The Top 5 Christmas Markets in Europe

With the holiday season upon us, European Christmas markets should be buzzing with joy, decorations, beautifully decorated trees, and most importantly gluhwein. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case this year because of COVID, but that doesn’t preclude us from talking about which markets should make your bucket list. After all, this virus won’t be around forever, and you better believe everyone will be burning their vacation days as soon as possible to make up for lost travel plans.

Enjoyment of Christmas markets is entirely subjective, so any list that claims to have the definitive top 5 Christmas markets in Europe is full of it. That being said, there seems to be a relatively prevailing opinion on which ones are the best. My list of top 5 European Christmas markets is entirely based on my personal experience, and it is in the exact order I would tell my closest friends if they asked me which Christmas market they should plan on going to.

Truth be told, once you have gone to one Christmas market, you basically have been to all of them. What makes each one so uniquely special is the backdrop to the market and the local delicacies that each one offers. From the Czech Republic to France to Germany to Hungary, each of the markets offers a local delicacy that makes it a must-visit. Calorie counting or any semblance of trying to eat healthy goes out the window when you walk into one of these markets. An aroma that cannot be described hits your nostrils and it takes you to a warm and cozy place that is just so perfect. Pair that scintillating aroma with the air of joyful cheer, Christmas music usually sung by some amazing choir, and the beautiful decorations...man, why did I leave again? I miss it already.

Without further ado, these are my top 5 Christmas markets in Europe. Enjoy!

The enchanting entrance to "Magisch Maastricht."

5. Maastricht, Netherlands

Is the Maastricht Christmas market, "Magisch Maastricht", the 5th best Christmas market in Europe? Well, my bias for my former home may admittedly be showing here. Is it the best Christmas market in the Netherlands at the very least? Absolutely. Valkenburg is another Dutch city that puts on a really cool Christmas market inside the ancient caves inside the city. Many people will claim Amsterdam has the best Dutch Christmas market, but I truly think people only say that because it is the most prominent city in the country. I think Maastricht’s charm and atmosphere easily allow it to take the prize as the best Dutch Christmas market.

There is only one Christmas market in the city, and it takes place on the Vrijthof Square. When all the wooden chalets are set up, the decorations are hung, and the Ferris wheel is assembled, the two massive churches looming in the background set up quite a romantic backdrop that is easily Instagrammable. As far as what to do at the market, there are a few activities you can choose from. The obvious first attraction is the massive Ferris wheel that you see as soon as you turn the corner and see the market. Riding the Ferris wheel gives you pretty incredible panoramic views of the city and the surrounding areas, and views right into the windows of our old apartment! I only regretted declining our landlord's offer to hang blinds for us during the Christmas market season. After you hop off the Ferris wheel, you can go ice skating at the ice skating rink in the middle of the market. If you’re terrible at ice skating, you can grab a warm beverage at the booths surrounding the rink and watch your partner skate, or you can watch people fall together. After you’re done with those two activities, the next activity is what people in Maastricht like to do most, shop. You can shop at the Christmas market, but honestly, the goods in the market are subpar compared to the nearby Aachen market. There are a few stalls with some hidden gems though, so definitely do some shopping around before you give up. The regular shopping in Maastricht is second to none though. Once you’re done shopping at the market, you can almost certainly find any premium good you could want at the stores throughout the city.

The food at the Maastricht market isn’t anything particularly unique, but that doesn’t mean it’s not good! There are loads of sausage stands, gluhwein stands, frites stands, candy stands, etc. All the food is fantastic, and just like any other Christmas market, if you leave hungry then that is your fault. One food that you must try though, is called oliebollen. Basically, it is a deep fried dough ball with powdered sugar all over it. It is as magically delicious as you can imagine. We personally loved collecting the souvenir mugs that the gluhwein came in. Each city has its own unique mug every year, and while you can return the mug and get some of your money back, the mugs are such an awesome souvenir that we have a cabinet full of them from all the markets we visited.

Is it really a Dutch Christmas market if you didn't indulge in an ollieballen?

After reading this you may be thinking that the Maastricht market sounds rather unspectacular. You couldn’t be more wrong. Maastricht does such a fantastic job decorating and setting the scene for their market, that I truly believe it competes with the rest of the places on this list. I’ve written a much longer piece on the magic of Maastricht in the other times of the year, but something about the city from mid-November to January always made it feel so special and magical to me. The decorations, the lights, the garland hung across the wide, pedestrian, cobblestone streets, and the buzz that seemingly fills the city daily. Maastricht is a fantastic city that isn’t on everyone’s radar, but I will tell everybody that asks that Maastricht deserves to be on their travel bucket list.

The half-timbered houses, the hand-built wooden chalet's, and the decorations are really what do it for me.

4. Colmar, France

When people think of Christmas markets, I don’t think many people’s minds go to France. Big mistake. France is home to two of the best Christmas markets in all of Europe, and they’re only separated by about an hour-long drive. We didn’t personally go to both markets, but instead, we spent a weekend in November in the fairytale town that is Colmar. Just like every other place on this list, if you’re looking to get swept away in the magic of the holiday season, you won’t find a more picturesque and quaint town than Colmar.

Colmar has 6 different Christmas markets, but the placement of them makes it feel like one big Christmas market. This is one of the things that I liked the most about the whole experience in Colmar. Most cities separate their markets, but Colmar immerses you in inescapable Christmas joy. The half-timbered facades that line the cobblestone streets are, once again, something straight out of a fairytale. Once the sun goes down, the market really begins to light up. A lot of buildings around Colmar have Christmas displays projected on them or are just decked out to the fullest extent in Christmas lights and decorations. Combine all these factors with the wooden chalets that line the streets selling their goods and souvenirs, and you can’t help but feel warm and fuzzy inside. Perhaps the mulled wine has something to do with that feeling as well.

Because this is France, you won’t find many stands selling cheap sausages or slices of open-fire roasted ham. In typical French fashion, things are slightly more upscale. You can still find sausage (I did), but if you have a curious palate and like to say “when in France,” then this may be your chance to try some French of Alsatian cuisine. Since you’re in one of the most famous wine regions in the world, you’d be a fool to not indulge in some tasty wine from the Alsace region. Other foods you will find in a lot of stalls include bredele, mannele, gingerbread, crepes, and of course gluhwein. Each market has different “craft” food producers that have different specialties. Popular specialties include foie gras, cheese, honey, wine, and bread. Does it get any more French than that? Some booths do have cooking demonstrations, but they are 100% in French, but even if you don’t have your French dictionary handy, it is still fun to watch these specialists demonstrate their craft.

As far as goods and souvenirs to bring home to family or for yourself, there are quite a few stands with artisan goods. While there are plenty of booths that feature goods that just removed the “Made in China” sticker, there are just as many that feature goods from Alsatian craftspeople. Ceramics, jewelry, and ornaments are some of the most popular handcrafted gifts that you will find in chalets around the market. Most people opt for food-related gifts at this market though. We bought a bottle of wine from a local wine producer, and it was fantastic. You can find ornaments in other handcrafted goods in markets all around Europe, but I suggest you go with the food route while in France.

Ruthie, a dog model, a confirmed lover of all Christmas markets, espcially Colmar.

Colmar is a fantastic Christmas wonderland that I cannot recommend enough during Christmastime. Pair Colmar with a day in Strasbourg, and you will be ready to deck the hell out of those boughs of holly this holiday season.

Budapest's big tree looks even more majestic with the awesome architecture in the background.

3. Budapest, Hungary

Budapest is often regarded as one of the best Christmas markets in Europe, and for good reason. Along with Prague and Vienna, Budapest is proof that Eastern Europe really knows how to do the festive holiday season correctly. Budapest is another city that, while truly magical as hell during the holiday season, is great during any time of the year. Many people rave that Budapest is best during the summer, but I am partial to any city that can put on a show during the holiday season.

Like most Christmas markets throughout Europe, there are multiple markets within the Budapest Christmas market. Each one has its own little flair, but you will find the same type of things more or less at each one. Next to German markets and the Prague market, you will likely find the most authentic, handcrafted goods here in Budapest. We brought home several handmade glass ornaments from the Christmas markets around the city. Along with the ornaments, many booths sell handmade leather goods, handmade wooden trinkets, and other handmade textiles and ceramics. In this market, you can tell the difference between people who have handmade goods in the booths, and people who stuck “Made in China” goods in their booths. Thankfully, there are a lot more authentic goods than non-authentic goods.

This is the kind of food you can expect at an Eastern European Christmas market.

If we are being honest, the main draw to most markets is the astounding amount of food options that are available for consumption. Budapest is no exception to that rule. The sheer amount of meat, heavy soup, and alcohol that is available to consume is nothing short of delicious. A rather surprising development was the amount of vegetarian or vegan options that were available for Katie. Normally she struggles to find anything more than frites and maybe a cheese sandwich, but in Budapest, there were at least 4 or 5 stalls that offered nothing but vegetarian and vegan food. This allowed me to consume my footlong sausage without guilt that she is going to starve. Of course, sausage is still at the top of the options listed, but there are quite a few other local specialties. One of the more delicious specialties is a bowl of goulash served in a bread bowl. In the middle of the Eastern European cold winter, nothing will warm your insides better than a bowl of this hearty soup, and boy is it good. It is best to wash everything down with, you guessed it, a glass of gluhwein or a pint of cold beer. Once your pallet is cleaned, it is safe to move onto a piping hot chimney cake for dessert. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Like I mentioned before, Budapest is a city that can be visited and enjoyed any time of the year. It is best to make a weekend out of the Christmas market season and spend the day you’re not at the markets, walking across the Széchenyi Chain Bridge, exploring the Buda side of Budapest that includes the Fisherman’s Bastion, Buda Castle, and a few other must-see attractions. You cannot forget the historic spas in the city as well. We chose to go to the Gellért Thermal Bath on Sunday before we flew back home, and it was a fantastic decision. If you’re a spa person, shoot even if you’re not, you shouldn’t leave Budapest without visiting one of their famous spas. The architecture alone is a sight worth seeing. Besides, in the dead of winter, what is better than spending a day or afternoon in a beautiful thermal spa?

You'll be hard-pressed to find a more beautiful backdrop for a Christmas market than the UNESCO Aachen Cathedral.

2. Aachen, Germany

Aachen is the pinnacle of Christmas markets in Germany. Cologne and Nuremberg are two markets that compete with Aachen for this title, but I am partial to Aachen. 11 of the 12 months of the year, I didn’t enjoy visiting Aachen. We lived a short car ride or bus ride away, but I just didn’t think the city had much to offer that Maastricht didn’t have. The other 1 month of the year though, Aachen is magical as hell. With a backdrop of the Aachen Cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage site NBD, and the Aachen town hall, Aachen’s Christmas market is just so visually appealing. I mean, there are literally booths roasting chestnuts over an open fire! Does it get any more Christmas than that? The cool thing about German Christmas markets is how the communities look forward to them so strongly. Once the markets are up and running, business people meet there for lunch every day, friends meet other friends there, and families make huge outings of going there with children. I can’t imagine being a little kid going to the Aachen Christmas market. I think I would still believe in Santa if that was my experience at Christmas every year from birth. It is truly that enchanting.

There are two integral parts of any German Christmas market: good beer and good food, more specifically good sausages. You’ll find other German specialties in markets across the country, such as Lebkuchen, potato pancakes, frites, eierpunsch (extremely strong alcoholic eggnog with whipped cream), gluhwein. You can’t go wrong with any of the food choices in any of the rows and rows of stalls that sit throughout the market. If you don’t leave Aachen’s market stuffed to the brim with fantastic food, and slightly tipsy, then you have supremely messed up.

Beautiful decorations and trees surrounded by beautiful, old buildings.

German Christmas markets are the place to go when it comes to finding truly authentic goods for the family. Both Katie and I have shipped home plenty of goods from the Aachen Christmas market. Many German cities straight up ban any goods that aren’t handmade from their Christmas markets. This is why German Christmas markets are so popular. You can eat fantastic food and shop for authentic goods all in one place. All of that before you get to the scenic backdrops that almost every city features. Leather, wooden trinkets, hand painted glass candle holders. Obviously, prices are going to be a bit higher than in most markets, but the craftsmanship is incredible.

Happily strolling through one of our favorite Christmas markets after one or three mugs of gluhwein.

At the end of the day, just throw a dart at a map of Germany and you will likely end up at one of the best Christmas markets in Europe. Aachen is a personal favorite of mine because it was the first European Christmas market that I had ever been to, and we proceeded to attend the market every year we were in Europe. It is a truly magical setting, and the smell of chestnuts over an open fire, gluhwein, and roasted sausages will make even the biggest Scrooge leave with the market with a smile on their face.

It is hard not to smile when you're walking through a winter wonderland.

1. Prague, Czech Republic

Prague is one of the destinations that is truly a brilliant place to visit any day of the year. Walking across the Charles Bridge produces historic views that are rarely replicated in any other part of Europe. However, there is an extra bit of magic to the city when the Christmas market rolls around each winter. When someone describes a magical Christmas market, the image you get in your head is exactly what the Prague Christmas market is like.

There are two main markets within the city that open at the same time every year towards the end of November. You will discover as you wander around the city that there are quite a few other markets spattered around the city, but these are the two main markets that people flock to. While these two markets are the two main ones, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t check out the smaller markets that you come across around the city. Oftentimes the smaller markets are where you find the real, handcrafted goodies. One market, the more scenic and picturesque market, takes place on the Old Town Square, while the other market takes place on Wenceslas Square. I’ll spend most of my energy talking about the market on the Old Town Square because that is the real winner in my opinion.

A beautiful Christmas market with possibly even more beautiful surroundings.

The market on Wenceslas Square has its charm and offers the same food and drinks like the Old Town Square, but it obviously lacks the charm. This market takes place near the National Museum, which is just a short jaunt from the Old Town Square. This market was a little less crowded, so if crowds aren’t your thing, this is the market I would recommend. You can still find some quality goods and good food here.

I mean, does it get any better than this?

Now for the real headliner of the two markets, the Old Town Square market. Just writing about it now places me back into the mass of people eating slow-roasted meat, drinking cheap beer, and just being jolly as all hell. The Old Town Square is placed right in front of the Church of Our Lady before Týn and right next to the world-famous Prague Astronomical Clock. There are just so many sights, sounds, and smells to experience when you turn the corner and see the stunning peaks of the church and the meticulously decorated behemoth of a Christmas tree. Your first stop really should be to get some beverages. After all, what is a Christmas market without mulled wine? The great thing about Prague, and the rest of the Czech Republic, is that beer is literally cheaper than water. Nothing helps stave off the cold more efficiently than either a piping hot glass of mulled wine or multiple glasses of pilsner.

Once a drink is in your hand, you are probably ready for your second stop, food. Just like mulled wine, it isn’t a European Christmas market without indulging in at least one sausage with mustard. That is truly a delicacy that reaches across many borders. Grilled meat is also something that the Czech do very well. Remember when I said Christmas markets have an aroma? In Prague, the roasted pig head, or Prague ham, is responsible for the aroma. You will walk past multiple stalls that feature a whole pig’s head roasting over an open fire. It smells amazing, but I did not partake. Langos is one of the other Czech specialties that needs to be on your “must-try” list. Langos is a flatbread topped with garlic, shredded mozzarella cheese, and ketchup. It admittedly sounds...interesting, but it is delicious. Your final food stop is dessert, and boy is it a delicious doozy. In Prague these are referred to Trdelnik, but you may know them more commonly as chimney cakes. Watching the stalls cook these cakes over an open fire is entertainment in itself, but once they coat them in cinnamon and sugar, that is when you get excited. These cakes are delicious on their own, but there are places in Prague that serve them with soft-serve ice cream and whipped cream inside, just in case you wanted to indulge even further. Pro tip: You should indulge further.

Once your belly is full and you are maybe a little tipsy, then you begin to meander around the stalls, enjoy the atmosphere, and maybe do a little Christmas shopping for your family back home. There is no shortage of knick-knacks to purchase throughout the market, but some of the more popular items to buy at the market are glass ornaments and wooden trinkets. As for the spectacle of the tree, at every hour from 5:30-8:30 in the evening, the massive tree is lit up for a beautiful light show. While this may not sound spectacular, the crowd that forms around the tree about an hour in advance of the first lighting should give you an idea of how spectacular it is.

Take a chimney cake, fill it with soft served ice cream, top it with whipped cream, and enjoy!

As I said, Prague is going to be pretty spectacular at any point of the year that you go, but if you want to experience it at its best and most magical, the Christmas market season is the time to go.

Final Thoughts

Writing this made me really miss Europe. This time of the year every city turns into such an enchanting place that warms your insides. Maastricht was especially great at making the entire city feel like a Christmas wonderland. With the Christmas market in our front yard, I never struggled to get into the spirit. The truth is, even if the city isn’t listed in “The Best Christmas Markets in Europe,” it likely will still blow you away in terms of decorations and sheer cheer. I am very thankful that I have the experiences that I have had, and when I say I want people to come to me for travel recommendations, I do truly mean that. I want people to see all of the awesome things that the world has to offer. Ask my wife and she will tell you that I am truly a “Christmas guy,” so I biasedly think that Christmas markets are one of the coolest things that this world has to offer.

Jake (December 9, 2020)

Soundtrack for this blog: “Christmas Market” and “Christmas Hits” on Spotify