In this guide
💡 The Short Version: The Tallinn Christmas Market runs from 20 November 2026 to 6 January 2027 on Town Hall Square, daily 10:00 to 20:00. Hot drinks are served until 22:00, and until 23:00 on Fridays and Saturdays. It is free to enter. The organisers’ reusable cups and plates carry a €2 deposit, refunded at a collection point. Santa Claus’s house is open daily from 12:00 to 18:00 from 29 November. The Old Town Ice Rink on Harju street opens on 14 November. Or book an activity: a gingerbread workshop in the Old Townad or a guided Old Town walking tourad is sold on GetYourGuide.
⚠️ Museums close on 24 and 25 December. Kumu and the Kadriorg Art Museum are shut from 24 to 26 December, Kiek in de Kök on 24 and 25 December, Seaplane Harbour on 24 December and 1 January. On 31 December Kumu is closed and Kiek in de Kök closes three hours early. The table below has the details.
The market
The market on Raekoja plats opens for the 26th time on 20 November 2026 at 18:00, when the Christmas lights on the tree go on. On the first Sunday of Advent, 29 November, the Mayor of Tallinn and the Dean of Tallinn Cathedral light the Advent candle, and Santa Claus opens his house to children daily from 12:00 to 18:00.
| Dates | 20 November 2026 to the evening of 6 January 2027 |
| Hours | Every day 10:00 to 20:00 |
| Drinks | Hot drinks until 22:00, and until 23:00 on Fridays and Saturdays |
| Where | Town Hall Square (Raekoja plats), Old Town |
| Entry | Free |
| Cup and plate deposit | €2, refunded at the collection point when you return the tableware |
On Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays a stage programme of music groups, folk dancers and other performers runs on the square, and there are carousels for children. The market is open on 31 December, when it welcomes the New Year.
Christmas market, Town Hall Square. Photo: Ypsilon from Finland, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.
What the market sells
The organiser lists:
- Glögg: dozens of varieties, with and without alcohol, including cranberry-cherry, Setomaa raspberry-blackcurrant and pumpkin, and a spiced wine made to a medieval recipe.
- Food: sauerkraut, blood sausages and Christmas roasts cooked on site, plus elk sausages, lamb chops, duck confit and slow-cooked pork belly. Everything can be eaten on site or taken away.
- Sweets: the Sweet House sells cinnamon and cardamom buns and decorated gingerbread. Other huts have lollipops, pancakes and handmade truffles.
- Crafts: candles, Christmas decorations, sweaters, hats and socks made from dog and alpaca wool, with the emphasis in 2026 on local artists and craftspeople.
The Tallinn tourist board’s pages on the market are at visittallinn.ee, and the organiser’s site is christmasmarket.ee.
Or book an activity
Two activities from GetYourGuide fit a winter visit.
Local gingerbread workshop in the Old Town
From €49 · 4.6 stars from 9 reviews · 2 hours · bake and decorate your own
The Tallinn: Local Gingerbread Workshop in the Old Townad has you make your own dough, bake traditional Estonian biscuits and decorate them. Book at least 10 hours ahead; free cancellation is shown.
Guided Tallinn Old Town walking tour
From €14 · 4.9 stars from 310 reviews · 1 hour · private option available
The Guided Tallinn Old Town Walking Tourad is a one-hour walk through the cobbled streets with a local guide. Book at least 2 hours ahead; free cancellation is shown.
The tree
Visit Tallinn says the tradition goes back to 1441, when the Brotherhood of Black Heads put a Christmas tree on Town Hall Square. Historian Jüri Kuuskemaa found a document of 1441 in the city archive showing that the city council paid musicians who played by the tree on 25 December. The market’s organisers call it the world’s first public Christmas tree.
Each year the city picks the tree in a contest. It should be 15 to 18 metres tall, symmetrical and dense.
Town Hall and market lights at night. Photo: Liilia Moroz, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
What is open at Christmas and New Year
| Sight | 23 December | 24 December | 25 and 26 December | 31 December | 1 January |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kumu | 10:00 to 15:00 | Closed | Closed | Closed | Closed |
| Kadriorg Art Museum | 10:00 to 15:00 | Closed | Closed | Closed | Closed |
| Seaplane Harbour | 10:00 to 17:00 | Closed | 10:00 to 17:00 | 10:00 to 17:00 | Closed |
| Kiek in de Kök | Closes 3 hours early | Closed | Closed | Closes 3 hours early | Closed |
| Balti Jaama Turg | Normal | Closes 17:00 | Closed 25th | Normal | Normal |
The Town Hall is open to walk-in visitors only from 28 to 30 December (11:00 to 16:00), and its tower is closed in winter. The TV Tower and the free viewpoints on Toompea stay open; St. Olaf’s tower is shut from November to March. Parliament tours for individual visitors pause from 6 November 2026 to 2 April 2027; see Toompea Castle and Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.
Skating
The Old Town Ice Rink (Uisupark) is on Harju street 32, next to St. Nicholas’ Church. It opens on 14 November 2026 at 12:00 and closes in March or early April.
| Monday to Thursday | Friday to Sunday | |
|---|---|---|
| 60-minute ticket | €9.20 | €11.40 |
| Reduced ticket (ages 4 to 15 and seniors) | €7.10 | €9.20 |
- Higher prices apply from 21 December to 3 January.
- Skate hire is €6 for 60 minutes. Helmets are free, and children up to 3 skate free.
- Lockers cost €3.
The same operator runs rinks at Tondiraba Park in Lasnamäe and Männi Park in Mustamäe (daily 10:00 to 21:00) and in Nõmme (from 21 November).
Saunas and other winter things
- Iglupark in Noblessner has private saunas bookable from 11:00 to 23:00 for at least two hours, and a communal sauna every day from 08:30 to 12:00.
- Põhjala Tap Room rents a private sauna for up to 8 people during opening hours. It is closed on Mondays; see Tallinn craft beer and bars.
- Kalma Sauna in Kalamaja is one of the city’s oldest public saunas, completed in 1928. The men’s and women’s saunas are open every day.
- Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF): 6 to 22 November 2026.
Christmas tree, Town Hall Square. Photo: Marmuras, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.
Weather and daylight
The average daily high is 4.1°C in November, 1.2°C in December and -0.7°C in January. On 21 December 2026 the sun rises at 09:18 and sets at 15:21. See best time to visit Tallinn for monthly figures.
Plan the rest
Eat at one of the places in where to eat in Tallinn, and stay near the square using where to stay in Tallinn. Safety in the cold is covered in is Tallinn safe, and trams and buses in public transport in Tallinn.
To set the Tallinn market beside the other cities’, see the Christmas market cities, and for Tallinn against Helsinki, Helsinki vs Tallinn. For Tallinn against Riga, see Tallinn vs Riga.
Common questions
When is the Tallinn Christmas Market in 2026?
From 20 November 2026 to the evening of 6 January 2027. It opens on 20 November at 18:00, when the Christmas lights on the tree are switched on, and it is open every day from 10:00 to 20:00. Hot drinks are served until 22:00, and until 23:00 on Fridays and Saturdays.
Where is the Tallinn Christmas Market?
On Raekoja plats (Town Hall Square) in the Old Town, around the Christmas tree, in front of the Town Hall.
Did Tallinn have the world's first public Christmas tree?
The market's organisers call it the world's first public Christmas tree. Visit Tallinn says that in 1441 the Brotherhood of Black Heads put a tree on Town Hall Square, and that the city archive holds a document showing the council paid musicians to play by the tree on 25 December that year.
Is there an ice rink in the Old Town?
Yes. The Old Town Ice Rink at Harju 32 opens on 14 November 2026 at 12:00 and closes in March or early April. A 60-minute ticket is €9.20 Monday to Thursday and €11.40 Friday to Sunday, with higher prices from 21 December to 3 January. Skate hire is €6.
What is open on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Tallinn?
Kumu and the Kadriorg Art Museum are closed from 24 to 26 December, Kiek in de Kök is closed on 24 and 25 December, and Seaplane Harbour is closed on 24 December and open 10:00 to 17:00 on 25 and 26 December. Balti Jaama Turg closes at 17:00 on 24 December and is closed on 25 December. The Christmas market is open daily.
