Salzburg Christmas markets 2026: the Christkindlmarkt from 19 November, Hellbrunn, the fortress and Mirabellplatz, with the hours, the free Saturdays, the Adventsingen and Silent Night

💡 The Short Version: The Christkindlmarkt on the Domplatz and Residenzplatz runs from Thursday 19 November 2026 to 1 January 2027 and is free. Hellbrunn’s Adventzauber (19 November to 24 December) costs €8 until 19:00, Mirabellplatz runs to 31 December, and the fortress market is open on the Fridays to Sundays from 27 November to 20 December, plus 7 and 8 December. Public transport in the core zone is free on the Saturdays 28 November and 5, 12 and 19 December. Bring cash: card payment is not guaranteed at every stall. On 24 December the Christkindlmarkt closes at 15:00. Or book a tour: the Christmas concert at the fortressad is from €43 and the Mirabell Palace concertad from €39 (GetYourGuide).

⚠️ 24, 25 and 26 December. The Christkindlmarkt opens 9:00 to 15:00 on 24 December and 11:00 to 18:00 on 25 and 26 December. The Mirabellplatz market closes at 15:00 on 24 December and the fortress closes at 14:00. The Augustiner Bräustübl is shut on 24 and 25 December and on 31 December.

The markets, compared

The Christkindlmarkt

Domplatz, Residenzplatz and part of Kapitelplatz · 19 November 2026 to 1 January 2027 · free

The organiser, the Verein Salzburger Christkindlmarkt, opens it on Thursday 19 November at 10:00, with the tree lit from 18:00. It says around a million people visit a year and that the market has existed in its present form since 1974; the tourist board dates its roots to a late-15th-century market and counts about 100 stands.

The Christkindlmarkt at dusk, with the stalls strung with lights. Photo: Eweht, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

• Choirs sing at the market on weekdays at 17:00, on Fridays at 14:00 for children, and on Saturdays and Sundays at 15:00 and 17:00. The tower brass plays on Residenzplatz at 18:30 on the Thursdays 26 November and 3, 10 and 17 December and on the Saturdays 21 and 28 November and 5, 12 and 19 December.
• The Christkind appears on the Domplatz with four angels at 16:00 on the Advent Sundays, 29 November and 6, 13 and 20 December. Open singing runs on Tuesdays at 18:00 on 24 November and 1, 8, 15 and 22 December.
• Cash. Card payment is not guaranteed at every stall. Dogs are allowed on a lead and muzzled under the market rules from 1 November 2026.
• Free local transport on the Saturdays 28 November and 5, 12 and 19 December, in the core zone only. From the Hauptbahnhof, trolleybuses 3, 5 and 6 run to Rathaus, a few steps from the Alter Markt. The Park and Ride combination ticket is €15, with parking for one car and a day ticket for up to five people in zone S.
• The Neutor tunnel has been shut to cars, motorbikes and buses since 14 September 2026, and trolleybuses 1, 8, 10 and 22 are diverted via Mülln, until about the end of March 2027.
• The Eiszauber ice rink on Mozartplatz runs from 12 November 2026 to 31 January 2027, daily 10:00 to 22:00, at €6.50 for adults and €4.50 for under-18s. The Christmas-tree market on Residenzplatz is open daily 8:00 to 18:00 from 8 to 23 December.

Hellbrunn

Schloss Hellbrunn, Fürstenweg 37 · 19 November to 24 December 2026 · Tuesday to Friday 13:00 to 20:00, Saturday, Sunday and holidays 10:00 to 20:00 · €8 until 19:00

The market stands in front of the palace, with more than 700 conifers and 10,000 red balls, and the 24 windows of the façade become an Advent calendar. It is closed on Mondays except 21 December, and on 24 December it is open 10:00 to 14:00 and free. The €8 entry includes a hot-drink voucher, applies from Tuesday to Sunday until 19:00 and on Monday 21 December, and is free from 19:00 and for children up to 6. The trick-fountain grounds are open and free during the market, but the water mechanisms do not run, because of frost. Take bus 25 from the Hauptbahnhof: it runs every 10 minutes at weekends between 12:00 and 18:00. Parking at the palace is €3 for the first two hours and €10 a day. See Hellbrunn and the trick fountains for the season.

The Advent market at Hellbrunn after dark. Photo: MatthiasKabel, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.

The fortress market

Hohensalzburg Fortress courtyard · Fridays to Sundays 27 to 29 November, 4 to 6, 11 to 13 and 18 to 20 December, plus Monday 7 and Tuesday 8 December · 11:00 to 19:00

The footpath to the market and the courtyard are free; the funicular and the museum rooms cost extra. See Hohensalzburg Fortress tickets for the ticket that includes the funicular.

The city markets

The Christmas Wonder World is in the courtyards of the St. Peter Stiftskulinarium: see where to eat in Salzburg.

Stalls at the Mirabellplatz market. Photo: Eweht, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Concerts in Advent

The Salzburger Adventsingen

Grosses Festspielhaus · 27 November to 13 December 2026 · about 1 hour 40 minutes, no interval · €18 to €97

A staged oratorio of Advent folk music, new each year; the 2026 work is “Das große Geheimnis” by Hans Köhl and Shane Woodborne. Performances are on Friday 27 November at 19:30 (the premiere); Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 November, Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 December and Saturday 12 December at 14:00 and 17:30; Tuesday 8 December at 14:00; and Sunday 13 December at 14:00. The seven price categories are €97, €94, €84, €74, €64, €42 and €18, with no discounts for children or last-minute buyers. Tickets are at ticket.salzburgeradventsingen.at or on +43 662 843182. The organisation calls it a family event and welcomes dirndl and Tracht.

The Cathedral’s Advent concerts

Salzburg Cathedral · Friday 27 November and Saturdays 5, 12 and 19 December · 16:00 · about 45 minutes · adults €22

“Himmlische Klänge, Musica Coelestis”: a different ensemble each date with the Salzburg tower brass and the organ, in seating categories A and B. Ages 14 to 18 pay €11 and under-14s are free. See the Cathedral for its hours.

The fortress Advent concert

Hohensalzburg Fortress · from 20:00 · about 1.5 hours

Salzburg: Christmas/Advent Concert at Fortress Hohensalzburgad is run by Salzburger Festungskonzerte GmbH, from €43 on GetYourGuide, and includes the funicular up and down. It starts at 20:00, with two concerts at 17:00 and 20:00 on 25 December and 1 January, and the concert on 4 December 2026 starts at 18:00. The version with dinnerad is from €84 for 3.5 hours: a three-course menu in the fortress’s panorama restaurant, with a classic and a VIP menu. The concert is not suitable for people with mobility impairments. Mozart concerts in Salzburg compares the others.

Krampus and Perchten

The tourist board says the Krampus runs happen from the end of November to the beginning of January. The Christkindlmarkt’s own dates are Saturday 5 December, the Krampuslauf expected at 19:00 on the Domplatz stage; Sunday 6 December, the Nikolo and a children’s Krampus at 15:30; and Monday 21 December at 19:00, a Perchtenlauf for the first Rauhnacht. Hellbrunn runs a Krampus world inside the Adventzauber.

Silent Night

The carol was first performed on 24 December 1818 in the former St Nicholas church in Oberndorf. A memorial service in front of the Silent Night Chapel for Franz Xaver Gruber and Joseph Mohr takes place on 24 December at 17:00, ending with the carol in its original version for two voices, guitar and choir, after which visitors join in in their own language. The Salzburg Seenland tourist board says people gather from 16:45. The Salzburg Local Railway S1 runs from the Hauptbahnhof to Oberndorf in 26 minutes, every 30 minutes at :08 and :38 on an ordinary day. Mohr lived in Salzburg at Steingasse 31, on the right bank walk. Day trips from Salzburg has the other trips.

Weather and daylight

December’s mean temperature is 1.4°C, with a mean daily maximum of 4.7°C and 86.5 mm of rain, and the airport has snow cover on 10 days of the month, on GeoSphere Austria’s 1991 to 2020 normals for Salzburg. December is the darkest month, with 71 hours of sunshine against 212 in July. On 21 December the sun rises at about 7:53 and sets at about 16:17, so the lights are on by late afternoon: see the best time to visit Salzburg.

Plan the rest

Where to stay in Salzburg lists the hotels, and the old town is the place to be for the markets. Salzburg New Year’s Eve 2026 covers the last two days of the Christkindlmarkt, and 3 days in Salzburg fits the sights round the closed days. Salzburg public transport covers bus 25 to Hellbrunn and the hop-on hop-off bus the circuit. The right bank walk starts at the Mirabellplatz market. What to book before you go to Salzburg has the hours.

To set Salzburg’s Christmas against the other cities we cover, with each city’s dates, hours and the thing that decides a visit, see Christmas market cities compared.