The Casa de San Nicolás in Alicante will open its doors on 27 November and will remain accessible until 24 December at 14:30. The local Council's Department of Festivities, led by Cristina Cutanda, has awarded the contract for the Casa de San Nicolás to José Luis Sánchez's company for the next five years, with a budget of €18,029, including VAT.
One significant change in this contract is the removal of the prior appointment system that was introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cutanda explained, “We had to eliminate online bookings because, in recent years, many people who made appointments did not show up. This created a negative situation where individuals waiting to enter could not do so when the Casa was empty.”
Appointments will only be available for schools and social groups during specific hours from 11:00 to 13:00 on 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18 December. The first visitors will be children from the Oncology Ward of the Alicante 'Doctor Balmis' Hospital, supported by the Culture Department under Nayma Beldjilali through an annual agreement. On the same afternoon, from 18:00 to 21:00, the first children visiting Plaza Séneca will also have access.
The morning opening hours will be from 10:00 to 14:30. Evening visits will be divided into three time slots: from 16:00 to 21:00 on 28 and 29 November, and 5, 6, 7, 8, 12, and 13 December; from 16:00 to 21:30 on 19, 20, 21, 22, and 23 December; and from 17:00 to 21:00 on 30 November, 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18 December. In total, the Casa de San Nicolás will provide 205 hours of service in 2026.
The festive Christmas lights, the first event in the programme titled 'A Christmas to the height of imagination', will be inaugurated on Friday, 20 November, starting at 19:00 on Avenida de la Constitución.
