Cities

Christmas Cities, Compared and Explained

Some cities are a market with a town attached; others are a whole winter stage. These guides cover the city around the stalls — routes, dates, food and how to pace a visit.

Lit Christmas market chalets along a half-timbered street in Strasbourg's old town

Cities

Strasbourg: The City That Calls Itself the Capital of Christmas

For once the marketing holds up. A walking route through the city's dozen market sites, bredele included.

6 min read · By the editors

The Vienna Christmas village in front of City Hall, its baroque facade and market stalls lit against the night sky

Cities

Vienna's Winter Markets After Dark

Once the sun drops, Vienna's baroque facades light up and the mulled punch starts flowing. A night-time route through the city's best.

6 min read · By the editors

Colourful waterfront stalls strung with lights along Copenhagen's Nyhavn canal

Cities

Copenhagen's Alternative Christmas Market Scene

No single medieval square — instead a theme park, a meatpacking district and a designer quarter. Copenhagen's Christmas, scattered.

6 min read · By the editors

A festive Central European market square with a large decorated tree and evening lights

Cities

Prague, Budapest, Kraków: A Central European Market Circuit

Three capitals, three market traditions, one train journey — how to link them into a single Christmas trip.

8 min read · By the editors

Glowing Christmas market stalls on Roncalliplatz in front of Cologne Cathedral, the twin towers lit against a winter sky

Cities

Cologne's Markets: From Cathedral Steps to Chocolate

Five markets, one cathedral skyline — a route through Cologne's Christmas markets, from the Cathedral steps to the chocolate museum.

7 min read · By the editors

The giant wooden Christmas pyramid and decorated stalls of the Striezelmarkt on Dresden's Altmarkt at dusk

Cities

Dresden's Striezelmarkt: The Oldest Market in Germany

Germany's oldest market, its giant Christmas pyramid and the fruit loaf that gives the square its name.

7 min read · By the editors

St Stephen's Basilica lit with a Christmas projection above the Advent Bazilika market stalls

Cities

Budapest's Advent Bazilika: Markets With a View

Vörösmarty's classic stalls and the Basilica's light show — Budapest's two Christmas acts, food included.

6 min read · By the editors

Half-timbered houses and market stalls dusted with snow on the Marktplatz in Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Cities

Rothenburg ob der Tauber: A Christmas Card Town

A walled medieval town where Christmas runs all year — the Reiterlesmarkt, the Christmas stores and the snowballs.

6 min read · By the editors

The Christmas market on Tallinn's Raekoja plats with the gothic Town Hall behind the decorated spruce tree

Cities

Tallinn's Town Hall Market: A Baltic Fairytale

One medieval square, Estonian wool and hõõgvein in the cold — Tallinn's market in the shadow of the Town Hall.

6 min read · By the editors

Keep exploring

Plan the rest of the trip

Market Guides

Step-by-step guides to the individual markets, from Nuremberg to Copenhagen.

Food & Drink

Mulled wine, roasted chestnuts, sausages and the deposit system explained.

Journal

Field notes and essays from the market trail, written in our own words.