Christmas markets

The Southbank Centre Winter Market, a Christmas market on Queen's Walk by the Thames, fills alpine-style chalets with street food stalls and pop-up bars from early November to early January.

TipVisit London's editors suggest weekday evenings after 7pm for the best atmosphere; Waterloo is the nearest Tube.

The Weihnachtsmarkt Schloss Schönbrunn fills the palace courtyard from 6 November to 6 January with about 90 stalls, from Punsch, Maroni and Strudel to crafts, and an ice rink.

Manchester spreads 210 stalls across ten city-centre sites from Albert Square to the Corn Exchange, with mulled wine and hot food from early November to just before Christmas.

TipAlbert Square and Cathedral Gardens stay open to 3 January when the other sites have closed; craft stalls open at 10:00 and food at 11:00.

Three-day German Christmas market at the Germania Society in Colerain Township, with mock turtle soup, wursts, pastries and Glühwein, 6 to 8 Nov 2026.

TipPayment at the gate is card only. Sunday is Family Day with free face painting and the shortest hours, 12:00 to 17:00.

Snowport turns 100 Seaport Blvd into a holiday market each November, with more than 125 small vendors and a 10,000 square foot food hall of about 20 food and drink stalls and holiday bars.

Tip2026 dates were not announced when we checked; the 2025 market ran 7 November to 28 December, with timed weekend tickets in the Seaport Insider app.

Bristol's Christmas Market runs from the start of November through the season in Broadmead, chalets of festive food around the Jager barn bar.

TipThe ski-gondola booths hire out for private groups; weekday evenings dodge the Saturday crowds.

Oslo's central Christmas market runs in Spikersuppa and along Karl Johans gate from 7 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, closed only on 24 December: gløgg huts, grilled julepølser and bratwurst, raclette and churros.

TipThe Spikersuppa rink beside the market is free to skate on from 11:00 to 21:00 and rents skates for 100 kroner; the gløgg huts are busiest after dark.

Distillery Winter Village, formerly the Toronto Christmas Market, fills the Distillery Historic District with food cabins, raclette, mulled wine and hot chocolate from 12 November 2026 to 3 January 2027.

The Norwegian cultural house on Westzeedijk holds its Christmas market over two long November weekends, with volunteer baking, waffles, coffee and Norwegian groceries alongside the craft stalls.

TipTwo weekends only, Thursday to Sunday; come for the waffle counter and the imported Norwegian groceries.

Open-air holiday market just north of Dupont Circle with 35-plus small businesses, mini donuts, candied nuts and hot chocolate, 12 Nov to 23 Dec.

TipMostly a gift market: eat in the neighbourhood restaurants a block away and use the stalls for hot drinks, mini donuts and edible gifts such as European cheeses and spices.

The Wiener Christkindlmarkt on Rathausplatz in Vienna is the city's largest Christmas market, the stalls and Bratwurst counters spread across the City Hall.

The Tivoli Christmas Market, branded Christmas in Tivoli, runs 13 November 2026 to 3 January 2027 in Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen, with snow-covered stalls, festive treats and Christmas rides.

The Spittelberg market runs through four Biedermeier lanes off the Burggasse, craft stalls packed between food counters serving Langos, Kaiserschmarren, Buchteln, Flammkuchen and hot punch.

TipThe lanes are one person wide and gridlock after 18:00 on Fridays; come before 16:00 on a weekday to eat standing.

The Vorosmarty Christmas Market runs since 1998 on Budapest's Vorosmarty ter with 150+ stalls of mulled wine, kurtoskalacs, langos and Hungarian sausage.

The market on the medieval Am Hof square carries a broader food range than most: Tyrolean Groestl, Alpine cheese, Langos and open sandwiches, plus punch, mulled wine and a champagne bar.

TipFood and drink counters serve an hour later than the craft stalls, so the square is calmest for eating after 21:00.

Art Advent in the Resselpark is the Vienna Advent market whose food stalls are certified organic, serving organic sausages, Kiachl, potato goulash and roast chestnuts beside a juried craft market.

TipOrganic sourcing puts prices above the other markets; the potato goulash and the Kiachl are the best value.

The market in the old general hospital courtyards is the student one, with food stands from Austria's provinces around a plaza of bar tables, punch, mulled wine, roast chestnuts and fried potatoes.

TipTuesday is the student night with cheaper punch; the courtyard restaurants take the overflow when the stands fill.

The Great Montreal Christmas Market sets about 40 chalets of Quebec artisans on Jeanne-Mance Street in the Quartier des spectacles, with hot mulled drinks, gourmet treats and free shows into January.

TipUntil 13 December it opens only Wednesday to Sunday, from 15:00 on weekdays; from 16 December it is open every day.

The Christmas market at Liseberg amusement park in November and December is one of Scandinavia's most celebrated, with 5 million lights, gloegg stalls.

Vienna's oldest Christmas market stands on the Freyung between the Schottenstift and the city palaces, with a farmers' section selling ham, cheese and regional wine beside the punch stalls.

TipCome on a weekday morning for the farmers' section: the better hams and Alpine cheeses are picked over by evening.

Edinburgh's Christmas fills East Princes Street Gardens with its traditional Christmas market, about 70 stalls with food huts and bars beneath the Scott Monument, free to enter and open until 22:00.

TipFree to enter and open daily 10:00 to 22:00; the LNER Big Wheel and the 80m Starflyer stand inside the market if you want the view before the mulled wine.

Wooden chalets fill Praca D. Pedro IV from mid November: Portuguese crafts, typical sweets and seasonal drinks, a Santa's house, a free electric train and a parade through the Baixa at 17h00.

TipFree to enter, and the electric Christmas train around the Baixa costs nothing either.

Florence's Christmas market fills Piazza Santa Croce with more than 50 wooden chalets from mid November, selling mulled wine, brezel, wurstel, strudel and Hungarian kurtoskalacs.

TipGo on a weekday evening. Stalls run 10:00 to 23:00 and the square is packed on December weekends.

Seven simultaneous Christmas markets running from mid November across the city centre, rated among the world's best. The Cathedral-side Roncalliplatz market.

Lille's Christmas village fills Place Rihour with chalets from mid November to the end of December, selling tartiflette, oysters, gingerbread and vin chaud under the Ferris wheel on the Grand Place.

TipOpen 11:00 to 20:30, until 22:00 on Fridays and Saturdays; 18:00 close on 24 December, shut on the 25th. Metro: Rihour.

A free entry Christmas market at the RDS in Ballsbridge with food and drink stalls, Bavarian style bars pouring mulled wine, a covered ice rink, fairground rides and live entertainment.

TipEntry costs nothing, but the ice rink is ticketed and busiest at weekends; skate on a weekday afternoon.

Avignon's release party for the new Côtes du Rhône vintage: a 6pm parade of wine brotherhoods to Place de l'Horloge, then growers pouring the new wines in the Christmas market chalets until 9pm.

TipThe 6 euro pass buys a glass and five tasting tokens; partner restaurants pour a free glass with any menu that evening.

Polarzauber is the indoor Christmas market in the main hall of Zurich's main station, about 110 stalls under the Lindt tree, with food stalls open until 22:00 or 23:00 and a fondue train.

TipThe Parsennbahn Fondue-Express, a cheese fondue dinner in a train carriage inside the hall, is reserved through the organiser for groups of 20 to 88.

The Vinohrady Christmas market on Namesti Miru opens about a week earlier than the central markets and closes on Christmas Eve. The most Czech-feeling Advent.

TipRun by the Vinohrady district; ends 24 December, not after New Year.

German-style Christmas market on Daley Plaza, held since 1997, with free entry, bratwurst, pretzels, roasted nuts and hot spiced wine from 20 Nov to 24 Dec.

TipWeeknight evenings after 18:00 are the easiest time to reach the Glühwein huts; Fridays and Saturdays stay open to 21:00 and fill fastest.

Munich's Christkindlmarkt fills Marienplatz and the Rindermarkt from late November to Christmas Eve, with Gluehwein, punch and gingerbread under the town hall balcony.

TipThe Christkindltram runs a circuit with mulled wine and gingerbread aboard; the market closes at 14:00 on 24 December.

Hamburg's Christmas markets fill Rathausmarkt, Jungfernstieg, Spitalerstrasse and Santa Pauli each November and December with Gluehwein and bratwurst stalls.

TipRathaus market is most central; Santa Pauli on the Reeperbahn is the adult, late-night market.

Wrocław's Christmas Market on the Rynek runs from November 21 through January 7: 150+ wooden chalets, a 24-meter Christmas tree, mulled wine, pierogi.

TipOpen daily 10:00 to 21:00 and free to enter; it closes on 24 and 25 December and on 1 January.

Warsaw's largest Christmas market fills Plac Defilad below the Palace of Culture with over 100 wooden stalls: grzaniec at 20 zl, hot chocolate at 23 zl, goulash and kebabs from 30 zl.

TipWeekday afternoons are the calm window. The 55 metre observation wheel is 45 zl and queues longest once it gets dark.

Free outdoor holiday market at St. Paul's Union Depot on five weekends, with Glühwein, raclette in lefse, pierogi, bratwurst and strudel, 20 Nov to 20 Dec.

TipIt opens Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays only. Heated tents sell Glühwein, and on Fridays and Saturdays an after-hours last call runs from 21:00 to 22:00.

Verona's Christmas markets, run with Nuremberg's Christkindlesmarkt, fill Piazza Bra, Piazza dei Signori and Piazza Sacco e Vanzetti at the Arsenale from late November until just after Christmas.

TipEvening visits are the busiest; look for mulled wine and local sweets from the stalls, and expect the last days to end on 27 or 28 December.

TwinkleTown fills Smithfield Square in Dublin 7 from 20 November to 31 December with a Christmas market, food and drink stalls, an ice rink and the Twinkle Tavern for winter warmers.

TipEntry is free, but ice skating and the Santo Panto are ticketed, so book those before you travel.

The Weihnachtsdorf returns to the square between the two museums in 2026 after a year off, with about 70 stalls selling Leberkaese, Langos, Lebkuchen, roast chestnuts, soups and punch.

TipIt runs to 26 December, one of the few Vienna markets still trading in the days after Christmas.

Winter Glow lights the Grote Markt and Simon Stevinplein in Bruges from late November into January, with wooden chalets selling gluhwein, stews and waffles.

The Wrigleyville branch of Chicago's Christkindlmarket fills Gallagher Way by Wrigley Field with German food and drink huts, free to enter, 20 Nov to 31 Dec.

TipMonday to Thursday it opens only at 15:00, so plan weekday visits for the evening; it is the one Chicago market still open between Christmas and New Year.

The Marché de Noël de Nantes takes Place Royale and Place du Commerce from late November, its chalets pouring vin chaud and roasting chestnuts.

TipThe chalets stay open to 21:30 from Monday to Saturday and to 20:00 on Sunday, with shorter hours over the Christmas week itself.

German-style holiday market run by the German American Chamber of Commerce since 1998, on Auraria Campus, free, with European food, 20 Nov to 23 Dec.

TipWeekdays open at 13:00; the Festival Hall tent stays open to 22:00 after the vendors close at 21:00, which suits a late Glühwein.

Lyon's main Christmas market fills Place Carnot by Perrache station with around 80 chalets of artisans, local producers and food stands, open daily from late November until Christmas Eve.

TipHours are cut around the Fête des Lumières (8 to 11 December) for security; go on a weekday lunchtime for the shortest queues at the food chalets.

Ticketed European-style Christmas market at Seattle Center by the Space Needle, with pretzels, stollen, kartoffelpuffer and roasted nuts, 20 Nov to 27 Dec.

TipDay passes are timed: arrive within your 30-minute slot, then stay as long as you like. Early-season weekdays open only at 16:00.

Jarmark Bożonarodzeniowy in Gdańsk runs late November through Christmas Eve on Targ Węglowy and surrounding squares. 80-plus stalls of smoked sausages.

TipBest weeknight after 18:00; weekends after 14:00 are jammed.

German-style Christmas market at LOVE Park and City Hall with 120-plus vendors, free entry, raclette, bratwurst, strudel and a beer garden, 21 Nov to 27 Dec.

TipThe market is closed 23 to 25 Nov and on Christmas Day. The City Hall Courtyard has seating for 100 next to the carousel, the warmest place to eat.

German Christmas market on Carter Green in Carmel, north of Indianapolis, with raclette, wurst, pretzels, Käsekuchen and Glühwein, 21 Nov to 24 Dec.

TipClosed Mondays and Tuesdays outside the last week before Christmas. Weekend shuttles are free, and the real-ice rink sits beside the huts.

Sapporo's winter illumination on Odori Park with the German Christmas Market (sister-city Munich) and food booths of glühwein, sausages and lebkuchen.

German Christmas market at the Inner Harbor, held since 2013, with 60-plus vendors, Glühwein, raclette, wurst, schnitzel and a swing grill, 21 Nov to 27 Dec.

TipIt is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays except 21 and 22 Dec. The big heated tent is where to eat on cold nights.

The Old Town market runs along the Miedzymurze wall walk from the Sigismund Column to Waski Dunaj, selling grilled sausage, oscypek with cranberry, bigos, pierogi and grzaniec from 20 zl.

TipGrzaniec and hot chocolate both start at 20 zl. Come after 16:00, when the wall walk is lit and the carol stage starts.

The Eixample's Christmas market, about a hundred stalls ringing the square in front of the Passio facade since 1962. One of its four sectors is food: honey, cheese, cured meats, crepes and churros.

TipIt runs at the same time as the Fira de Santa Llucia and is the one of the two with a food sector, plus a sweet stall for children.

Paris puts its Christmas market at the bottom of the Champs-Elysees from late November to early January, a run of chalets selling seasonal food and drink between the Rond-Point and Concorde.

TipMetro Champs-Elysees Clemenceau sits at the market end of the avenue; the Tuileries market runs separately and had not published its 2026 dates when this was checked.

Marseille's Christmas market sets about 40 wooden chalets along Quai de la Fraternite on the Vieux-Port, with festive food and gifts, beside the Foire aux Santons on the Quai du Port.

Frankfurt's Christmas market fills the Römerberg and beyond with over 230 stalls, hot apple wine and Bethmännchen through Advent and into Christmas week.

TipSkip mulled wine once for the hot apfelwein, the local move; the marzipan Bethmännchen travel home better than most market sweets.

Berlin's Gendarmenmarkt market runs between the concert hall and the two cathedrals from late November to New Year's Eve, with roasted almonds, chestnuts and mulled wine among the stalls.

TipEntry has carried a small charge in recent years; berlin.de had not published the 2026 hours or price when this was checked.

Tollwood Winter Festival on Munich's Theresienwiese is the city's alternative Christmas market, with international vegetarian street food and a daily concert.

The Marché de Noël de Reims fills the Promenades Jean-Louis Schneiter with about 150 chalets of regional specialities and gifts, a minute's walk from Reims Centre station.

TipEntry is free. In 2024 the chalets opened Tuesday to Thursday 11:00 to 21:00 and Monday from 14:00, and a 50-metre Ferris wheel stood on Place d'Erlon.

Marche de Noel du Capitole on Place du Capitole runs from late November to late December with around 100 white chalets in front of the Capitole town hall.

TipVisit weekday afternoons to avoid the weekend crowds; the foie gras chalet and the vin chaud stand are the canonical buys.

Bratislava Christmas Market on Hlavne and Hviezdoslavovo squares brings dozens of stalls of Slovak lokse, klobasa, vianocna kapustnica and varene vino.

TipThe Hlavne market is the main one; the Hviezdoslavovo branch is calmer and has the better lokse stand.

Skansen's Christmas market, held since 1903, opens Friday to Sunday on four weekends with about 70 stalls selling Christmas bread, herring, smoked fish and sausages, plus glögg and kolbullar.

TipThe market is inside the open-air museum, so it costs Skansen's normal entry; children and young people up to 15 get in free.

Riga's Old Town Christmas Market fills Doma laukums beneath the cathedral from 27 November 2026, with artisan gifts, Latvian gingerbread, hearty dishes and mulled wine.

TipThe piparkūkas stalls cluster on the Dome Square's western edge; arrive before sunset on weekends to beat the queue.

Advent in Split runs from late November to Epiphany across the Riva, Pjaca, Djardin park and Prokurative, where an ice rink sits among stalls selling fritule, mulled wine and prosciutto, with concerts most evenings.

TipOn 24 December the free Christmas Eve cod (bakalar) giveaway starts at 11:00 on Prokurative; the Riva stalls open around 11:00 daily.

Bordeaux's Christmas market fills place des Quinconces for a month with about 120 chalets, an alley of food terraces serving vin chaud, chestnuts and tartiflette, and a big wheel, daily to 21:30.

TipIt is open on 24 and 25 December too, 11:00 to 21:30, and entry is free.

The Riga Old Town Christmas Market runs on Doma Square from late November to early January, with 80 traders selling piparkūkas, mulled wine and smoked meats.

TipOpen daily through the run; weekends are busiest. The piparkūkas gingerbread and gluhwine stalls are the food anchors.

Barcelona's oldest Christmas fair, held in front of the cathedral since 1786. Around 215 stalls sell nativity figures, moss, tio logs and greenery, with music stalls selling simbombes.

TipThe four sectors here are pessebres, greenery, crafts and music, not food: buy neules and torro at the Sagrada Familia fair or a Gothic Quarter pastisseria.

Bucharest's Christmas Market fills Piata Constitutiei in front of the Parliament, expected from 28 November to 28 December 2026, with about 70 chalets of mulled wine, sarmale, cozonac and crafts.

TipFree entry; weekends fill quickly after sundown.

Portugal's largest Christmas market takes over Parque Eduardo VII from late November to early January, with a handicraft and food market of traditional sweets, hot drinks and street food beside the ferris wheel.

TipEntry to the park is free; the ferris wheel, the ice rink and the rides are each paid separately.

Navidad y Belenes in Seville is the city Christmas market and Belenes nativity-scene route across centro, with traditional polvorones, mantecados.

TipPolvorones and mantecados sell from late November; the roscon de reyes queue at La Campana starts forming at 08:00 on January 5th.

An 800 square metre tent in front of the Campo Pequeno arena holds about 80 Portuguese makers over two pre-Christmas weekends, the gourmet aisle stocked with wine, cheese, cured meats and jams.

TipIt opens for two separate weekends rather than straight through; check the dates before travelling.

Prague's flagship Christmas market runs on Old Town Square from late November to early January, with mulled wine, klobasa, fried cheese sandwiches, kolache.

TipOpen daily 10:00-22:00; the cheapest mulled wine is on the back side of the tree.

The Vilnius Christmas market runs from late November to late December in Cathedral Square, with wooden huts selling mulled wine, gingerbread.

TipOpen Mon-Wed 12:00-20:00, Thu 12:00-21:00, Fri-Sat 12:00-22:00, Sun 11:00-20:00. Tree stays through January 6.

Porto's Christmas market runs in the Jardim de Joao Chagas at the Cordoaria from late November, with stalls of traditional doces, charcutaria, wine and nuts plus crepes and hot chocolate cooked on site.

TipIt closes on 24 and 25 December. Go on a weekday, when doors open at 11:00 and the crepe and hot chocolate queues are short.

The Bucharest Downtown Christmas Market sits in Piața Universității, the smaller and more central counterpart to the Constituției market, with traditional.

TipFree entry; food trucks, carousel and a large Christmas tree anchor the central square.

The Wenceslas Square Christmas market joins the Old Town one with festive Czech food stalls every winter, late November to early January. The lower square.

TipThe upper square is under reconstruction in 2025 to 2026; head to the lower stalls.

Dijon's Christmas season: a chalet market from Place Darcy down rue de la Liberté, gourmet chalets and a rink on Place de la République, and a nightly sound-and-light show on the Palais des Ducs.

TipThe market opens weekdays from 10am and Mondays from 2pm; Friday and Saturday nocturnes run to 21h at Darcy and 22h at République.

Funchal's Christmas and New Year season runs street events all December, with a market selling Madeira wine and sugarcane honey, dawn masses followed by carne de vinha d'alhos, and a harbour fireworks show.

The Gentse Winterfeesten run 3 December 2026 to 3 January 2027 with more than 150 wooden huts from Sint-Baafsplein to Korenmarkt, selling snacks, mulled wine and crafts.

EatWarm jenever punch with Belgian chocolate: the classic winter combination at Sint-Baafsplein after dark.

TipThe village is smallest and most manageable on a weekday; weekends and public holidays draw the largest visitor numbers.

A gourmet fair in the Jan Garemijnzaal under the Belfry during the Christmas market, where French, Belgian, Italian, Spanish and Greek producers pour champagne and wine and sell cheese, charcuterie and preserves.

TipEntry is free and needs no invitation; buy the tasting glass at the door (€3, or €5 for two) and return it on exit. Tastings are free: you pay only for drinks and bottles you buy.

Winterlit lights the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica through December, a free weekend holiday market ringed by the district's outdoor dining.

TipMarkets run Friday afternoons and full weekend days on three December weekends; pair it with the seasonal ice rink on Arizona Avenue.

The Norsk Folkemuseum Christmas Fair at Bygdøy gathers Norwegian traditional food stalls across the open-air museum on the first two weekends of December. Lefse-baking demos, julegrøt, mulled gløgg and marzipan figures.

The Antwerp Christmas Market spans Grote Markt, Groenplaats and Handschoenmarkt from early December to early January. Around 100 stalls, glühwein, frites.

TipThe Ferris wheel returns to Steenplein each year. The hot chocolate stalls cluster near the cathedral.

The Saturday farmers market on Noordplein runs Christmas editions in December, with 35 to 45 growers, bakers, butchers and chefs selling direct, plus fire pits and roasted chestnuts.

TipGo early. The bakers sell out first and the market closes at 17:00, before the light goes.

A Christmas market planned along the quays of the Oude Haven, with about a hundred stalls of winter food, drink and gifts. The 2025 edition was called off and moved to December 2026.

TipThe organiser has not published the new dates yet, so check derotterdamsekerstmarkt.nl before you plan a December trip.