Best Christmas Markets to Add to Your Bucketlist
I attended my first ever European Christmas market in December 2019 and I absolutely fell in love with them. There is something so magical about getting a a nice warm cup of mulled wine and walking through the stands with a chill in the air. I was lucky enough to attend the Tallinn Christmas Market (Tallinn, Estonia), the Helsinki Christmas Market (Helsinki, Finland), and the Warsaw Christmas Market (Warsaw, Poland). Honestly, I loved every single one of them, you could probably go to any Christmas market and have a magical time, but here are the top rated European Christmas Markets to add to your bucket list.
Cologne, Germany Christmas Market
Cologne actually has multiple Christmas markets to choose from, and usually start running around late November right up until a few days before Christmas. The most popular one is set up right beside the beautiful cathedral.
Salzburg, Austria Christmas Market
They set up this market to look like they belong in the 15th century, which adds to the amazingness of the market. This market is also very well known for having small stands that sell homemade items versus larger stalls selling mass produced items. You also have the St. Wolfgang Christmas Market which is about an hour and a half drive away.
Berlin, Germany Christmas Market
No better Christmas market to find artsy gifts! Berlin actually has about 80 Christmas markets all throughout the city. They also have Winter World where you can go tobogganing, curling, as well as ice-skating.
Budapest, Hungry Christmas Market
This market is great for getting some Christmas shopping done as well as doing some ice-skating!
Strasbourg, France Christmas Market
Strasbourg has about 300 small Christmas markets throughout the whole city. These markets get very busy on the weekends and weekday evenings, so it’s best to try and go during the day.
Bratislava, Slovakia Christmas Market
This Christmas market is great for going shopping for loved ones or just grabbing a bite! They are known for having great pancakes, sausages, and different desserts.
Tallinn, Estonia Christmas Market
This is such an adorable little Christmas market. It’s much smaller than the others because Tallinn is a smaller city, but still so worth seeing.
Basel, Switzerland Christmas Market
This is the largest Christmas market in Switzerland. It’s filled with over 150 stalls that have homemade toys, jewelry, food, and more. They also have Münsterplatz’s fairytale forest for kids!
Zagreb, Croatia Christmas Market
This Christmas market has been rated the number one in Europe for three years in a row! Great market for delicious food, live music, and lots of stalls.
