Christmas in Gubbio: the giant tree and the markets

Gubbio, in Umbria, hangs its grey stone lanes on the first slope of Monte Ingino, and it is on that slope that the town draws every winter, with hundreds of bulbs, what the organising committee presents as the largest Christmas tree in the world, certified by Guinness in 1991. Gubbio Christmas market is held at the foot of the old town, on Piazza Quaranta Martiri, with a Ferris wheel, a little train and a Santa's house; but people come first for the luminous silhouette that climbs from the ramparts to the basilica of Sant'Ubaldo, visible from the whole plain. Christmas in Gubbio is a tree of light laid on a mountain, and a medieval town at its feet.

The tree on Monte Ingino: a record from 1991

There is no tree. The Albero di Natale più grande del mondo is a drawing of lights strung across the mountainside: strings of bulbs following the outline of a fir, points of colour inside and a star at the top, just below the basilica of the patron saint, Ubaldo. The committee of “alberaioli”, the volunteers who put it up every autumn, give the figures: about 750 metres high according to the official programme (800 according to another of the committee's pages), 450 metres wide at the base, a star of 1,000 square metres, 7,500 metres of cable, 1,350 sockets, 35 kilowatts to light it, and 1,300 hours of work. It was first built in 1981, and Guinness World Records listed it as the world's largest Christmas tree in 1991, a certification the town recalls every year.

The lighting takes place on 7 December, the eve of the Immaculate Conception, at 6pm: in 2025, the honour of pressing the button went to the commander of the training ship Amerigo Vespucci. The tree then stays lit every evening, from dusk until late, beyond Epiphany (until 11 January for the 2025-2026 edition). In September 2026 the committee began the 46th assembly; the guest for the 2026 lighting has yet to be confirmed by the town.

Gubbio Christmas market, Piazza Quaranta Martiri

The “Gubbio è Natale” programme gathers everything else on Piazza Quaranta Martiri, the big flat square at the foot of the ramparts, facing the façade of San Francesco. In 2025 the wooden chalets were open there 10am-8pm at weekends from 22 November to 14 December, plus 6, 7 and 8 December, then every day from 20 December to 6 January, with opening reduced to the afternoon on 25 December and 1 January. They sell Umbrian produce, crafts and decorations. The “North Pole” Ferris wheel, ticketed and accessible to people with disabilities, turned on the same square from 22 November to 6 January, as did the ice rink and the Gubbio Express little train, which tours the centre.

The Casa di Babbo Natale occupied more than 700 square metres at the Museum of Arts and Crafts, with a virtual reality trail and a collection of nativity scenes from around the world, open 10am-12.30pm and 2.15pm-6.30pm, free under 4. Workshops for children, with decorations, storytelling and games, rounded off the programme in the centre. The 2026-2027 season is announced from 21 November 2026 to 6 January 2027; the details of the attractions are still being finalised.

The life-size nativity scene in the San Martino quarter

Gubbio's second fixture is an open-air nativity scene. From 8 December to 6 January, the San Martino quarter, the lowest in the old town, along the stream, sets life-size statues in its alleys re-enacting the trades of yesteryear and the scenes of the Nativity. You walk through it for free, street by street, with no ticket or timetable, and the best time is the end of the day, when the lamps in the lanes come on and the tree lights up above the rooftops.

The town has an old bond with Saint Francis: it was here, the legend goes, that he tamed the wolf terrorising the inhabitants. Assisi is not far, and the nativity scene and Christmas market of Assisi make a natural pair with Gubbio for a December weekend in Umbria.

Practical information and getting there from France

Gubbio cannot be reached by train all the way to the centre. The nearest station, Fossato di Vico-Gubbio, is on the Rome-Ancona line, served by Intercity and regional trains, with a bus to finish. The simple option remains the car, or Perugia as a base, with its rail links and its airport. On the spot, the car parks are around Piazza Quaranta Martiri, from where the centre is visited on foot, uphill; lifts and the funivia, the basket cable car that climbs to Sant'Ubaldo, help with the upper levels.

• Where: Piazza Quaranta Martiri for the chalets, the Ferris wheel and the little train; the tree can be seen from the whole town, best of all from the plain and the square itself.
• When: 2026-2027 season from 21 November 2026 to 6 January 2027 according to the official website, detailed calendar still being finalised; tree lighting on 7 December at 6pm every year; in 2025, San Martino nativity scene from 8 December to 6 January.
• How much: tree, chalets and nativity scene free; Ferris wheel, ice rink, little train and Santa's house charge admission, 2026 prices to be confirmed.
• Getting there: Fossato di Vico-Gubbio station (Rome-Ancona line) then bus; by car, via Perugia from the A1; Perugia airport.
• Nearby: Perugia Christmas market and Assisi Christmas market, both in Umbria, and Arezzo on the Tuscan side.

From France, you reach Italy by train via Milan: the TGV and Frecciarossa Paris-Turin-Milan trains have been running again through the Maurienne valley since spring 2025, with the direct services suspended for works from 11 September to 9 October 2026, before the season. From Milan, a Frecciarossa heads down to Florence or Rome, then a regional train takes you to Perugia or Fossato di Vico. Allow a very long day, and an overnight stop in Florence or Perugia makes the journey more pleasant. By car, Mont Blanc or Fréjus tunnel (toll), A1 to Tuscany, then the Umbrian roads via Perugia; a long day from Lyon, more from Paris. By air, Perugia, Rome, Florence and Bologna are the useful airports.

Gubbio, a medieval town on five levels

The tree should not hide the town. Gubbio, the Iguvium of the Umbrians, keeps the Iguvine Tablets, bronze tablets that form the longest known text in the Umbrian language, displayed in the Palazzo dei Consoli, the Gothic palace built between 1332 and 1337 that commands Piazza Grande, a terrace suspended above the rooftops. The medieval centre is stacked on five levels of lanes, up to the ducal palace built around 1479; at the bottom, the Roman theatre, presented as the second largest still standing, serves as the foreground for photos of the tree.

On 15 May, the Corsa dei Ceri sends teams running with huge wooden candles up to the basilica of Sant'Ubaldo on Monte Ingino: the same mountain, the same saint, in full spring light. And for anyone who has followed the series Don Matteo on French television, the town was the setting for the first seasons, shot here before the production moved to Spoleto in 2013. Gubbio Christmas market is modest; the show, on the other hand, takes up the whole mountain.