Salzburg Christmas Market has opened for the season. The Salzburger Christkindlmarkt is celebrated for its beauty and historical significance, dating back to the late 15th century.
Situated in Salzburg’s UNESCO World Heritage Old Town, the market features 97 stalls offering local crafts, decorations, and traditional foods under the eye of Laois-born Saint Fergal, whose statue sits outside the cathedral overlooking activities in the square.
A diverse array of events, including choral concerts and Krampus parades, enriches the festive atmosphere surrounding the market.
The market runs from November 21, 2024, to January 1, 2025, culminating in a lively New Year’s Eve celebration at Cathedral and Residenz Square.
Other Christmas markets:
- HEIDELBERG (November 26-December 22) the grandmammy of Germany’s Christmas markets, offers 140 stalls on the various squares of the city as the aroma of roast chestnuts, cinnamon and cloves fills the air of the historic Neckar city.
- VIENNA has 50 markets in its own right. Best known is the Christkindlmarkt on the square in front of the City Hall where the tree with seals, the “Kasperl tree”, the “Herzerlbaum” (Hearts tree) and the “Post office in the clouds” add to the atmosphere.
- BUDAPEST’s tenth Christmas market offers the excitement of the calendar window opening on Vörösmarty Square, where delicious honey cakes, strudels, pastry horns and fresh grilled chops can be washed down with a mug of steaming mulled wine.
- ANTWERP’s Christmas market (December 7 to December 26, excluding December 8) takes place in the Grote Markt, with dozens of stalls and a temporary ice rink in the shadow of the cathedral and evening carol concerts.
- BASEL boasts Switzerland’s largest and most traditional Christmas market (November 29-December 17) and Europe’s longest illuminated Christmas street. The city is also home to the celebrated Johann Wanner Christmas shop.
- BERLIN offers 50 markets; the main ones are at Gedächtniskirche (November 24-December 28), Unter den Linden (November 24-December 28) and Alexanderplatz.
- COPENHAGEN Tivoli Gardens are at their most magical in winter, with a market and an outdoor ice rink. The market (November 10-December 30, excluding December 24 and 25) is visited by almost a million shoppers every year.
- FRANKFURT has one of Germany’s oldest and largest Christmas markets (November 30-December 23) and for many locals buying all their gifts here is an important part of their Christmas tradition.
- HAMELIN, south of Hannover, is the Pied Piper’s home town, which adds an extra fairytale quality. The market takes place in the medieval Old Town (November 28-December 23), where 70 decorated wooden huts sell gifts, handicrafts, hot food and mulled wine.
- JERSEY The Fête de Noué in St Helier in Jersey (December 7-23) takes place under a canopy of lights, with Dickensian storytellers, carols by candlelight and lots of Christmas crafts.
- PRAGUE city’s markets take place in the Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square (December 5-23), with smaller ones at Namesti Republiky and Havelske Trziste. Tradition dictates that you sip svaree vino (mulled wine) as you visit huts selling handicrafts and hot food.
- STOCKHOLM Skansen Christmas market (December 1-2, 8-9 and 15-16) sells everything from sausages and spices to children’s toys and fine linen. There’s also an indoor market at Bollnas square. Budapest Christmas market.
