12 Magical Markets to Get You in the Holiday Mood

First celebrated in 1393, Germany’s largest Christmas market takes place in Römerberg Square. Browse timbered booths of roasting chestnuts and marzipan Christmas cookies called bethmännchen as the bells of Frankfurt’s ten churches sound simultaneously. Climb to the top of Nicolai church and take in the panoramic overview of twinkling lights and a towering Christmas tree, or watch it all whizz past from a seat on the merry-go-round.

Follow the fragrance of baking apples and mulled cider across Salzburg’s historic city center, from the Hohensalzburg fortress to the Cathedral of Salzburg. Since the 15th century, Residenz Square has come to life every Christmas season with the Christkindlmarkt’s live nativity exhibits and traditional turmblasen (brass concerts). You may even be visited by St. Nicholas and the Christmas Child, a Salzburg local cast each year especially for this Yuletide role. Or, see Austria in warmer months on our Czech Republic and Austria Bike Tour.

The Old Town Christmas Market has been a beloved Stockholm tradition for hundreds of years. Rows of vendors in red stalls line Sortorget Square near the Royal Palace, offering savory seasonal delights like smoked sausage and reindeer. Wash it down with glögg (wine mulled with cinnamon sticks and star anise), then browse for the perfect Swedish-made handicraft that is sure to delight whoever unwraps it on Christmas morning.

Estonia’s capital city, Tallinn, started putting up an annual Christmas spruce in 1441. For the Tallinn Christmas Market‘s 575th year, lights and ornaments in shades of gold and red grace its branches, while over 40,000 more lights shimmer around Town Hall Square. Add your own little bit of illumination by lighting a candle, or be dazzled by the folk dancers taking the Town Hall Square stage. Feed your appetite with sauerkraut and blood sausage followed by a hot drink to warm you from the inside out.

Wooden market stalls sprawl from the foot of City Hall into the Rathausplatz at Vienna’s Christmas Market, brimming with glassware, toys, and bee products. Nibble on roasted chestnuts beneath the 91-foot Christmas tree raised right in Vienna’s forests, or strap on some skates and hit the ice rink in the Rathauspark. Let the sound of choirs and trumpeters serenade you as you stroll down the famous Ringstrasse, aglow with advent candles and dazzling Christmas ornaments.

Surrounded by the buildings of Potsdamer Platz, Winterwelt (Winter World) is one of 60 Christmas markets throughout Berlin. Take a ride on the rodelbahn, Europe’s largest mobile toboggan that rushes past Brandenburg Gate. Peruse the crafts fair along Alte Potsdamer Straße to watch wood carvers, potters, and basket weavers at work. You can even try your hand at curling on the 43-yard ice rink.

As the largest traditional market outside of Germany and the largest outdoor Christmas market in Britain, Frankfurt’s Christmas Market is a shopping paradise of crystal lamps, leatherwork, and rugs made both by local artisans weavers all over the world. German food is served in spades, including pretzels, schnitzels, bratwurst, and knoblauchbrot—and, of course, gluhwein and weissbeer. A mounted Christmas moose has become somewhat of a famous spectacle, serenading you at the entrance of the city’s Council House.

Founded in 1434, Striezelmarkt is styled as a medieval faire and named for the region’s famous struzel, a cake readily found in several of the snow-blanketed booths. In Altmarket Square, the world’s largest Erzgebirge pyramid rises nearly 50 feet into the sky, its tiers stacked with wooden Christmastime tableaus. Take home a figurine known as pflaumentoffel—a tiny chimney sweep made out of prunes—or a tin of lebkuchen gingerbread from the city of Pulsnitz.

Beginning with an opening ceremony on the steps of the Church of Our Lady, the Christkindlesmarkt is a seasonal highlight started in the 16th century. Meet the Christkind dressed in her golden robe and crown, then purchase a gold-foil angel from Hauptmarkt square to travel back home with you. They’re one of the many items regulated by the Christmas Market Council, who ensure that your souvenirs are lovingly hand-made.

Strasbourg’s enormous Christkindelsmärik is practically an institution. Over 440 years, 300 stalls have grown to cover 12 designated locations throughout the city. You can follow the shapes of lighted angels to find the market’s many attractions, from the Great Christmas Tree soaring high into the night sky on Place Kléber to the Village of Sharing run by charities and humanitarian organizations. Please your palate with kouglof (sweet brioche bread with raisins and almonds), foie gras, and traditional eggnog known as laid de poule. The best way to work up an appetite for these holiday goodies? A France cycling tour, of course!

Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque architecture in the Staroměstské náměstí (Old Town Square) sets the scene for Prague’s Christmas Market, a smaller and more intimate affair compared to some of Europe’s larger markets. A program of plays, concerts, and carols are meant to fill you with the holiday spirit, while Czech-style barbecued pork and mead fill your belly. Kids will love the live animals living in the stables, just like the ones that were in Bethlehem. There’s even more to show them on an Austria and Czech Republic Family Bike Tour.

Taste malty waffles, Swiss chocolate, and melted raclette at Switzerland’s largest holiday market. Basel is fully transformed with Christmas Street, a lane lined with more than 100 fir trees, and the decorated homes and seasonal shop windows of the Old Town district. In Barfüsserplatz, you can explore over 180 enchanting stands, or find a bench on which to snack on läckerli (seasonal spiced biscuits). Find out what makes Switzerland charming at every time of year on a Switzerland bike tour.