From fairy-lit squares in medieval cities to alpine villages and storybook towns, Europe's Christmas markets capture the magic of the season with timeless traditions, says Xenia Taliotis
This article was taken from the Christmas 2025 issue of Food and Travel. To subscribe today, click here.
Where to wander Each Christmas, Budapest fills with markets selling quality decorations and gifts and traditional food. Two of the most vaunted are located at Vörösmarty Square and St Stephen’s Basilica, running from 15 November until 31 December/ 1 January respectively. Started in 2011 by the National Association of Folk Artists to showcase their work, the Advent Fair at the Basilica is a great place to hunt for unique gifts that will outlive innumerable passing fads. It has more than 100 stalls, an ice rink and, best of all, a twice-hourly light show from 4.30pm, with animations projected on to the facade of the church. A short walk from there you’ll find Hungary’s oldest Christmas market, in Vörösmarty Square, with more than 150 stalls. You’ll find gifts for anyone who loves good food or arts and crafts, plus pressies for kids, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, pets and everyone you’ve ever known or will know. Great light shows and family entertainment too.
What to buy Everything... Both markets are known for their handmade, local products whether you’re after cakes or candles, decorations or décor. A box of marzipan sweets is a must-buy.
Market munches Goulash, followed by kürtőskalács, or chimney cake to you and me. It’s a round, hollow, sugar and cinnamon dough concoction that’s cooked over an open flame.
Festive stay The cosy 48-room Verno House Hotel is a short walk from St Stephen’s Basilica and Vörösmarty Square. Its spa features a sauna and steam bath. Doubles from £163.
Photography by Kurka Geza Corey
Where to wander Tallinn’s festive fair is a people pleaser – as shown by the multiple times it has been named the best Christmas market in Europe by members of the public. Indeed there is so much to love about it, starting with the location, in Raekoja plats, or Town Hall Square, which was built in 1322. A little over a century later, in 1441, a group of merchants known as the Brotherhood of the Blackheads put up a tree to mark advent – Europe’s first public Christmas tree – and started a tradition that spread through the continent. The market (21 November–27 December) is a magical, light festooned, joyful affair that often comes with snow and always with a packed programme of events that includes merry-go-rounds, bell ringing, folk music and lively dance performances.
What to buy All your gifts in one place. It’s a traditional market with lots of beautiful handmade items, including woollen mittens, scarves, jumpers and rugs, wooden ornaments, wickerwork, scented candles and glass baubles. There’s lots of potential for food gifts, from honey and cakes to preserves.
Market munches Eat Rudolph, why don’t you? You’ll find him in reindeer and cheese soup and in pies from various stalls in the market. And to drink? Warm, mulled glögi, made with red berry juice and spiced with cinnamon, cloves and cardamom.
Festive stay Right by Town Hall Square, charming Nunne Boutique Hotel has beautiful furnishings and art crafted by local creatives, plus a good restaurant. Doubles from £95.
Photography by Kaupo Kalda
Where to wander Striking modern design, snug cafés and steaming saunas make Helsinki irresistible year-round – but in winter its appeal soars. You’ll find festive markets throughout the city, but the oldest and best is in Senate Square (28 November- 22 December), right by Carl Ludwig Engel’s beautiful, mid-19th century cathedral. If you’re there on 13 December, you’ll catch the Festival of St Lucia, when St Lucia leaves the church for a candle-lit procession. The market, all aglow with twinkling lights, has more than 100 stalls, and, at its heart, an old-fashioned carousel that encapsulates the spirit of a Christmas that exists only in fairy tales. This being Finland, the market operates responsibly, putting the emphasis on sustainable gifts and supporting local craftspeople and producers. The restaurants use only biodegradable dishes, waste is minimised and sorted wherever possible, and the stalls and carousel are powered with energy from renewable sources.
What to buy A range of one-off gifts made by artists, glass blowers, potters and wood-turners, knitters and stitchers. It’s all gorgeous stuff that you’ll want to keep yourself.
Market munches Start your day with riisipuuro (rice pudding) and joulutorttu (Christmas pastries) before moving on to kinkku (salt-cured ham) and salmon soup. Later on, tuck into piparkakut – ginger biscuits – and glühwein (mulled wine).
Festive stay Set in a 19th-century building, just five-minutes’ walk from Senate Square, The Kämp has a spa with various types of sauna. Doubles from £280.
Photography by Dorit Salutskij
Where to wander Croatia’s capital hosts at least 25 Advent fairs all over the city (29 November-7 January), so if Christmas markets are the highlight of your year, you’ll be in very happy place and particularly so if your focus is food. Many of the stalls offer food and drink, but naturally you’ll also find crafts, toys, decorations and homeware. Wandering around the city from one to the other is a joy – you’ll find them in the parks, in the squares and in the medieval district. Key attractions include a fabulous ice rink in King Tomislav Square, joining Santa in his sleigh, the lighting of the Advent candles in Ban Jelaĉić Square and the transformation of historical Grič Tunnel – a 350m-long former wartime shelter – into a glowing, atmospheric grotto.
What to buy Lots of snuggly woollens, lots of handmade ceramics and jewellery, and lots and lots of traditional sweets, including licitar biscuits. More works of art than cookies, these handmade, heart-shaped ginger delights are covered in red icing and then decorated. Most people would sooner hang them on their tree than eat them, and indeed they are cultural keepsakes, symbolising love, hospitality and friendship.
Market munches It has to be rakija, the local fruit brandy, and a fritule – a sugar-dusted or chocolate-sauce-soaked doughnut.
Festive stay High ceilings, big windows behind full-length curtains and paintings by Croatian artists set Le Premier, a 60-room hotel in a listed 1920s building, apart. Located less than 15-minutes’ walk from Ban Jelaĉić Square. Doubles from £205, including breakfast.
Photography by Julien Duval
Where to wander Although Italy has yet to enter the major league when it comes to Christmas markets, the towns in the north, bordering Austria or Switzerland, make a beautiful setting for some wonderful Advent events. Bolzano, in South Tyrol, an already picturesque medieval town that has the Rosengarten Dolomites as its backdrop, delights locals and visitors with its Christkindlmarkt (28 November-6 January). There’s music, there’s dancing, there’s song and there’s a cauldron of mulled wine. There is also scent – roast chestnuts, pine, cinnamon – to stimulate the senses, and streams of brightly coloured garlands and lights that attach one wooden stallholder’s hut to the next. The market extends from Piazza Walther to theRomanesque and Gothic Duomo di Bolzano Cathedral with its 65m-high bell tower.
What to buy It’s a Christmas market, so even if your tree is about to collapse beneath the weight of your existing baubles, you’re bound to see something you just have to take home with you. Other things that might catch your eye are traditional wooden toys and charming scented oil burners.
Market munches Bolzano’s northern location means the food stalls here are heavily influenced by the cuisine of its neighbours. Tuck into sausages and sauerkraut, toasted cheese and speck sarnies and canederli – bread dumplings served in a broth.
Festive stay The 23-room Castel Hörtenberg is set in an imposing Renaissance castle in the heart of Bolzano. Doubles from £330, including breakfast.
Photography by Daniele Fiorentino
Where to wander The Wiener Christkindlmarkt (15 November- 26 December) is the main event over the festive period, of course, but this being Vienna, there’s so much more to enjoy, including a traditional ball at the Kursalon Concert Hall, seasonal concerts in the Cathedral and outdoor ice skating in Rathauspark. Santa’s grotto sits inside City Hall, at Rathusplatz, with activities for children, including biscuit making. In the main square, you’ll find 100 or so stalls selling toys, decorations and lots of chocolate. The Vienna City Hall hosts the International Advent Singing Festival, bringing together 85 choirs to sing on the four Advent weekends (Fri-Sun, 3.30-7pm).
What to buy All the Christmas market favourites: baubles and bells; whistles and wine; cookies and cards; fairies and feathers.
Market munches You’ll struggle to find anything that might be considered a light snack. Instead, prepare for cheese – in everything from bread to potato and even in meat: Käsekrainer is a Brühwurst sausage that also contains chunks of Emmental. Add some kartoffelpuffer – potato pancakes – for extra carbs.
Festive stay Founded by an art-loving businessman who had had enough of faceless hotels, Hotel Alstadt is beautiful. Doubles from £263, including breakfast.
Photography by Popp G
Where to wander Cologne is increasingly seen as one of Germany’s trendiest cities, blending historic charm with a vibrant creative scene – and it loves a Christmas market too, with at least seven to choose from, starting in mid-November. Neumarkt is considered best for food, while Heinzels Winter Fairytale has a beautiful ice rink and themed displays – based on Cologne’s helpful gnome-like spirits, the Heinzelmännchen. In the heart of the city, just by the Cathedral, Weihnachtsmarkt am Kölner Dom attracts visitors with its huge Christmas tree – the city’s largest. A bonus is that it is certified sustainable.
What to buy Look out for knitted woollen scarves and gloves, and handblown and hand-painted ornaments from Lauscha.
Market munches Sausages, of course – bratwurst is perhaps the most traditional, but there are others to try, besides; reibekuchen (potato cakes) are another speciality, as are traditional German Christmas cookies like printen and lebkuchen. Vegetarians can try käsespätzle (cheese noodles) and vegetarian schnitzel.
Festive stay The design-led interiors of The Qvest are as lovely and pleasing as its 19th-century exteriors. It’s about 1km from the cathedral and its Christmas market, and in the heart of the old town. Doubles from £152.
Photography by Heinzels Wintermaerchen
Where to wander Brussels sheds its reputation for austerity and bureaucracy with Winter Wonders and the Christmas Market(28 November-4 January). Spread across Grand-Place, Bourse, Place Sainte-Catherine and Marché aux Poissons, all connected by a meandering 2.5km trail of sparkling lights, over 200 chalets tempt visitors with a curated mix of chic gifts and festive fare. It’s a great all-rounder – aside from the gifts, gifts, gifts galore, and food, food, glorious food, there is a Ferris wheel, merry-go-rounds, an ice-rink, sound and light shows, street entertainers and carols beneath the tree.
What to buy Handicrafts and food, mainly. Belgium was once world-famous for its lace. If you find anything at the market that’s handmade there instead of by a machine in China, buy it.
Market munches What do you think of when you think of Brussels? Beer, chocolate, moules-frites, waffles – you’ll find them all at several stalls at the market. December is a great season for mussels – and there’s no season that isn’t great for Belgian frites served with mayonnaise, so tuck in.
Festive stay Rising 27 storeys to overlook glamorous Avenue Louise and beyond, the Hotel Brussels is among the city’s finest hotels. Doubles from £221.
Photography by Melanie Hobson
Where to wander Venture through shadowed forests and down a steep-sided valley to discover the Ravenna Gorge (Ravennaschlucht) Christmas Market, one of the most intimate and enchanting in the Black Forest. Located 24km from Freiburg, the market began as a small gathering of local vendors and has grown into a major winter attraction while managing to retain its original charm. Set beneath a 40m-high stone railway viaduct, decorated wooden stalls offer handcrafted gifts and regional delicacies. The market runs from 28 November to 21 December and is open Friday to Sunday, 3-9pm. To manage numbers, visitors pre-book timed two-hour slots (£5.60 per adult), which sell out quickly. A bus shuttle from the train station provides easy access or, for a memorable approach, join a guided 1.5km torch-lit hike through the gorge.
What to buy Unique local gifts include intricately carved wooden ornaments and fragrant Black Forest preserves.
Market munches Warm your hands and your heart with mulled wine, spiced gingerbread, sweet lebkuchen (German cookies), roasted chestnuts, and other hearty Black Forest treats.
Festive stay Bed down at Hotel Hofgut Sternen at the entrance to the Ravenna Gorge. Doubles from £95.
Photography by Ravenna Gorge
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