure shines every evening until 10 January, and a quiet weekday gives you the mountain to yourself.
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