Gubbio Christmas Tree 2026: Date and Where to See It

1. Seeing the tree from the town

Gubbio, the town that looks up at the tree

Free to see the tree Lights on from 5 pm (2025-26) Winter, bring layers Event from 21 November 2026 to 6 January 2027

You can see the tree from the town and from the plain. The sources we checked don’t name an official viewpoint. In 2025-26, Umbria Tourism listed the Christmas market, the big wheel and ChristmasLand on Piazza Quaranta Martiri. For 2026-27, that spot is not yet published, and the venue for the 2026 ceremony hasn’t been announced either. The historic centre is best explored on foot, as car traffic is restricted.

Highlights

• The public lighting needs no ticket.
• The silhouette is visible at night, from the town as well as from the plain.
• The historic centre is a walking zone, with restricted car traffic. Check with the Comune before you drive in (section 5).

Pixidia tip: plan to arrive before the ceremony, as the centre can get busy on the evening of the lighting. Comfortable shoes work better than heels on the centre’s streets.

If you’re in Umbria on 7 December, a guided tour of Assisi is another option in the same region. It takes place in Assisi, not Gubbio, and we haven’t checked the travel time between the two towns, so allow for it before booking. It suits anyone who wants to see the Basilica of St Francis, which is not in Gubbio.

Before you book, check these points on the tour listing:

• Meeting point. Re-read it in your confirmation before you set off. Some reviews mention a meeting point that was hard to find using the app’s map.
• Audio headsets. They are not always included: according to reviews and the operator’s reply, you pay for them at the Basilica of St Francis.
• Cancellation. The listing shows free cancellation; read the deadline before you book.
• Walking. The tour is on foot in a very hilly town: wear flat shoes.

Small Group Tour of Assisi and St. Francis Basilica €120 for 2 adults on 7 December, or €60 per person (checked 22 October 2026) · rated 4.8 on Viator, 150 reviews (checked 22 October 2026)

Book my Assisi tour

2. Date, time and end of the lighting in 2026

The committee has confirmed 7 December 2026, as announced in its January 2026 statement. The lighting takes place on 7 December every year, the eve of the Immaculate Conception (gubbionatale.it). The 2025 edition was lit on 7 December 2025 (Tag24, Umbria Tourism). On 3 September 2026, the committee announced the 46th edition and the start of work on Mount Ingino (alberodigubbio.com). In 2026, 7 December falls on a Monday. The next day, Tuesday 8 December, is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, a national public holiday in Italy.

The time, however, has not been published. Past editions give these reference points: 5:30 pm in 2024 according to the Comune di Gubbio, 6 pm in 2025 according to Umbria Tourism, and about 5:30 pm for the same 2025 edition according to Tag24. No time for 2026 had been announced when we checked.

The end of the lighting is a separate question. For 2025-26, Umbria Tourism says the lights stay on “up to the Sunday following Epiphany”, which was Sunday 11 January 2026. For the 2024 edition, the Comune worded it differently: “fino al week end successivo al 6 gennaio”, meaning the weekend after 6 January. For 2026-27, the Gubbio è Natale programme is announced from 21 November 2026 to 6 January 2027, but its detailed schedule isn’t yet published on gubbionatale.it (page dated 28 September 2026). So the end date for the 2026-27 lighting is not published.

Source: alberodigubbio.com (organising committee), Umbria Tourism, Comune di Gubbio, Tag24 and gubbionatale.it, checked on 22 October 2026.

3. The Colle Eletto cable car, for a closer view

Colle Eletto, the closest view

About €5-6 (to be confirmed) 10 am-1:10 pm and 2:30-5 pm Closed on Wednesdays Departs from the town

The cable car links the town with Colle Eletto. According to the italia.it listing (undated), the afternoon service stops at 5 pm. The 2026 lighting time has not been published. If the 2026 lighting starts around 5 pm as in 2025-26 (not confirmed), the last ride at 5 pm falls at the same time as the lighting: don’t count on the cable car to watch the tree light up.

Heads up: the cable car is mainly for daytime views. Check times with the operator, on +39 075 9273881, before relying on it.

The €5-6 fare per ride comes from the Lonely Planet France listing. It is not published on the italia.it page we checked on 22 October 2026, so confirm it with the operator. Treat the times as a starting point, not a guarantee.

4. Where to stand to see the tree

Three viewpoints come out of the sources: the town, the plain and the roads around it, and the cable car for a closer view, by day. Several guides we consulted put the best view from the town; the cable car offers a close-up, by day. A Time Out piece, read in its Japanese or Italian edition, points out that the tree is not a real fir, while still judging it worth the detour.

Source: gubbionatale.it, Umbria Tourism, italia.it and Lonely Planet France (indicative fare), checked on 22 October 2026.

5. How to get to Gubbio

From Perugia, the drive takes about 44 minutes for 41-42 km, according to calcolopercorso.it (updated June 2026). The bus takes about 40 minutes according to Omio, which gives a distance of 31 km, so treat that figure with caution. December 2026 timetables have not been checked.

From Rome, the train goes to Fossato di Vico-Gubbio station, about 2 hours 27 minutes according to Rome2Rio, an aggregator rather than an official source. The last leg is by bus, on Trenitalia’s Gubbio Link line, about 35 minutes. Check timetables on trenitalia.com before booking.

Source: calcolopercorso.it, Omio, Rome2Rio and Trenitalia, checked on 22 October 2026.

The historic centre has restricted car traffic. We couldn’t find the rules of Gubbio’s ZTL (limited traffic zone), so check with the Comune di Gubbio before you drive in. Our sources didn’t identify any specific car park.

Private transfers run from Perugia’s international airport. Search results checked on 22 October 2026 show about €175.55 for an economy saloon (Transfeero) and €181.32 for a four-passenger car (Suntransfers). Confirm these prices before booking.

6. Budget: what’s free, what isn’t, and what’s still unpublished

Seeing the tree from the town costs nothing. The other items are in different positions: some have a price, others have no published price as of the date we checked. The table shows the status of the information, without rounding it off.

Source: alberodigubbio.com, gubbionatale.it, Lonely Planet France, and search results from Transfeero and Suntransfers, checked on 22 October 2026.

For adopting a light, the committee has set the opening for Wednesday 25 November 2026 at noon. The purchase takes about three minutes, then an email arrives with an image of the light you adopted. No price was displayed when we checked, so don’t rely on any amount you find elsewhere before then.

For accommodation, we found no dated rates for December 2026. Gubbio è Natale runs from 21 November 2026 to 6 January 2027, so book early if you’re staying on 7 December.

7. How a 7 December evening could go

This plan is built on the times we found. It is not based on an official programme for the 2026 ceremony, which has not been published.

• Late afternoon: arrive in Gubbio, park outside the centre, where traffic is restricted, then walk in.
• Before 5 pm: if you want to ride up to Colle Eletto, do it before the afternoon service ends, listed at 5 pm on the undated italia.it page.
• At the ceremony: the time is still to be confirmed. Follow the committee’s updates on alberodigubbio.com. The question of a live broadcast is covered in the “What other guides don’t tell you” section.
• After the ceremony: have dinner in town, allowing for train or bus times if you’re heading back that evening.

8. Depending on who you’re travelling with

Families. The Christmas market, the big wheel and ChristmasLand were part of Gubbio è Natale in 2025-26, according to Umbria Tourism. The detailed 2026-27 programme isn’t published yet. The cable car, if it runs in daylight, adds a day trip. Plan to walk back if the ride doesn’t fall at the right time.

Couples. The night view from the town or the plain is enough for an evening. The lighting needs no ticket, so your dinner budget stays intact.

First-time visitors. Arrive before 5 pm, start in the town, then head down to the plain if the crowds get to you. Don’t count on the cable car as a night-time viewpoint.

Reduced mobility. We haven’t checked whether the cable car or the streets of the centre are accessible. Contact the tourist office (IAT, Via della Repubblica 15) before you visit.

What other guides don’t tell you

• The height varies by source. Older pages still give 650 m (an Italian Traditions article from 2021 and an old version of the French Wikipedia article). The committee gives 750 m in its project presentation, and 800 m in its website footer and its 3 September 2026 statement (alberodigubbio.com, checked on 22 October 2026). Until the committee settles it, “between 750 and 800 metres according to the committee” is the most accurate wording.
• The 2024 ceremony was broadcast live. According to the Comune di Gubbio, the livestream ran on the committee’s Facebook, YouTube and Instagram pages, and on channel 13 of the local TV station TRG. No source we checked on 22 October 2026 confirms a livestream for 2026: check the committee’s social channels on the day.
• The Assisi tour has practical conditions the tree doesn’t come with. No official source we checked on 22 October 2026 mentions this tour. Its conditions (meeting point, headsets, cancellation) come from the Viator listing and reviews, and are summarised in section 1.