Bucharest to hang 6 million Christmas lights ahead of late-November market

Installation under way

Bucharest City Hall (PMB) says six million lights will decorate the capital's main boulevards this winter. The municipal company Iluminat Public București began fitting the decorations on the evening of Monday, 26 October, using items it already keeps in its depots, so no new materials are being bought. Crews work at night to avoid blocking traffic on busy arteries. In the first two nights they worked on Bulevardul Lascăr Catargiu and Șoseaua Kiseleff, and work continued on Șoseaua Kiseleff on the night of Wednesday, 28 October. In a Facebook post, the city hall described the setup.

The city hall wrote in its own words:

“We will have nets, strings of lights, sparkling icicles and giant globes, 80 cm in diameter.”

Route and schedule

After those first two streets, work moves in stages to Șoseaua Aviatorilor, Calea Victoriei, Bulevardul Regina Elisabeta, Bulevardul Magheru, Bulevardul I.C. Brătianu, Piața Romană and Piața Constituției. City hall says the ornamental network will be extended over the coming weeks to a long list of boulevards and squares it considers strategic junctions. The official timetable has the lights switched on at the end of November, alongside the big cultural events the city hall is organising for the winter holidays. The decorations are then to stay active into the first part of January, and Mediafax places the end of that period after the feast of St John the Baptist, which falls on 7 January.

Christmas market and programme

Libertatea reports that the Christmas Market Bucharest 2026 opens on 29 November and can be visited until 28 December. The event, organised by Bucharest City Hall, will run at three sites: the main market in Piața Constituției, Piața Universității and the area around the National Opera. The number of booths is given as more than 100. The Piața Constituției site will hold concerts, children's shows, Santa's house, a panoramic wheel, a carousel and the Christmas tree. A food zone is planned for Romanian dishes, sweets and handmade products. Performers at the previous edition included Theo Rose, Smiley, Connect-R, Lidia Buble and Loredana, while organisers have yet to publish the 2026 artist line-up. A skating rink could be added, but its presence still needs official confirmation.

The opening date is contested. City hall, Digi24 and Mediafax all tie the start of the lights and the market to 27 November, while Libertatea gives 29 November. The sources do not resolve the difference, and only the 27 November date appears in the city hall's own statement.

Trader fees

Traders are grouped into nine product categories, and the fee depends on what they sell. Crafts makers' products cost 5,000 lei, while handmade goods, objects by visual artists and natural care products cost 8,000 lei. Packaged food costs 13,000 lei, and coffee and auxiliary drinks, fast-food, desserts and food-truck operators pay 20,000 lei. Stalls for mulled wine and other drinks cost 35,000 lei, and those serving traditional food prepared on site pay the highest rate, 40,000 lei. The article states that these amounts apply for the full duration of the event.

Crafts makers' products5,000

Handmade, artists and natural care products8,000

Packaged food13,000

Coffee, fast-food, desserts and food trucks20,000

Mulled wine and drink stalls35,000

Traditional food cooked on site40,000

Crafts makers' products

5000 lei

Handmade, artists and natural care products

8000 lei

Packaged food

13000 lei

Coffee, fast-food, desserts and food trucks

20000 lei

Mulled wine and drink stalls

35000 lei

Traditional food cooked on site

40000 lei

Data from the article text

Open questions

Several details remain unconfirmed in the sources. The 2026 artist line-up has not been published, and the skating rink still needs official confirmation. The opening date differs between sources. City hall plans to extend the decorative network over the coming weeks, so more streets may be added to the list.