Christmas market cities in Europe compared: 2026 dates, hours, food and which city suits whom

💡 The Short Version: The first markets open on 6 November 2026 (Vienna, Copenhagen) and the last of the big ones on 28 November (Prague). Most are over by 24 December. Our judgement, not a ranking: Munich and Prague for one large market in a historic centre; Vienna and Berlin for a choice of many markets in one city; Budapest and Salzburg for markets that run to 1 January; Brussels for evenings, when the sound and light show runs on the Grand-Place; Copenhagen and Stockholm for a market with a park or an open-air museum round it; Edinburgh for rides; Tallinn for a free market on the Old Town’s main square that runs to 6 January; Oslo for a free market with an ice rink on Spikersuppa from 7 November; Riga for a free market on Dome Square that is open on Christmas Day; Vilnius for a market on Cathedral Square that is open on Christmas Day, with a tree that stays to 6 January. Or book a tour: a guided walk through three or four markets with tastings is from 2,077 CZK in Prague, 33,055 HUF in Budapest and €55 in Munich, and it saves choosing between 13 markets in Vienna or more than a hundred in Berlin.

⚠️ Christmas Eve to 26 December. Most markets shut before Christmas Day. Vienna’s mostly close on 23 December, Copenhagen’s street markets on 21 December, Helsinki’s on 22 December, and Munich’s Christkindlmarkt at 14:00 on 24 December. Still open on 25 December: Budapest, Salzburg, Brussels, Berlin’s Charlottenburg Palace, Tivoli, Oslo’s Jul i Vinterland (closed on the 24th), Riga’s market and Vilnius’s market (closes at 17:00 on the 24th), and Prague’s two big markets, whose 2026 hours are not published. Edinburgh’s market is closed that day.

The cities side by side

The cities are listed by opening day. Each is a link to the city’s own guide, and the dates and hours are the organisers’ for 2026.

Some listings give other dates. Budapest’s markets are given as opening on 27 or 28 November, but the organisers’ own pages say 13 November (Vörösmarty Square, St Stephen’s Basilica). Prague’s Old Town Square market is given as opening on 20 November, which is the date Náměstí Míru opens; the organiser’s date for Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square is 28 November (trhypraha.cz). Berlin’s first markets open on 31 October, but the large central ones open on 23 November.

Entry is charged at Gendarmenmarkt in Berlin (€2), Tivoli in Copenhagen (from DKK 210), Skansen in Stockholm (a Skansen ticket), Hellbrunn near Salzburg (€8 until 19:00) and Everwinter in Dublin.

Book a market tour

A guided walk covers three or four markets in two to four hours and includes tastings of the local food and drink. In Vienna, with 13 markets, and in Berlin, which counts over a hundred, it also settles which to visit. Prices are GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” prices for one adult, in the local currency.

The tours are small and some have few reviews: Budapest’s walk has 8, Vienna’s 14.

Choosing by the date you can travel

• Before 20 November. Vienna (Schönbrunn and Stephansplatz from 6 November, Rathausplatz from 13 November), Copenhagen (Nytorv and Gammeltorv from 6 November, Tivoli from 13 November), Oslo (7 November), Budapest (13 November), Edinburgh (14 November) and Berlin’s Humboldt Forum market (18 November).
• From 28 November. Every market in this guide is open, apart from Madrid’s, which the organiser gives as opening in late November. Prague’s is the last to open.
• 24 to 26 December. Budapest, Salzburg, Brussels, Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin and Tivoli are open at reduced hours; Oslo’s is closed on the 24th and open 11:00 to 20:00 on the 25th and 26th; Tallinn’s runs every day; Riga’s closes at 20:00 on the 24th and is open 10:00 to 21:00 on the 25th; Vilnius’s closes at 17:00 on the 24th and is open 12:00 to 21:00 on the 25th and 26th; Edinburgh’s closes on the 25th; Bratislava’s is closed on the 24th and 25th. Helsinki’s ended on 22 December. See the warning above.
• After Christmas. Gendarmenmarkt in Berlin runs to 31 December, Budapest’s Vörösmarty Square to 31 December and the Basilica to 1 January, Salzburg’s Christkindlmarkt to 1 January, Brussels, Bruges, Bratislava, Edinburgh, Oslo, Riga and Tivoli to 3 January and Tallinn and Prague to 6 January. Vilnius’s market ended on 27 December, but its tree stands to 6 January and its ice rink to 25 January.

Cities where the market is the main event

This grouping is our judgement. In these cities a market, or a cluster of them, organises the visit.

Vienna

Rathausplatz and 12 other markets · 6 November to 26 December · Rathausplatz daily 10:00 to 22:00

Order a punch or mulled wine at one of the four markets run by weihnachtsmarkt.at, where the red-boot mug is glass in 2026 and you get a deposit back when you return it. The Rathausplatz market stands in front of the City Hall with a 12 m carousel and an ice rink round the park paths; Schönbrunn fills the palace courtyard and is free to enter; the Belvedere market has jazz and electro swing from 18:00; Spittelberg is a craft market in Biedermeier lanes that opens at 14:00 on weekdays. Most of the 13 markets close on 23 December, so a trip on 24 or 25 December finds only Rathausplatz, Stephansplatz, Maria-Theresien-Platz and Schwarzenbergplatz (to 26 December), the Belvedere (to 31 December) and Schönbrunn and the Prater (to 6 January 2027).

Spittelberg, Vienna. Photo: Geolina163, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Vienna lists what to book; Vienna Christmas markets has the dates and hours of all 13.

Prague

Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square · 28 November 2026 to 6 January 2027 · daily 10:00 to 22:00

Prague City Tourism calls the Old Town Square market one of the largest Christmas events in the Czech Republic; it has a stage and a daily programme, and the tree is lit on 28 November. The Wenceslas Square market is wooden huts along the lower end of the square with crafts and mulled wine. Order sausages, trdelník, a sweet pastry baked on a spit, or the oysters and snails that the Czech tourist portal lists among the Old Town Square food. The smaller markets at Náměstí Míru (from 20 November) and Náměstí Republiky (from 25 November) close on 24 December. The organiser has not published the Christmas Eve hours for 2026; in 2024 the two big markets opened from 10:00 to 14:00 on 24 December.

Wenceslas Square, Prague. Photo: VitVit, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Prague lists what to book; Prague Christmas markets has the hours and what closes over Christmas.

Budapest

Vörösmarty Square and St Stephen’s Basilica · 13 November 2026 to 1 January 2027 · both free

Order kürtőskalács, a chimney cake of yeast dough baked on a spit and rolled in sugar, and bejgli, the rolled Christmas pastry with a poppy-seed or walnut filling; the Basilica market lists nearly a hundred Hungarian craft exhibitors. On the Basilica’s façade a light painting is projected every afternoon at 17:30, and the sun has set by then. Both markets close at 14:00 or 15:00 on 24 December, and Vörösmarty Square’s craft stalls leave on 28 December, but both open from 11:00 to 03:00 on 31 December.

St Stephen’s Basilica market, Budapest. Photo: Karl Gruber, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 at.

Budapest lists what to book; Budapest Christmas markets has the hours from Christmas Eve to 1 January.

Munich

Marienplatz · 20 November to 24 December 2026 · Monday to Saturday 10:00 to 21:00, Sunday 10:00 to 20:00 · free

The city’s own Christkindlmarkt has 137 stalls and had 3.1 million visitors in each of 2023 and 2024, according to the organiser. Order Glühwein, mulled wine, and look for the Kripperlmarkt by the Alter Peter, which sells nativity scenes. Beside it are a medieval market on Wittelsbacherplatz, the queer Pink Christmas on Stephansplatz, the Residenz village from 16 November and Tollwood from 24 November. The Christkindlmarkt is closed on Sunday 22 November, and on 24 December it closes at 14:00; the Krampus run on Sunday 13 December draws up to 50,000 spectators.

Munich lists what to book; Munich Christmas markets has the dates for each of the markets.

Berlin

Gendarmenmarkt, Rotes Rathaus, Charlottenburg Palace and others · 23 November 2026 to 3 January 2027

Berlin’s own site counts over a hundred markets a year, so the choice is the visit. Gendarmenmarkt, between the French and German Cathedrals, charges €2 (free from Monday to Friday between 11:00 and 14:00) and runs to 31 December. The Rotes Rathaus market has a 50 m Ferris wheel; Charlottenburg Palace is free, with brass bands, and is open on 25 and 26 December; Lucia in the Kulturbrauerei is Scandinavian-themed, with open fires. Potsdamer Platz has a 12 m toboggan run and a hut selling Austrian food. Alexanderplatz and Charlottenburg end on 26 and 27 December, before Gendarmenmarkt.

Berlin lists what to book; Berlin Christmas markets has the hours of every large market.

Salzburg

Domplatz and Residenzplatz · 19 November 2026 to 1 January 2027 · free

The organiser says about a million people visit a year and that the market has stood in its present form since 1974; the tourist board counts about 100 stands. Choirs sing on weekdays at 17:00. Order mulled wine or punch at the Alter Markt charity market (€4.50) or hot mulled wine and grilled sausages on the Winterzauber terraces below the fortress. Hellbrunn’s Adventzauber costs €8 until 19:00 and includes a hot-drink voucher. Bring cash: card payment is not guaranteed at every stall. The Christkindlmarkt opens 9:00 to 15:00 on 24 December and 11:00 to 18:00 on 25 and 26 December, and public transport in the core zone is free on the Saturdays 28 November and 5, 12 and 19 December.

Salzburg lists what to book; Salzburg Christmas markets has the hours of all seven.

Brussels

Winter Wonders, city centre · 27 November 2026 to 3 January 2027 · daily 12:00 to 22:00

Belgian news sites report 238 chalets, 33 with a craftsmanship label, strung along a route from the Grand-Place to Place Poelaert. The Grand-Place has a sound and light show every evening until 22:00; Place De Brouckère has the ice rink and food chalets with covered terraces; Place de la Bourse is a village of Basque and Béarn food and craft, the guests of honour. On 24 and 31 December and 3 January the market closes at 18:00 and there is no show. The organiser publishes the programme and prices of the attractions from November.

Brussels lists what to book; Brussels Christmas market has the sites and the 24 and 25 December hours.

Bruges

Markt and Simon Stevinplein · 20 November 2026 to 3 January 2027 · Sunday to Thursday 11:00 to 22:00, Friday and Saturday 11:00 to 23:30

The city’s Winter Glow programme runs two markets in the centre, an ice rink in Koning Albert I-park (€9) with a winter bar beside it, and 19 shopping days with €1 return bus tickets. The Belfry and the museums close at 16:00 on 24 and 31 December.

Bruges lists what to book; Bruges Christmas market has the dates and hours.

Copenhagen

Nytorv and Gammeltorv, Højbro Plads and Tivoli · 6 November 2026 to 3 January 2027

Order gløgg, Danish mulled wine, at the Nytorv and Gammeltorv market on Strøget, which the organiser calls Denmark’s largest; the market, its ice rink and the skate hire are free. Højbro Plads has stalls from Denmark, the Faroe Islands and Greenland. Tivoli’s Christmas season has snow-covered stalls, Santa’s house and the Elf Train, and entrance is DKK 210 on a weekday and DKK 230 at weekends, with the Ride Pass in a DKK 389 or 429 bundle. The street markets have ended by 21 December, shops in the centre are shut on 24, 25 and 26 December, and Tivoli is closed on 24 December and open 11:00 to 23:00 on the 25th and 26th.

Copenhagen lists what to book; Copenhagen Christmas markets has the closures from 24 to 26 December.

Krakow

Main Market Square · planned from 27 November 2026 to 3 or 6 January 2027 · free · sales 10:00 to 20:00

The 2025 market had 105 kiosks on the Rynek, the main square. Order oscypek, a smoked sheep’s cheese grilled and served with cranberries, grzaniec galicyjski, Galician mulled wine, or mead; the stalls also sell pierogi, żurek, a sour rye soup, and kürtőskalács. The nativity-scene competition, in which makers build szopki shaped like many-towered palaces, is on Thursday 3 December. The organiser’s own wording for 2026 is “planned”. Since 1 September 2026 shops may not sell takeaway alcohol from 22:00 to 06:00, so a bottle for the evening has to be bought before 22:00; bars and restaurants are exempt (City of Kraków).

Krakow lists what to book; Krakow Christmas market has the programme.

Edinburgh

East Princes Street Gardens · 14 November 2026 to 3 January 2027 · daily 10:00 to 22:00 · free to enter

Chalets sell gifts, decorations, food and mulled wine below the Old Town skyline. The rides are paid: the Big Wheel is from £12 and the 80 m Star Flyer from £15.50, and the Polar Ice Bar on George Street, hand-carved ice at -8°C, is for adults only and from £16.50. The market, the wheel and the Star Flyer are closed on 25 December, as are Edinburgh Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse, and the organiser gives different hours on seven dates.

Edinburgh lists what to book; Christmas in Edinburgh has the season in dates.

Stockholm

Skansen · Fridays to Sundays, 27 November to 20 December 2026 · Friday and Saturday 10:00 to 17:00, Sunday 10:00 to 16:00

Skansen, an open-air museum of historic houses, has held its market since 1903, with bonfires, handicrafts, and waffles, mulled wine and roasted almonds. The Skansen ticket applies, from SEK 325 for an adult on GetYourGuide, and Skansen takes cards only. The Christmas buffet, the julbord, is the other Stockholm tradition: restaurants start serving it between 12 and 25 November, and Skansen’s Solliden restaurant charges from SEK 795 with entry included. Kungsträdgården has a free students’ market on Saturday 28 November.

Stockholm lists what to book; Stockholm Christmas markets has the julbord prices.

Oslo

Jul i Vinterland, Spikersuppa · 7 November 2026 to 3 January 2027 · free · closed on 24 December

Jul i Vinterland stands on Spikersuppa beside Karl Johans gate, with market stalls, a Ferris wheel called Reisen til Julestjernen, Santa and an ice rink; skates are rented behind the wheel. The rink opens on 27 or 28 November and may close without notice because of weather or ice quality. Hours are 12:00 to 20:00 Monday to Thursday, 12:00 to 21:00 on Friday, 10:00 to 21:00 on Saturday and 10:00 to 20:00 on Sunday; on 25 to 30 December it is open 11:00 to 20:00 and on 31 December 11:00 to 18:00. The Norsk Folkemuseum Christmas Fair is on 5, 6, 12 and 13 December, 10:00 to 16:00. The National Museum is closed from 24 to 26 December and on 31 December and 1 January.

Oslo lists what to book; Oslo in winter and Christmas has the hours for 24 December to 1 January.

Tallinn

Town Hall Square · 20 November 2026 to 6 January 2027 · daily 10:00 to 20:00 · free

The market opens for the 26th time at 18:00 on 20 November, when the lights on the tree go on, and its organisers call the tree the world’s first public Christmas tree, from 1441. Santa Claus’s house is open daily from 12:00 to 18:00 from 29 November. The organiser lists dozens of glögg varieties with and without alcohol, blood sausages and Christmas roasts cooked on site, elk sausages and, in the Sweet House, cinnamon and cardamom buns and gingerbread. Cups and plates carry a €2 deposit, refunded at a collection point. The Old Town Ice Rink on Harju street opens on 14 November, and a 60-minute ticket is €9.20 from Monday to Thursday and €11.40 from Friday to Sunday. Kumu, the Kadriorg Art Museum and Kiek in de Kök are closed on 24 and 25 December.

Tallinn lists what to book; Tallinn Christmas market and winter has the closures from 23 December to 1 January.

Helsinki

Tuomaan Markkinat, Senate Square · 27 November to 22 December 2026 · Monday to Thursday and Sunday 11:00 to 19:00, Friday and Saturday 11:00 to 20:00

The organisers call it the oldest outdoor Christmas market in Helsinki. It has craft stalls from small Finnish makers and a licensed food court; in 2025 nearly 30 restaurants and cafés served spiced Christmas porridge, lörtsy pastries, fish and game dishes and mulled wine, and the old-time carousel and admission were free. It ends on 22 December. Lux Helsinki, a light art festival, runs from 30 December 2026 to 6 January 2027. On 24 December HSL runs a Sunday timetable, with trams and R trains reduced from 16:00.

Helsinki lists what to book; Helsinki in winter and Christmas has the holiday hours.

Riga

Dome Square · 27 November 2026 to 3 January 2027 · Monday to Thursday 11:00 to 21:00, Friday and Saturday 10:00 to 22:00, Sunday 10:00 to 21:00 · free

The organisers say the market has been held since the year 2000. A DJ plays every Friday, choirs and music ensembles perform on Saturdays and folk music fills the market on Sundays. There is a Santa’s house where children can send letters to Lapland, and local artisans sell beeswax candles, wool socks and gloves and gingerbread; mulled wine is the drink of the market. Hours change at the holidays: 10:00 to 20:00 on 24 December, 10:00 to 21:00 on the 25th, 10:00 to 22:00 on the 26th, 10:00 to 02:00 on 31 December and 12:00 to 20:00 on 1 January. The Occupation Museum, the KGB Corner House, the National Museum of Art and Riga Castle are closed on 24 to 26 and 31 December and 1 January.

Riga lists what to book; Riga Christmas market and winter has the hours and the other events.

Warsaw

Plac Defilad · 20 November 2026 to 6 January 2027

The Warsaw Tourism Office lists over 200 exhibitors selling crafts, food and mulled drinks, a Santa’s house, a Venetian carousel and an observation tower ride, beside the Palace of Culture and Science. The palace says part of its car park is closed from 5 November 2026 to 16 January 2027 for the market. Wilanów holds its first Advent Market in the Orangery on 28 and 29 November, and its Royal Garden of Light is not held in 2026. The Palace of Culture terrace is closed on 24, 25 and 26 December.

Warsaw lists what to book; Warsaw Christmas market and winter has the dates and the closures.

Bratislava

Main Square and Hviezdoslav Square · 26 November 2026 to 3 January 2027 · daily 10:00 to 22:00, closed on 24 and 25 December

The official opening is at 18:00 on 26 November, when the tree lights go on in both squares. Main Square sells kapustnica, langos, bao and gyoza, with mead, mulled wine, grog and fruit wine, and a deposit cup system works at every stall. The Christmas Forest of children’s decorated trees stands on Primatial Square. Shops are shut on 24 to 26 December and 1 January. From Vienna, the Twin City Liner sails to the Old Town on Fridays to Sundays from 27 November to 20 December, from €28.

Bratislava lists what to book; Bratislava Christmas market has the hours and the food.

Vilnius

Cathedral Square · 28 November to 27 December 2026 · Monday to Wednesday 12:00 to 20:00, Thursday 12:00 to 21:00, Friday and Saturday 12:00 to 22:00, Sunday 11:00 to 20:00

The tree is lit on 28 November and stays on the square until 6 January 2027, and the city’s tourist board says the market sells souvenirs and festive hot chocolate. Hours change at the holidays: 11:00 to 17:00 on 24 December and 12:00 to 21:00 on the 25th and 26th. A two-storey carousel on the square runs to 6 January, a Christmas train circles the Old Town to 3 January and the ice rink on Town Hall Square is open from 29 November to 25 January. The Palace of the Grand Dukes is closed from 24 to 26 December.

Vilnius lists what to book; Vilnius Christmas market and winter has the hours and the other events.

Cities where Christmas is more than a market

This grouping is our judgement too. In these cities the market is one part of a programme of lights, rinks or a festival.

Dublin

TwinkleTown, Smithfield Square · 20 November to 31 December 2026 · Monday to Friday 11:00 to 21:00, Saturday and Sunday 10:00 to 21:00 · free

TwinkleTown is a funfair and market with a covered ice rink, a 33 m Big Wheel and the TwinkleTavern for food and drink; the rink is ticketed. A second TwinkleTown in St Patrick’s Park runs 27 November to 23 December. Everwinter at the RDS in Ballsbridge runs 25 November to 3 January 2027, charges for entry and is closed on Mondays. Wonderlights at Malahide Castle, a ticketed walk through more than a million lights, has an alpine-style village selling hot food and mulled wine. Dublin Castle’s Christmas market is not running in 2026.

Dublin lists what to book; Dublin Christmas markets has the rinks and the lights.

Nice

Village de Noël, Jardin Albert 1er and Place Masséna · 27 November 2026 to 3 January 2027 · free

More than 60 chalets, according to the tourist office, selling mulled wine, Christmas beers, cold meats and cheeses, with an oyster bar, a champagne bar, socca, a chickpea pancake, and waffles. The City has not published the opening hours. Nice’s December high averages 14.1°C; Krakow’s is 3.3°C, Vienna’s 4.0°C and Berlin’s 4.4°C, from each city’s best-time guide. The Matisse, Chagall, Lascaris, Photography and Archaeology museums are closed on 25 December and 1 January.

Nice lists what to book; Nice Christmas market has the closed days.

Madrid

Plaza Mayor · late November to 31 December 2026 · 10:00 to 21:00, to 22:00 on Fridays, Saturdays and holiday eves · free

The market has 104 stalls in the arcaded square, selling Nativity figures, decorations, musical instruments, toys and gag gifts,. The city’s lights burn from late November to 6 January, and the Christmas lottery draw is at the Teatro Real on 22 December, free, from 08:00. The Royal Palace is closed on 25 December and from 15:00 on 24 and 31 December.

Madrid lists what to book; Christmas in Madrid has the lights and the closures.

Reykjavik

Advent weekend markets from 29 November 2026 · the 13 Yule Lads from 12 December · Christmas begins at 18:00 on 24 December

Reykjavik’s Christmas is a programme more than a market. Visit Reykjavik lists a market at Austurvöllur and a seasonal rink at Ingólfstorg, and the Hafnarfjörður Christmas Village, about 20 minutes away on bus 1, is open Fridays 17:00 to 20:00 and Saturdays and Sundays 13:00 to 18:00 during Advent. Thirteen Yule Lads arrive one a night from 12 December, and on 23 December restaurants serve skata, fermented skate. The city pools close at 13:00 on 24 December and are shut on 25 December; the Blue Lagoon is open 08:00 to 16:00 on the 24th. The sun is up from about 11:23 to 15:31 on 24 December.

Reykjavik lists what to book; Christmas and New Year in Reykjavik has the Yule Lads, the food and the closures.

Amsterdam

Amsterdam Light Festival · 26 November 2026 to 17 January 2027 · lights on 16:30 to 23:00

A festival of light art along the canals, not a market. The art is free to see; the organiser sells the experiences, a 75-minute cruise or a 4.5 km walk with an app. Cruises on GetYourGuide are from €24, and several offer unlimited mulled wine, hot chocolate or beer as an upgrade. The Christmas Village on Museumplein, with more than 45 vendors, runs from 3 to 27 December and is free to enter.

Amsterdam lists what to book; Light Festival and Christmas in Amsterdam has the cruises and the closures.

Where to stay

The markets are in the old centres, so a room there puts the stalls within a walk. Each city’s guide compares the areas: Vienna, Prague, Budapest, Munich, Berlin, Salzburg, Brussels, Bruges, Copenhagen, Krakow, Edinburgh, Stockholm, Dublin, Nice, Madrid, Amsterdam, Oslo, Tallinn, Helsinki, Riga, Vilnius, Warsaw, Bratislava and Reykjavik.

Christmas in the other cities

The other cities on the site have their own Christmas pages: Paris, Milan, Florence, Rome, Naples, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Granada, Lisbon, Porto and Athens. For eating, see food city breaks; for a budget, see cheap city breaks in Europe. For the weather and what else is on in each month, see where to go each month; the other comparisons are on Compare cities. To choose between Prague and Budapest for the whole trip, not only the market, see Prague vs Budapest. For a winter evening for two in Vienna, Budapest or Prague, see romantic city breaks for couples. To choose between Helsinki and Tallinn for the whole trip, see Helsinki vs Tallinn, and between Tallinn and Riga, Tallinn vs Riga; between Bruges and Brussels, Bruges vs Brussels; and for the northern capitals in December, Scandinavian city breaks. Dubrovnik holds Advent u Gradu from 28 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, with concerts on the Stradun.