Our favourite Christmas markets in Europe

Christmas markets in Europe form the perfect setting to get into the holiday spirit, with the sweet aroma of mulled wine and cinnamon spice and the echo of Christmas jingles in the air, and market stalls full of festive fare.  

Home to the some of the world’s most beautiful cities, there are plenty of ways to celebrate the preamble to the festive season in Europe. As the nights draw in, we highlight the best European Christmas markets to explore this year.

Here are my favourite Christmas markets in Europe

Manchester Christmas Markets, Manchester, UK

It started with a cluster of wooden stalls but now, 16 years later, Manchester’'s Christmas market has snowballed into an award-winning festive fantasia attracting seven million visitors yearly. Follow the 300 chalet-lined market trail across the city centre for all kinds of bespoke gifts, from fine jewellery to bonsai trees, while stopping for cocktails at the new pop-up-style Christmas Vintage Lounge on Exchange Square. The real highlight is the street food on Albert Square.

Prague Christmas Markets, Prague, Czech Republic

Prague's distinctively medieval backdrop of church domes, towers and magnificent ninth-century castle, provides the ultimate festive skyline. Stroll through cobbled streets, past hidden courtyards and over pretty bridges to Staromestské Námestie (the Old Town Square), or Wenceslas Square, for the largest –and most magical– markets. They are filled with atmospheric choirs, giant Christmas trees and fairy light-festooned stalls selling locally made gifts including luxe ceramics and scented candles.

Tivoli Christmas Market, Copenhagen, Denmark

When you've got the chief designer from Tiffany & Co. planning the design concept, you can bank on an exquisite spectacle. In 1997, John Loring set the cobbled streets sparkling and transformed the city’s famous Tivoli Gardens into a twinkling winter wonderland with more than 500,000 fairy lights. Now, this Scandi-chic market, along with welcoming scents of gløgg (mulled wine), exhilarating rides and brightly coloured stalls, selling the type of sweaters made famous by Sofie Gråbøl in The Killing, attracts more than a million visitors a year.

Christkindlmarkt, Vienna, Austria

With a market practically on every corner, where better to don your finest faux-fur than Vienna? Schoenbrunn Palace Christmas Market is best for stylish shopping, while the largest and gaudiest – Christkindlmarkt (christmas market) – dates back to 1294 and is bursting with atmosphere. Set in the Rathausplatz in front of the neo-Gothic City Hall, locals come to check out the festive window scenes painted by local artists, and stay for the glühwein (mulled wine). Take a stroll through Rathauspark for old-fashion carousel rides and a ‘Post Office in the Clouds’, where you can post your Christmas cards. Remember those?

Mulhouse Christmas Market, Alsace, France

The Christmas market takes place on the most important square of the city - Place de la Réunion. Known as being one of the most colourful Christmas markets in the world, the site is the perfect opportunity for the town to celebrate it's textile heritage with Christmas fabric created each year hung on the facades of around 100 typical festive huts.

Christkindlesmarkt, Nuremberg, Germany

The Germans know a thing or two about Christmas markets. Over 2,500 are dotted around the country but Nuremberg’s 400-year-old Christkindlmarkt is arguably the most famous. Shining in the Bavarian city's old town, this festive gem has it all: twinkling lights, super-strong glühwein and delicious Bratwurst. Each of the 180 stalls sell genuine tat-free treasures, from handmade candles to enameled music boxes, and special wardens ensure all products are locally made. It all adds to the authentic flavour and the buzzing Bierkeller next to the ice-rink is a guaranteed Christmas spirit booster.

Edinburgh Christmas Markets, Edinburgh, UK

Bringing traditional German flavour to the Scottish capital, stallholders at The European Market are from Frankfurt, while The Scottish Market serves up local delights. Treat your pooch to canine cookies from The Grassmarket on Saturdays, lose yourself in the fir tree maze and ride the Edinburgh wheel for fantastic city views. Once Christmas is wrapped up, it all kicks off again for Hogmanay: a legendary New Year’s party where 80,000 revelers come for music, fireworks and lashings of whisky.

Our favourite Christmas markets in Europe

Christmas markets in Europe form the perfect setting to get into the holiday spirit, with the sweet aroma of mulled wine and cinnamon spice and the echo of Christmas jingles in the air, and market stalls full of festive fare.  

Home to the some of the world’s most beautiful cities, there are plenty of ways to celebrate the preamble to the festive season in Europe. As the nights draw in, we highlight the best European Christmas markets to explore this year or next.

Here are my favourite Christmas markets in Europe

Manchester Christmas Markets, Manchester, UK

It started with a cluster of wooden stalls but now, 20 years later, Manchester’'s Christmas market has snowballed into an award-winning festive fantasia attracting seven million visitors yearly. Follow the 300 chalet-lined market trail across the city centre for all kinds of bespoke gifts, from fine jewellery to bonsai trees, while stopping for cocktails at the new pop-up-style Christmas Vintage Lounge on Exchange Square. The real highlight is the street food on Albert Square.

Prague Christmas Markets, Prague, Czech Republic

Prague's distinctively medieval backdrop of church domes, towers and magnificent ninth-century castle, provides the ultimate festive skyline. Stroll through cobbled streets, past hidden courtyards and over pretty bridges to Staromestské Námestie (the Old Town Square), or Wenceslas Square, for the largest –and most magical– markets. They are filled with atmospheric choirs, giant Christmas trees and fairy light-festooned stalls selling locally made gifts including luxe ceramics and scented candles.

Tivoli Christmas Market, Copenhagen, Denmark

When you've got the chief designer from Tiffany & Co. planning the design concept, you can bank on an exquisite spectacle. In 1997, John Loring set the cobbled streets sparkling and transformed the city’s famous Tivoli Gardens into a twinkling winter wonderland with more than 500,000 fairy lights. Now, this Scandi-chic market, along with welcoming scents of gløgg (mulled wine), exhilarating rides and brightly coloured stalls, selling the type of sweaters made famous by Sofie Gråbøl in The Killing, attracts more than a million visitors a year.

Christkindlmarkt, Vienna, Austria

With a market practically on every corner, where better to don your finest faux-fur than Vienna? Schoenbrunn Palace Christmas Market is best for stylish shopping, while the largest and gaudiest – Christkindlmarkt (christmas market) – dates back to 1294 and is bursting with atmosphere. Set in the Rathausplatz in front of the neo-Gothic City Hall, locals come to check out the festive window scenes painted by local artists, and stay for the glühwein (mulled wine). Take a stroll through Rathauspark for old-fashion carousel rides and a ‘Post Office in the Clouds’, where you can post your Christmas cards. Remember those?

Mulhouse Christmas Market, Alsace, France

The Christmas market takes place on the most important square of the city - Place de la Réunion. Known as being one of the most colourful Christmas markets in the world, the site is the perfect opportunity for the town to celebrate it's textile heritage with Christmas fabric created each year hung on the facades of around 100 typical festive huts.

Christkindlesmarkt, Nuremberg, Germany

The Germans know a thing or two about Christmas markets. Over 2,500 are dotted around the country but Nuremberg’s 400-year-old Christkindlmarkt is arguably the most famous. Shining in the Bavarian city's old town, this festive gem has it all: twinkling lights, super-strong glühwein and delicious Bratwurst. Each of the 180 stalls sell genuine tat-free treasures, from handmade candles to enameled music boxes, and special wardens ensure all products are locally made. It all adds to the authentic flavour and the buzzing Bierkeller next to the ice-rink is a guaranteed Christmas spirit booster.

Edinburgh Christmas Markets, Edinburgh, UK

Bringing traditional German flavour to the Scottish capital, stallholders at The European Market are from Frankfurt, while The Scottish Market serves up local delights. Treat your pooch to canine cookies from The Grassmarket on Saturdays, lose yourself in the fir tree maze and ride the Edinburgh wheel for fantastic city views. Once Christmas is wrapped up, it all kicks off again for Hogmanay: a legendary New Year’s party where 80,000 revelers come for music, fireworks and lashings of whisky.

Thinking of visiting Italy?

Arguably Europe’s most enticing country, Italy charms visitors with irresistible food, awesome architecture, diverse scenery and unparalleled art. In fact, it's so packed with possibilities it can almost overwhelm.

If you’ve not visited before you could well wonder what to see? Where to go? How to travel? Here’s everything you need to know to get the absolute utmost out of your first-time Italy trip.

Short on time? Start with the big three: Rome, Florence and Venice. A week is (just) enough to enjoy the country’s headline acts.

The glories of Rome
A day: Rome wasn’t built in one, and you certainly can’t see it in one. Instead allow at least two, preferably three. That’s time to take in the spectacular Colosseum, the 2000-year-old Pantheon, the palace ruins of the Palatino, sacred St Peter's and the art-filled Vatican Museums. Trot up the Spanish Steps, toss a coin in the Trevi Fountain, shop in narrow lanes and indulge in prime people watching.

Florence and Tuscany: art and wine
Two days in Florence sees you cherry-picking the incomparable art in the Uffizi gallery, delighting in the frescoes in the Duomo and pondering the anatomy of Michelangelo's David. It also allows for shopping on the ultra-chic Via de' Tornabuoni and an aperitivo (pre-dinner drink) or two in locals' favourite Piazza della Signoria.

Check into one of the idyllic rural farmhouses in Chianti and spend time exploring a land where vine trellises snake along rolling hills with Romanesque churches sheltering in their folds. Wineries lie everywhere. At extraordinary Antinori, for example, the high quality of the wine is matched by high-tech architectural innovation. A day trip to gorgeously Gothic Siena sees you marvelling at the Italian ability to turn buildings into art.

Bewitching Venice
To enjoy unique, utterly exquisite Venice, allow a few days. Glide down the Grand Canal, by gondola or vaporetto (water bus), tour the grand Palazzo Ducale, gape at the treasure-filled Basilica di San Marco and run out of camera space snapping the extraordinary array of Venetian architecture. There'll also be time to join the locals shopping at Rialto Market, tuck into cicheti (Venetian tapas) and get a little lost amid the 400 bridges and 150 canals.

Best of the rest

Got time to prolong your Italian love affair? With a couple of weeks at your disposal you can add on a few of these other dolce vita delights.

Seductive Naples; extraordinary Pompeii
Gritty and not always pretty, Naples demands to be seen. Come here for an anarchic zest for life, a Unesco-recognised historic core, Greco-Roman artefacts in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale, and the Neapolitan Baroque Certosa e Museo di San Martino. Then day-trip it to Pompeii for ruined cityscapes, and to Mt Vesuvius to gaze into a live volcano and across a wide blue bay.

Style and beauty in Milan and the Lakes
For big-city style and legendary landscapes, head to Italy’s northwest. A day in Milan opens up a grand Gothic Duomo (cathedral), Leonardo Da Vinci's Last Supper and world-class opera at La Scala. A short train ride away, belle époque Lake Maggiore harbours the beguiling Borromean Islands, specks of rock crowned by ornate palaces and extravagant gardens. Or spend a few days at glamorous Lake Como revelling in lake-lapped cocktail bars, sumptuous villas, vintage speedboat trips and the snowy-mountains-meets-azure-water scenery.

Cinque Terre's harbours and hills
In Cinque Terre National Park terraced vineyards cling to sheer hills traversed by improbably steep hiking trails, and villages flow down to tiny harbours lined with restaurants and bars. Ferries and a rattling rural train link the five villages. Allow two to four days to hit the walking trails, swim in the sea, soak up the atmosphere and re-charge.

Eating and drinking

The diversity of regional cuisine alone is worth travelling to Italy for. Bistecca alla fiorentina (Florence's iconic T-bone steak); creamy Po plains risotto; olive oil and lemon-laced grilled fish on Elba; espresso and sweet treats in Naples' backstreets bars; fresh-from-the-wood-oven pizza al taglio (pizza by the slice) in Rome. And as for sampling Brunello, Chianti, Prosecco, Montepulciano and Soave wines in historic cellars and in restaurants just yards from the vines – that’s an experience that lingers for life.

Where to stay

All World Journeys can assist you with all your needs, from luxury hotels, mountain huts, monasteries, hip hostels, family-run hotels, antiques-packed palazzos, secluded villas and remote farmhouses framed by vines and complete with pools.

Our favourite Christmas markets in Europe

Christmas markets in Europe form the perfect setting to get into the holiday spirit, with the sweet aroma of mulled wine and cinnamon spice and the echo of Christmas jingles in the air, and market stalls full of festive fare.  

Home to the some of the world’s most beautiful cities, there are plenty of ways to celebrate the preamble to the festive season in Europe. As the nights draw in, we highlight the best European Christmas markets to explore this year.

Here are my favourite Christmas markets in Europe

Manchester Christmas Markets, Manchester, UK

It started with a cluster of wooden stalls but now, 16 years later, Manchester’'s Christmas market has snowballed into an award-winning festive fantasia attracting seven million visitors yearly. Follow the 300 chalet-lined market trail across the city centre for all kinds of bespoke gifts, from fine jewellery to bonsai trees, while stopping for cocktails at the new pop-up-style Christmas Vintage Lounge on Exchange Square. The real highlight is the street food on Albert Square.

Prague Christmas Markets, Prague, Czech Republic

Prague's distinctively medieval backdrop of church domes, towers and magnificent ninth-century castle, provides the ultimate festive skyline. Stroll through cobbled streets, past hidden courtyards and over pretty bridges to Staromestské Námestie (the Old Town Square), or Wenceslas Square, for the largest –and most magical– markets. They are filled with atmospheric choirs, giant Christmas trees and fairy light-festooned stalls selling locally made gifts including luxe ceramics and scented candles.

Tivoli Christmas Market, Copenhagen, Denmark

When you've got the chief designer from Tiffany & Co. planning the design concept, you can bank on an exquisite spectacle. In 1997, John Loring set the cobbled streets sparkling and transformed the city’s famous Tivoli Gardens into a twinkling winter wonderland with more than 500,000 fairy lights. Now, this Scandi-chic market, along with welcoming scents of gløgg (mulled wine), exhilarating rides and brightly coloured stalls, selling the type of sweaters made famous by Sofie Gråbøl in The Killing, attracts more than a million visitors a year.

Christkindlmarkt, Vienna, Austria

With a market practically on every corner, where better to don your finest faux-fur than Vienna? Schoenbrunn Palace Christmas Market is best for stylish shopping, while the largest and gaudiest – Christkindlmarkt (christmas market) – dates back to 1294 and is bursting with atmosphere. Set in the Rathausplatz in front of the neo-Gothic City Hall, locals come to check out the festive window scenes painted by local artists, and stay for the glühwein (mulled wine). Take a stroll through Rathauspark for old-fashion carousel rides and a ‘Post Office in the Clouds’, where you can post your Christmas cards. Remember those?

Mulhouse Christmas Market, Alsace, France

The Christmas market takes place on the most important square of the city - Place de la Réunion. Known as being one of the most colourful Christmas markets in the world, the site is the perfect opportunity for the town to celebrate it's textile heritage with Christmas fabric created each year hung on the facades of around 100 typical festive huts.

Christkindlesmarkt, Nuremberg, Germany

The Germans know a thing or two about Christmas markets. Over 2,500 are dotted around the country but Nuremberg’s 400-year-old Christkindlmarkt is arguably the most famous. Shining in the Bavarian city's old town, this festive gem has it all: twinkling lights, super-strong glühwein and delicious Bratwurst. Each of the 180 stalls sell genuine tat-free treasures, from handmade candles to enameled music boxes, and special wardens ensure all products are locally made. It all adds to the authentic flavour and the buzzing Bierkeller next to the ice-rink is a guaranteed Christmas spirit booster.

Edinburgh Christmas Markets, Edinburgh, UK

Bringing traditional German flavour to the Scottish capital, stallholders at The European Market are from Frankfurt, while The Scottish Market serves up local delights. Treat your pooch to canine cookies from The Grassmarket on Saturdays, lose yourself in the fir tree maze and ride the Edinburgh wheel for fantastic city views. Once Christmas is wrapped up, it all kicks off again for Hogmanay: a legendary New Year’s party where 80,000 revelers come for music, fireworks and lashings of whisky.

Dancing in the street Chinese style

Something different in Miami

Miami has so much to offer and plenty of sightseeing. It is fantastic place to visit for a holiday with many sights including the Wynwood Art District. 

Hidden Greece

Whether you choose deserted beaches, fabulous local food, walking or ferry-hopping itineraries, we have the Greek Islands well and truly sorted.

Hiking in Amorgos, Cyclades

As well as the azure bays and its role in Luc Besson’s The Big Blue, Amorgos is also renowned for it's hiking trails, which not only connect the island’s villages but also provide access to ecclesiastical and natural landmarks. Start at Hora, the capital of the island, and walk towards the landmark of Amorgos, the Greek-Orthodox monastery of Panagia Hozoviotissa. Built by Byzantine emperor Alexius Comnenus I in the 11th century, this whitewashed monastery is wedged into a cliff face 300 metres above the sea. Climb the nearly 300 steps, walk through the low marble doorway and take the staircase that leads to the chapel where treasures and icons are kept. You will be rewarded with a vertiginous yet panoramic view of the Mediterranean, complimentary rose-flavoured loukoumi (Greek Turkish delight) and psimeni raki (raki with honey and spices) offered by the monks. From there, descend towards the pebble beach of Agia Anna. Here the waves splash against a rock which a chapel of the same name is built on. It’s then time to dive into the deep blue Aegean.

Karpathos, Dodecanese

The largest Dodecanese island is largely unknown to Brits. You can fly there but not directly from the UK. Better to take the ferry from Rhodes or Crete as we did and head for Diafani, where getting around is mostly by boat or on foot. We were enchanted by the lack of tourist trappings as local life carried on around us. As visitors we found ourselves welcomed with gifts of pomegranates, just-caught whitebait and freshly baked bread. While we were drinking coffee at a cafe on the water’s edge, a local fisherman invited us onto his caïque and took us on a spectacular journey to a beach where we found ourselves alone and surrounded by undisturbed centuries-old ruins. As we swam, our boatman fished for octopus, then barbecued it for us, having first shooed the goat from the stone table. Inland we visited Olympos, courtesy of the free loan of our hotel owner’s car. The remotest village on the island, and only recently accessible by road, it’s a place where traditional costumes and customs still persist, and time seemed, like its iconic windmills, to stand still.

Kastellorizo

Kastellorizo, a mile off the Turkish coast, is a colourful and picturesque island with a tumultuous past. Originally colonised by the Dorian Greeks, the island was later occupied by Egypt, Italy and the Ottoman empire, all of which is evident in the capital’s rich architectural legacy. Pastel-coloured Anatolian-style houses are arranged around a small fishing harbour lined with tavernas. Dotted on the hillside are a church and a cathedral, an Ottoman mosque, monasteries and castles. The ruins of an ancient acropolis lies on the western outskirts of town. A promenade on the steep streets and lanes provides abundant delight and surprise as well as breathtaking views of the Mediterranean. A small family-friendly beach west of the harbour is excellent for swimming. The island’s remote location on the fringes of the Dodecanese has left it relatively undisturbed by tourists, making it an ideal getaway centred on food, recuperation and culture. The island is easily reached by boat from Rhodes or Kas.

Abandoned sulphur mines of Milos, Cyclades

There can be no more breathtaking backdrop to a dip in the Aegean than the abandoned sulphur mine of Milos. The stunning bay of Paliorema can be accessed via a dirt road, although the scramble down the cliff to the golden shingle is not for the faint-hearted. Hire a 4x4 to get as close as possible. Once at the beach, you can wander freely around the abandoned buildings, where it appears the miners may be back at any moment to start work. Follow up your visit at the Mining Museum in Adamas, which includes a video about workers in the sulphur mine before it was permanently closed in 1978. Milos’s charms are only enhanced by the fact that it has not relied on tourism for survival like some of its better-known neighbours.

Donoussa, Cyclades

Donoussa is the quietest of the smaller Cyclades islands, hidden behind much larger Naxos. Traditionally described as off the beaten track, it has reinvigorated itself in recent years as younger people move back from Athens to work in family businesses. There are some great new restaurants, such as To Auli in the main (small) village and an organic beach bar at nearby Kedros bay. An excellent new walking guide (in Greek and English) opens up the hills, while a minibus service will carry you back from the other side of the island on the only road. There are regular ferries from Athens but arrive on the local Express Skopelitis from Naxos for the best experience – this ferry also offers lots of short-journey, island-hopping options.

Let us help you discover the world, contact us discover@allworldjourneys.com 

Thinking of the Amalfi Coast for your up and coming holiday?

The allure of the Amalfi Coast has been drawing people to the region long before it had a name. Its dramatic charm and idyllic weather enticed ancient Roman nobles to build their villas there, a real estate trend that, overtime, never faded. Today the mountains and sea cliffs are dotted with pastel confections of holiday homes and sumptuous villas, which have elevated the coastline to one of the most fabulous and unique destinations in the world. Its fragile cultural landscape, churches, gardens, vineyards and towns are divided into thirteen different municipalities, and were listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites in 1997. Positano, Amalfi, and Ravello are the area’s top destinations, attracting thousands of jetsetters each year.

Five days is all you need to take in the highlights of the region. Consider a night or two on the volcanic garden island of Ischia, and then spend the rest of your time at one of the coastal gems, Sorrento, Positano or  Amalfi, with day trips to explore the splendours of Pompeii, Ravello's gardens and some mountain scenery.

Campania has been looking after visitors for centuries and competition is fierce and standards of service are high. Whether you’re honeymooning or taking the family, you’re likely to find a warm welcome, enhanced by a room decked out with local tiles and a lush garden.