Inside Europe's Most Festive Christmas Markets
Beginning the last week of November and extending into the holiday season in December, Europe’s preeminent Christmas markets play host to friends and families as they gather to imbibe on mulled wine and savor regional delicacies—all while taking turns skating around ice rinks and enjoying traditional Christmas carols.
During an outing with one of our local gydes, you’ll feel like family when you discover the secrets of some of Europe’s most impressive Christmas markets in Warsaw, Budapest and Krakow.
Krakow Christmas Market
During the most celebratory time of the year in the city’s historic center, locals gather around pop-up picnic tables and rustic stalls in Krakow’s Main Market Square, known locally as Rynek Glowny, home to the largest Christmas market in Poland. Decorated in lights and glittering gold and silver baubles, the market is formed around a center stage where carolers sing Christmas songs and the scent of fragrant mulled wine, known as grzaniec, fills the air. Visitors can enjoy carriage rides and stock up on hand-made wooden toys and cold-weather Polish treats like gingerbread cookies, fudge, cheese, and chestnut chocolate bars flavored with lavender. “Visiting Krakow’s Christmas market is an annual tradition in my family. I go with my mom and dad to enjoy a glass of mulled wine with salty grilled oscypek sheep cheese topped with cranberry jam,” says gyde Joanna. “My parents also buy Krakow’s famous Christmas cookies, and it’s my mom’s pride and joy to serve them at our Christmas dinner each year.”
Krakow; Rynek Glowny, Main Market Square
Warsaw Christmas Market
Located in Castle Square in the city’s Old Town, Warsaw’s Christmas market—with its festive wooden chalet stalls—is accessible by strolling the city’s Royal Route, a path passing by the city’s foremost aristocratic palaces, monuments, and churches that lead to the Royal Castle, one of the city’s most beloved architectural landmarks. “My favorite time to visit Warsaw’s Christmas market is when it’s snowing,” says gyde Gosia. “My husband and I take our children to the Old Town, and we skate at the market’s ice rink that’s centered around the square’s mermaid statue.” Visitors can also browse the seasonal gifts created by the country’s leading artisans, a pastime of gyde Magda. “I always look for unique handmade items like small batch apple pie scented soy candles and Poland’s famous Christmas baubles that are hand painted with Yuletide adornments. It’s also the best time of year to savor Poland’s most delicious regional delicacies like honey, cheese and homemade bread.”
Warsaw; Castle Square
Budapest Christmas Market
Set near the Danube River in Vörösmarty Square, Budapest’s Christmas market offers myriad food vendors and craftsman stalls in the city center, where each day a Hungarian band plays a complimentary concert while visitors savor treats like traditional honey cookies and cinnamon chimney cakes. “I enjoy visiting Budapest’s Christmas market with my children,” says gyde Gabriella. “We eat cinnamon chimney cakes and szaloncukor, Christmas bonbons that are delicious to eat and also used as tree decorations.” For do-it-yourself design fans, the square also offers plenty of opportunities to get creative. “The city fills with nativity scenes and larger-than-life advent wreaths with pink and purple candles,” says gyde Kata. “At the Vörösmarty Square market, I always participate in the DIY workshops. You can even make your own advent wreath to take home while enjoying a hot glass of mulled wine.”
Budapest; Vörösmarty Square
