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Best European Christmas markets
It’s that wonderful time of the year, when usually dour and grey city streets turn overnight into winter wonderlands full of spectacle, lights, decorations, entertainment, street food, full of smells of cinnamon and mulled wine.
Celebration of the winter holiday season is an important event for most cities, offering plenty of opportunities to create a warm and festive atmosphere during long winter nights. For the citizens, it offers an opportunity to enjoy their time outside in the city, even during the coldest weather, bringing together neighbours and friends to enjoy the festivities, socialise and reconnect, making the city a warmer place not just in the streets, but also in our hearts.
For cities themselves, the season is an opportunity to attract tourists from all over the world, competing with other cities for the most interesting, most impressive, the most lavish or even the most humble of events, and also to present the spirit of their cities – and the holidays their citizens celebrate – in the best possible light.
Christmas markets all over Europe are also a great opportunity for commerce, attracting numerous local small entrepreneurs, craftsmen, artists, farmers, bakers and family firms, offering a range of products ranging from local food specialties to unique hand-made souvenirs and decorations.
It is no wonder that cities work hard to organise and hold the best Christmas market they can, with numerous media, journalists and critics rating their efforts on a yearly basis, including them in their prestigious lists of must-see Christmas destinations.
This year, we examined what some of the leading global outlets think are the best Christmas markets in Europe. We looked at the annual top lists from the Guardian,the Times, CNN Travel and Condé Nast Traveller, and included only the cities that appeared on more than one list.
What follows are some of the most wonderful Christmas markets to be found in European cities. Without declaring any of them better than the others, we chose to present them in alphabetical order.
Barcelona, Spain
(Listed by CNN and The Guardian)
Barcelona’s Fira de Santa Llucia has expanded through the centuries from a one-day event commemorating the feast day of Santa Llucia into a world-famous three-week fair. The bustling market is held right outside the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia, and offers everything from nativity decorations, handmade products and jewellery, musical instruments and numerous festive activities, ranging from a Christmas parade to an enormous pinata-style Christmas log that spills out gifts when beaten.
Basel, Switzerland
(Listed by CNN and The Times)
The biggest and probably the most beautiful Christmas market in Switzerland includes more than 160 decorated stalls offering everything from culinary delights to handmade wooden toys and jewellery. The fairy tale forest set in Munsterplatz, meanwhile, is filled with all sorts of fun festive activities for the youngest visitors, from star workshops to gingerbread and candle decoration.
Berlin, Germany
(Listed by CNN, The Times and The Guardian)
There are some 80 open-air winter street markets in the German capital, of which Gendarmenmarkt is probably the most famous, offering a plethora of arts and crafts. Berlin’s streets offer a more modern take on holiday traditions, with something for everyone, from a market intended specifically for dogs to the Potsdamer Platz’s Winter World, which is all about winter sports.
Brussels, Belgium
(Listed by CNN and The Times)
The capital of Belgium and the European Union truly comes to life during the festive season, with its Winter Wonders looking more like a festival than a traditional Christmas market. The seasonal extravaganza stretches across the Bourse, Place de la Monnaie, Grand Place, Place Sainte Catherine and Marché aux Poissons, offering light and sound shows, ice skating and fairground rides among some 200 stalls offering everything from mulled wine to Belgian beers and waffles.
Budapest, Hungary
(Listed by CNN, The Times and Condé Nast Traveller)
During the Budapest advent, an impressive light show graces the facade of St. Stephen’s Basilica each night, showing festive stories and religious scenes, while a nearby open-air winter market offers a rich mix of handmade Hungarian items and snacks at more than 160 stalls. Vorosmarty Square, in the very heart of the city, features a giant advent calendar and a variety of finest Hungarian cuisine.
Copenhagen, Denmark
(Listed by CNN, The Times and Condé Nast Traveller)
During the advent time, the capital of Denmark turns its historic Tivoli Gardens amusement park into an unforgettable Winter Wonderland, decorated with hundreds of thousands of twinkling lights, tens of thousands of Christmas baubles and 1,000 Christmas trees. The Wonderland offers fairground rides, a traditional Pixie Band, projected images of Christmas stories and numerous other wonders.
Gothenburg, Sweden
(Listed by The Times and The Guardian)
Like Copenhagen, Gothenburg turns its amusement park – the most popular in Sweden – into one of the most impressive open-air Christmas markets in the world. Paid entrance includes a visit to Santa’s wooden workshop, amusement rides, stalls serving smoked reindeer and mulled wine, and its visitors are welcome to stay until late night. More than 5 million Christmas lights decorating the park are – fittingly – powered by Liseberg park’s own wind turbine.
Helsinki, Finland
(Listed by CNN and Condé Nast Traveller)
A vintage carousel dominates the centre of the Finnish capital’s Tuomaan Markkinat, near the city’s Senate Square. It wouldn’t be a Scandinavian Christmas market without an obligatory wooden Santa cabin, while the food court offers a varied selection of the best Scandinavian delicacies, including glogi – Finland’s alcohol-free alternative to mulled wine.
Salzburg, Austria
(Listed by The Times and Condé Nast Traveller)
Mozart’s birthplace recreates its centuries-long history at winter time, with its numerous stalls and snow-sprinkled renditions of Silent Night appearing the same as they did when they were first set up in the 15th century. The time-travelling Austrian experience focuses more on quality than on quantity. The stalls offer hand-crafted items, gingerbread and schnapps, with a daily programme of musical events creating a vibrant and welcoming window into the past.
Strasbourg, France
(Listed by CNN and Condé Nast Traveller)
The oldest Christmas market in France – first held in 1570 – remains one of the country’s most beautiful, with a white Christmas tree, giant chandeliers and thousands of twinkling lights on facades of the city’s churches. More than 300 stalls line up in Cathedral Square and Place Broglie, selling hand-crafted decorations, blown-glass candles, traditional butter biscuits and a host of other delights.
Tallinn, Estonia
(Listed by CNN, The Times and Condé Nast Traveller)
The first Christmas tree raising ceremony in the Estonian capital took place as far back as 1441, marking the start of a tradition nearly six centuries old now. The surrounding Christmas market is one of the smallest on the list, with some 60-ish stalls, but it more than makes up for this in its spirit. The star of the festivities is the beautiful mediaeval town itself, as well as its brass bands, bell ringers and numerous dance troupes, and even Santa visits and greets the children, while riding a wooden reindeer sleigh.
Vienna, Austria
(Listed by CNN, The Times and The Guardian)
The Austrian capital showcases the incredible Mitteleuropa Christmas spirit, with the city becoming overtaken by numerous Christmas markets, icicles dangling from magnificent Habsburg-era architecture, the air filling with the smells of roasted chestnuts and freshly baked pretzels. The heart of Christmas in Vienna is the Wiener Christkindlmarkt, in front of the city’s Rathausplatz, where more than 150 stalls offer gingerbread cookies, Austrian sausages and homemade Christmas punch.
Zagreb, Croatia
(Listed by CNN, The Times, The Guardian and Condé Nast Traveller)
The Croatian capital was voted “best Christmas market destination” in online polls for three consecutive years, and it’s easy to see why. There are live nativity scenes, ice sculptures, outdoor concerts, pop-up bars, an ice rink covering one of the city’s largest squares, and parks full of revellers dancing in the streets. The city’s top restaurants open their stalls in the city’s markets, competing each year for the title of the best street food vendors. There are also hundreds of stalls offering handmade gifts, chocolate-covered traditional fried pastry, mulled wine and various other local specialties.
