With Christmas traditions dating back over a millennium, the celebration of the festive season across Europe takes many glorious forms – each designed to fill participants with the goodwill, jollity, and peace of the Christmas spirit. December markets found their origins in Vienna as early as 1296 and this splendid Advent custom has spread around Europe across the centuries, each city creating unique spaces and celebrations at the heart of their destinations. A perfect opportunity to travel with family at the beginning of the school holidays or indeed as a romantic getaway, travellers have endless options at their fingertips to match their preferences for culture, festive customs, scenery – and of course local Christmas treats. Discover the best Christmas markets in Europe below.
AUSTRIA
As the location of the original December markets as long ago as the 13th century, there is nowhere more perfect to experience the magic of Advent than at a Christmas market in Austria. This enchanting tradition is perfectly complimented by Austria’s exceptional musical legacy. With composers from Schubert to Strauss and Müller to Mozart, you’re sure to find glorious festive music and carols filling the air, with concert abounding at the many royal palaces, cathedrals and concert halls across the country.
Austria’s capital city of Vienna provides a true chocolate box of delights with markets stretching across the city. The annual Christkindlmarkt is Vienna’s largest, picturesquely located in front of the Rathaus City Hall, where you’ll find over 100 stalls offering traditional gifts, glittering tree ornaments and mouth-watering treats, not to mention an outdoor ice rink across split levels that includes ice trails. However, as you meander the streets of the city through its glorious baroque architecture and into its medieval heart you will find smaller markets at almost every square. Be sure to pick up a mug of steaming gluhwein to keep out the cold – and with just a small deposit for each cup – these make the perfect souvenir should you choose to keep yours. A stay at the Hotel Sacher places you directly in the heart of the city opposite the Vienna State Opera where you’re sure to find a plethora of concerts, operas or ballets to perfectly compliment your days exploring the markets of the city.
A short train journey to Austria’s second city of Salzburg brings you to a gem-like destination, with the fairytale Fortress Hohensalzburg dominating the city skyline. Salzburg’s Christmas market is one of the oldest in the world and located in front of the venerable cathedral. As befitting Mozart’s birthplace, music forms a huge part of the atmosphere as you meander the stalls of crafts and culinary delights. Traditional music is performed three evenings a week, whilst a choir performs every Tuesday during advent, with the option for visitors to sing along should they so wish. Round off your stay with a festive Mozart dinner concert at the Mirabell Palace to feast all your senses in true Austrian style.
UNITED KINGDOM
Whilst the German-speaking countries of Middle Europe might lay claim to the original Christmas markets, their English-speaking counterparts in the UK have certainly embraced the tradition using sparkling festive lights, charming wooden chalets and dark night skies as the perfect setting from which to showcase the endless scenic vistas on offer in Britain’s historic towns and cities.
The Cotswolds has long been a favourite destination for visitors and weekend-breakers alike, and using the glorious Regency city of Bath as a base is the ideal location for a festive UK trip. With its honey-coloured stone, elegant Georgian squares and impressive Abbey at its centre, you’ll discover a town that bristles with holiday spirit. The Bath Christmas market is an annual institution, with twinkling lights and the cinnamon scent of mulled wine stretching from the Roman Baths via cobbled side streets and up to Queen Square, which will be familiar to avid viewers of Bridgerton for its perfect Regency architecture. Our ‘Bonnets and Bodices: in search of Bridgerton’s Britain’ itinerary could indeed be tailored to take place at Christmas-time. One of the best hotels close to Bath’s Christmas market is the Royal Crescent Hotel, which puts visitors within strolling distance of the annual ice rink as well as being a perfect location from which to explore the region. The nearby riverside town of Bradford-on-Avon boasts its own miniature Christmas market whilst the chocolate-box villages of the Cotswolds sparkle with Christmas lights and enormous bauble-covered trees at their centres.
A trip to the north of England is always a wonderful journey, but hopping on the train to the city of York in December is a particular festive treat. A stroll down the cobbled streets of the historic Shambles takes visitors straight into the pages of a Dickens novel and leading directly to the York’s own Christmas market! For guests seeking to venture further into the region, this marks the perfect starting point for our Great Northern Journey itinerary.
FRANCE
France traces its Christmas market origins to the city of Strasbourg, in the Alsace region, now known as the official European Capital of Christmas! The capital city of Paris however is well-renowned for its holiday traditions and the ideal base for festive French explorations. The iconic Haussman architecture glistens all year round, but amidst the dazzling displays, sparkling decorations and endless evergreens of December, the City of Lights truly comes to life.
The iconic hotel Le Bristol on the Avenue Faubourg St-Honoré is renowned for its annual Christmas lobby display making this the perfect place to call home in the city – or else just pop in to indulge in the hotel’s famed afternoon tea. Each year the city’s department stores compete with one another for ever more elaborate and impressive window displays, but be sure to step inside Galeries Lafayette whose Christmas tree rises to reach the top of the fabulous Art Nouveau Coupole, at a height of over 140 feet. Be sure to pop into one of the city’s beloved boulangeries to pick up a seasonal bouche de Noël, the delicious chocolate Yule Log cakes, or even take a class to learn how to create one for yourself.
Venturing further afield hop on board the TGV high speed train to the city of Strasbourg, thought to have the largest Christmas market in the world and truly a festive sight to behold, where decorations abound and lights twinkling through the medieval Old Town. For those wishing to treat the family to a pre-Christmas break our Festive France itinerary is the perfect place to start planning.
The biggest Christmas market in the South of France – Le Village de Noel – takes place in Nice from 1st December until 1st January in the central Jardin Albert 1er. The village hosts 60 chalets displaying a range of crafts with a Christmas theme, a tasting area, an ice rink, a Ferris wheel and the house of Father Christmas. Skies are surprisingly blue and temperatures mild, so there's opportunity for a celebratory drink at a beach bar with a seafood lunch. For gathering the family together, a private villa hits just the right note: Villa Malvan and La Bastide du Ciel make excellent venues, or for a blow out Christmas, consider Villa Napoleon.
HUNGARY
As the home of St Stephen and Good King Wenceslas, Hungary boasts Christmas traditions like no other, from Santa’s delivery of sweets on 6th December to the Luca-Day and Luca-Nap celebrations which nod to the pagan origins of the festivities. The Aria in Budapest brings the ancient heart of the city straight into the 21st century, celebrating its musical heritage, with Christmas being the ideal time to appreciate this at its best. Budapest’s Christmas markets are scattered throughout the city but what binds them altogether is the efforts to preserve original Hungarian folk art and to provide high quality handicrafts created by local artisans – in direct opposition to the commerciality often found in other destinations. Whilst the largest market is at Vörösmarty Square, the smaller Obuda Square – although much simpler in scope – will offer a more authentic experience to the north of the city. Here you’ll find ‘The Charity Tree’, a wooden construction containing a hollowed out space at its centre for reflection and contemplation, with the wood then donated to families in need at the end of the festive season.
Hungary’s culinary tradition of mouth-watering cakes and treats is in full force at Christmas-time. Traditional baked goods such as honeybread [a local twist on the ubiquitous gingerbread], jam-filled Linzertorte or the ‘snow-rolls’ of hókifli can be found throughout the markets or else at one of the many traditional bakeries and provide a sugary energy boost for weary festive explorers. During your visit, a performance of The Nutcracker ballet at the State Opera House is a must – the perfect musical accompaniment to your trip – and of course you can bring back the perfect memento in the form of a nutcracker from a glittering market stall.
ITALY
An Italian Christmas is a truly singular affair with a distinctly Roman flavour to everything from celebrations to culinary traditions. Although perhaps not the first thought on a Christmas tour of Europe, the proximity to the Austrian and Swiss borders and the beloved tradition of choral music emanating from the many cathedrals and churches of the country ensures a festive trip to Italy will fill visitors with the warmth of the season.
The most northernmost of the major cities is Milan, with a climate that can feel distinctly wintery in December, much befitting the festive surroundings. The city’s patron saint celebrates his feast day on 7th December and this is when celebrations officially commence – although decorations can be found throughout Milan beforehand. It is on this day that the impressive Christmas tree in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, the heart of the shopping triangle, is lit in all its glory. It is always a magnificent sight, so too is the one in the Piazza del Duomo where Milan’s Christmas market can also be found.
As Italy’s most famous festive culinary export, panettone is an essential item for your shopping list – and originating from Milan – this is the ideal place to locate the perfect sweetened loaf, studded with gem-like candied fruits and peel. Be sure to pop into the pocket-sized Pasticceria da Giacomo to make your selection.
For art lovers, Milan provides a feast for the eyes – and whilst the better-known Last Supper at the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie draws the crowds, for a true reminder of the magic of the Christmas story, be sure to see Pasqualotto’s majestic mural of the nativity scene.
