Christmas will officially begin in Swansea this weekend as the new festive Alpine Village will open to the public.
The attraction at Museum Park is an alternative to the city's annual Waterfront Winterland.
Swansea Council's delivery partner for the Waterfront Winterland, Sayers Events, will be laying on a number of attractions and festive food offerings to ensure we can still have a safe and fun festive experience.
Expect plenty of hand sanitiser, rides and a wooden Alpine bar area where you can sit in one of the lodges to eat with friends and family.
You can also relax and soak up the atmosphere with a Baileys hot chocolate or mulled wine.
Instead of an ice rink, this year there's a 120 metre-long one-way system ice walk for you to enjoy.
There will also be plenty of heated outdoor seating to keep you warm.
The regular stalls are back selling hot drinks, Yorkshire pudding wraps, loaded fries, burgers and hot dogs.
And this year you can toast marshmallows on an open fire pit.
You will also find fairground rides with games stalls, a children’s reindeer sleigh ride and, of course, the 60ft Giant Wheel is back. There you can enjoy panoramic views across the city.
When does it open?
The festive Alpine Village will open from Saturday , November 14, at 12pm until Sunday, January 3 .
Opening times are as follows:
- Term time weekdays: 2pm – 10pm
- Weekends and School Holidays: 12pm – 10pm
- Christmas Eve: 11am – 7pm
- Christmas Day: Closed
- Boxing Day: Closed
- New Years Eve: 11am – 10pm
- New Years Day: 12pm – 7pm
First look inside Christmas in the castle:
Do I need to book tickets?
Tickets must be pre-booked for the Ice Walk and they are not available on site.
In order to ensure that the Ice Walk is opened in a phased, safe manner, it will be open from Thursday, November 19 .
Bookings are limited to 4 people and sessions are 45 minutes long.
And they will be offering buy one get one free tickets Monday – Thursday, from 2-4pm, until December 17.
You can book tickets here.
How do I get into the Alpine Village?
The Alpine Village will be separated into 3 distinct zones – the Ice Walk, a seated food and drink area, and a fun zone with a children’s ride.
There will be separate entrances for each of the 3 zones of the Alpine Village and each will then follow a one-way system.
To allow for social distancing to take place, the number of visitors has to be managed to avoid overcrowding. As visitors cannot move freely around the site this year, it is likely that there will be queues at peak times.
Organisers are urging visitors to try and not visit during peak times.
Places to eat near where you live:
How do I order food and drinks?
Customers will be met at the entrance gate and shown to a table. Face masks are compulsory in this area, except when seated at the table. You will then order through the app and a full Protect, Track and Trace system will be in place.
The Giant Wheel, children’s ride, and funfair games stalls offer a takeaway zone - again there is a separate entrance located for this.
Is there an age limit to enter the Alpine Village?
Yes, anyone under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult to enter the Alpine Village.
All arrangements for the Alpine Village have been put in place to ensure the safety of members of the public and the attraction’s employees, and in compliance with the latest Welsh Government guidelines and legislation.
As well as the Alpine Village, Swansea Council and its partners will be offering Christmas lights, a Christmas market and Christmas trees in the city centre.
There will also be a virtual Christmas parade - which will broadcast on Sunday, November 15, ahead of the Christmas lights going on the following day.
