Christmas markets of Europe, from Vienna to Brussels, with 2026 dates and trains.

What does this list cover?

A European Christmas market is a street or square full of wooden stalls set up between late November and Christmas Eve, with mulled wine, crafts, seasonal sweets and a big tree in the centre. Here we bring together those in the cities and towns we cover on Geocalia, with the dates the organisers announce for 2026. Almost all open on the same weekend, and almost all are free to enter; what you pay for is the skating, the Ferris wheel or a guided visit.

Dates change a little each year and opening hours are fine-tuned in November, so each page says where the information comes from and when we checked it. If your trip has a date, check the market's website the week before. A warning: on Totensonntag, the Sunday of 22 November 2026, some German markets close in mourning; Munich's and Rothenburg's do.

Austria: Vienna and Salzburg

Vienna has the greatest variety. The Christkindlmarkt at Rathausplatz opens from 13 November to 26 December, from 10:00 to 22:00, with an ice rink that continues until 6 January, and the Schönbrunn Palace market runs from 6 November to 6 January. It is all on the Vienna markets page, which also says how to get there by metro. To see the palace by day and the market in the evening, book a whole day.

Salzburg is more intimate. The Domplatz Christkindlmarkt opens from 19 November 2026 to 1 January 2027, next to the cathedral, with choirs and trumpets from the tower, and the Krampuslauf on 5 December at 18:30. Hours change on 24, 25 and 31 December. You can see Vienna and Salzburg on the same train trip, but each needs a night.

Czechia and Slovakia: Prague and Bratislava

Prague opens Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square from 28 November 2026 to 6 January 2027, from 10:00 to 22:00, and neighbourhood markets from 20 November. We explain it on the Prague page, which includes the dates for Míru, Republiky, Tylovo and Anděl. It is the one that ends latest, which is why it works for Epiphany trips.

Bratislava sets up its markets in the Main Square and Hviezdoslav Square from 26 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, with the children's Christmas forest in Primate's Square. From Vienna you get there by boat, and the Bratislava page gives the details. It is a good counterpoint to Vienna's more crowded Christmas.

Germany: Munich, Dresden, Rothenburg and the Spreewald

Munich concentrates the Marienplatz Christkindlmarkt, from 20 November to 24 December 2026, with 138 stalls, a 22-metre tree and a Krampus parade on 13 December. The market closes on Sunday 22 November. You reach the square itself by metro, so you do not need a car.

Dresden holds the Striezelmarkt from 25 November to 24 December, in the Altmarkt, with stollen and a 14.61-metre pyramid. Rothenburg ob der Tauber has the Reiterlesmarkt, from 20 November to 23 December, among half-timbered houses; there is a plan by train from Frankfurt. And the Spreewald offers a Christmas market among the boats on the weekends of 28 and 29 November and 5 and 6 December.

Belgium, Hungary and France

Brussels holds the Plaisirs d'Hiver from 27 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, from 12:00 to 22:00, with more than 200 stalls from the Grand-Place to De Brouckère. Bruges also has a market and its Winter Glow programme, but the 2026 dates are not confirmed by an official source; check Visit Bruges.

Budapest has the Advent Basilica, from 13 November to 1 January 2027, with a light projection on the basilica's façade every evening from 17:30.

In France, the Alsace wine route has the markets of Riquewihr and Eguisheim, from 27 November to 20 December and to 30 December. Strasbourg and Colmar, the most famous, do not have their own page here. Near Paris, Provins holds its medieval Christmas market on 12 and 13 December, and Vaux-le-Vicomte opens its Grand Noël from 14 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, with the château illuminated.

How to choose the best day

On weekdays and in the morning there are fewer people, but the atmosphere lights up as night falls, from five o'clock. A good rule is to go in two stages: the city in the afternoon and the market in the early evening. Advent weekends, especially the second and third, are the busiest. If you only have one weekend, choose one city: Vienna and Munich are the most convenient by train, and Salzburg and Bratislava the most manageable on foot.

For short trips, look at flights to Vienna, Munich, Prague and Brussels, the most convenient capitals with an airport, and combine a big-city market with one in a nearby town. Bring warm clothes and cash for the small stalls; it is rare, but it happens that they do not accept cards. Mulled wine mugs usually carry a deposit, which is returned when you hand back the mug or you can keep it as a souvenir.

Before you go

Check the Totensonntag closing day if you are going to Germany and the Christmas Eve hours, which are almost always reduced. Free-entry markets need no booking, but tickets for Vienna's ice rink are bought online, and accommodation goes up in price on Advent weekends: book ahead, especially in Vienna, Prague and Munich.