---
title: "What to do in Santiago in January"
description: "What to do in Santiago de Compostela in January: the Three Kings parade, the sales, and the quietest and cheapest time of year to visit the city."
url: https://santiago.es/en/what-to-do-in/january
locale: en
---

# What to do in Santiago in January

Month by month

The coldest month of the year, with the Christmas lights still up for the first week.

![La torre del reloj Berenguela bajo la luna, grabado dorado](https://santiago.es/img/illus/berenguela.jpg)

[© santiago.es · Ilustración](https://santiago.es)

By [Cesar Rodriguez](https://santiago.es/en/author)

Christmas takes its leave of Santiago with the Three Kings parade on the evening of 5 January, when the Magi — and before them, in Galician tradition, the Apalpadora, the figure who hands out chestnuts and sweets around these dates — close a season that has kept the Praza da Quintana lit for weeks. From the 6th the city exhales: the lights come down, the stalls are packed away and the old town goes back to its ordinary rhythm, far quieter than December.

It is comfortably the coldest month of the year, around 8-11 °C on average, and one of the wettest, so it is not a season for outdoor plans. In exchange, January brings low-season prices: hotels and hostels drop their rates, there are no queues at the monuments, and the sales fill the shop windows along Rúa do Vilar and in the Ensanche.

If what you want is to see Santiago without the summer or Holy Year crowds, this is its month: the city looks the way it looks to the people who live in it all year round.

## What happens in January

**Three Kings parade** (5-6 January). Closes the Christmas season on the night of 5 January, with the lights in the centre staying on through the 6th.

## Things to do in January

- Catch the last days of the Christmas lights in the Praza da Quintana without December's crowds
- Museums and monuments at low-season prices and with no queues
- A caldo galego or a cocido in any casa de comidas in the old town
- The January sales in the shops of the Ensanche and Rúa do Vilar

The weather in January

Indicative temperature: **8-11 °C**. Rainfall: very high. See the [detailed forecast and the month-by-month record](https://santiago.es/en/weather) and, if the plan falls apart, [what to do when it rains](https://santiago.es/en/rainy-days).

For the full calendar of festivals and events, see [what’s on in Santiago](https://santiago.es/en/events).

## Other months

**[What to do in December](https://santiago.es/en/what-to-do-in/december)** — Previous month — Cold and wet, but the month when the old town looks its best, with the Christmas lights on. — Read the guide

**[What to do in February](https://santiago.es/en/what-to-do-in/february)** — Next month — Still properly winter, but the odd day of clear sun starts to break through. — Read the guide

**[Festivals and events in Santiago](https://santiago.es/en/events)** — Full calendar — The whole year, from the Apostle festival to Christmas in Compostela. — Read the guide