Precisely in these days, cities all over the world are preparing for Christmas, covering themselves with lights and decorations of every shape, color and size. But nothing really says Christmas like a big, festively decorated tree, which sparkles in the freezing night under the rapt gaze of passers-by. We have therefore drawn up a ranking of the 5 largest Christmas trees in the world, from shortest to tallest.
5. The Vilnius Christmas tree
Although not often part of the collective imagination, every year, starting from the end of November, Vilnius (Lithuania) and its Christmas trees are dressed in lights, colors and local traditions, lighting up the Cathedral Square in the historic center of the city.
Vilnius has been named European Capital of Christmas in 2025 by the European Capital of Christmas, an association officially recognized by the European Parliament.
Vilnius Christmas trees are often recognized and acclaimed internationally and each year adopt an original theme, such as fairy tales, sweets and clocks. This year the aesthetics will turn towards more traditional motifs, based on the colors red and gold, for a return to the authenticity and genuineness of the Christmas holidays desired by the local population
The tree, an authentic 20 meter tall fir tree, is decorated with 25,000 LED lights and placed at the center of a suspended platform to allow visitors to admire it up close, before strolling through the stalls of the Christmas market.
4. The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree
While not the largest on the planet, the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is certainly the best known. Set up in Manhattan (New York) usually at the beginning of December, it can be considered the icon par excellence of the Christmas period, not only for New Yorkers and Americans, but also for the rest of the world.
The media coverage of the accession ceremony (established for the first time in 1931) is truly impressive and we have all learned to recognize the tree and its almost dazzling brightness, thanks to films and TV series, among which one of the most beloved Christmas catchphrases certainly stands out: Mom, I missed the plane again: I got lost in New York.
The tree is usually between 25 and 30 meters high, is decorated with over 50,000 LED lights of all colors and is embellished with a sparkling Swarovski star that is visible even from a distance. The lighting ceremony, which officially kicks off the Christmas season, is broadcast live and attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors. The tree lights up New York evenings until mid-January.
3. Dortmund’s Christmas tree
In Dortmund, a German suburban city, it is possible to admire what the local administration defines as the largest natural Christmas tree in the world, made up of 1200 Norwegian fir trees and 45 meters high.
The tree is therefore a composition weighing approximately 40 tons and adorned with 140,000 LED lights and a luminous 4 meter high angel at the top. Given its grandeur, the tree is clearly visible from a distance from many points of the city.
This tree also decorates a square which is filled with Christmas-themed stalls and every day, at 5pm, an evocative light show entertains visitors.
2. Rio de Janeiro’s floating Christmas tree
Let’s move further south, to Latin America, where the evenings of the Christmas period are certainly milder than those in New York, to discover the spectacular floating Christmas tree in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Considered the largest floating Christmas tree in the world, this Christmas tree is set up in the bays and lagoons near Rio. It is supported by an 80 meter high metal structure, is decorated with more than two million lights and seems to literally float on the water, a hundred meters from the shore from which it can be observed in all its size and against the backdrop of a colorful fireworks display during the opening ceremony.
Although it is a much appreciated tradition, capable of attracting hundreds of thousands of curious people, its appearance over the years has been rather irregular.
1. The Gubbio Christmas tree
Let’s now play at home, with the famous Christmas tree of Gubbio (Perugia), which is in first place in the ranking of the tallest trees in the world. Between 7 December 2025 and 11 January 2026 we could visit this Christmas tree, built on the slopes of Mount Ingino which overlooks the municipality.
The tree is undoubtedly the largest in the world – over 750 meters high and 450 meters wide – since it is literally as big as a mountain: rather than a real tree we are talking about an installation capable of enchanting observers from a great distance. To understand how big it is, the tree far exceeds the Shanghai Tower in height, an iconic building that makes it immediately recognisable skyline of the Chinese city.
The “tree”, in fact, is made with over 300 light sources, entirely powered by renewable sources, of different colors and connected to each other by approximately 8,500 meters of electric cables: from the city walls almost to the top of the hill, the lights outline the perimeter of the tree, its internal decorations and the comet star at the top, forming the backdrop to the markets, nativity scenes and events of all kinds organized in the medieval village. Made for the first time in 1981, it is today a consolidated Umbrian Christmas tradition.
