Best time to go to San Jose, CA

Christmas Lights in San Jose 2024-2025

See the most sparkling Christmas lights in San Jose

Dates: late November–early January

If you are looking for remarkable family-friendly activities to get into the holiday spirit, Christmas lights in San Jose needs to become a part of your travel bucket list. This city knows how to warm your heart with millions of twinkling lights and breathtaking light displays.

San Jose Christmas lights drive-through (November 29, 2023–January 1, 2024)

Blinky’s Illuminated Holiday is a part of the Christmas in the Park—an annual holiday tradition in San Jose. It’s a dazzling drive-through that starts from San Jose History Park to Lake Cunningham Park. Featuring over 200,000 illuminations and cheerful Christmas sounds, it has a fair food festival at the end of the route, where you can enjoy holiday delicacies. The general admission charge is $30 per car, VIP tickets cost $75.

Willow Glen San Jose Christmas lights

Drive through Willow Glen, a neighborhood in San Jose, California, to dive into the holiday atmosphere. The locals come together and decorate their homes with hundreds of twinkling lights. There are many extraordinary themed homes and streets that whip up joyful emotions. You can start exploring this San Jose Christmas lights display at Glen Brook Avenue and let yourself get lost amongst the bright street lights.

San Jose Downtown Christmas lights

The streets of Downtown San Jose are filled with awe-inspiring Christmas light displays. For instance, you can take a walk down Santana Row, the Rodeo Drive of Silicon Valley, which is filled with thousands of flickering lights. Plaza de Cesar Chavez, an urban plaza and park in Downtown San Jose, is also worth your attention since it’s lined with amazingly decorated Christmas trees.

Mattos Orchard Lights

Mattos Orchard Lights is one of the biggest Christmas lights in San Jose, where you can enjoy thousands of lights synchronized to Christmas music. Every year, the Mattos family of San Jose, CA, turns their 30,000 sq feet (over 2,700 sq m) of apricot trees into a free home light display that is open from 5 pm to 10 pm daily during the holiday season.

Christmas lights near San Jose

If you’re looking for something remarkable outside San Jose, get in the car and drive to San Francisco, which is about 50 miles (80 km) away. This city knows how to celebrate life and create the most colorful Christmas displays. You can view the San Francisco Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony, which takes place in Union Square Park, or enjoy the Building Lighting Ceremony at Embarcadero Center. Just choose a spot, get a route on Google Maps, and let your hair down.

To get more information about ticket prices and the latest updates, go to External Resources. Besides, you can check the map suggesting the best accommodations nearby.

Last updated:
Authors: Olha Savych