Skip to main content

5 European Christmas Markets to visit this winter

Christmas markets are one of my favorite places to be in December. I love going to markets because there's no knowing what you're going to find, but you can be sure there will be a feast for the senses. Christmas markets embody all that is right about shopping (beautiful craftmanship and artistry) without the consumerism of malls and chain stores. It really gives a warm and fuzzy feeling to know that you can buy homemade gingerbread, mulled wine and wood carved figurines and, at the same time, help a small business sustain itself.

The first Christmas markets originated in Germany, and dates back to the 1300s. So it's only appropriate that we start our list with a German Christmas market.

1. Munich, Germany

European Christmas Markets
Source: EuropeanBeautiful

The market at Marienplatz, facing the city's charming Gothic City Hall, is the place that becomes a winter wonderland in the heart of Munich. The origins of this market are though to date back to the 14th century, thus making it one of the oldest in Europe. Enjoy festive live music, cooking workshops for kids and a Christmas Post Office (which will send a letter anywhere in the world) between November 27th and December 24th, 2014.

The official website for the Munich Christkindlmarkt  is here.

2. Prague, Czech Republic

European Christmas Markets
Source: From There to There
The Prague Winter Markets are open daily at Wenceslas Square, Old Town Square, Republic Sqaure and Havel's Market starting with November 29th until January 6th. You can buy the famous Czech glassware and jewellery, visit a mini petting zoo and have mulled wine in the center history-steeped Prague.

Find more information on PragueExperience.

3. Innsbruck, Austria

European Christmas Markets
Source

There really is no better way to shop for Christmas than at a market in the Alps. Innsbruck is the host of six Christmas markets this year, for the romantic, the artsy and the gourmand.

Find out the hours of operation and the locations on the official Innsbruck tourism website.

4. Kerststadvalkenburg, The Netherlands

European Christmas Markets - Kerststadvalkenburg, Netherlands
Source
This is a truly unique Christmas market due to the fact that some of the stalls and displays are located in caverns and caves. Until January 4th, you can visit the largest and oldest underground Christmas market in Europe.

More information, as well as brochures and pictures can be found here.

5. Lille, France

Christmas Markets in Europe - Lille, France
Source

About 80 stalls are displaying Christmas goodies at the markets in Lille in Place Rihour. This small but festive market is surrounded by cafes, bars and patisseries.

Find out more information here

Popular posts from this blog

How to make paper snowflakes

Early in our relationship, my partner and I decided to get a Christmas ornament each year. We don't like buying the Christmas ornaments that you find in stores. It seems to me that all the collections available are cheaply made in China. The glitter is more in the box than on the baubles, Santa's eyes are drawn on his forehead and angels have dubious things hanging from their backs, that definitely don't look like wings. We like to buy from small businesses or independent vendors at craft shows or online, but we're also learning how to make Christmas ornaments from scratch. Making a paper snowflake was a simple and fun project done while we were watching TV. I remember doing this paper project when I was in kindergarten, so it really is easy. The most difficult part might be picking the right book to butcher, if you choose to use book pages instead of regular paper. I did, so I picked Jerry Seinfeld's Seinlanguage . Jerry wouldn't mind, and all

Wisdom on: being alive is a grand thing

I love collecting quotes. My own thoughts, when they come in the shape of quips of other people's wisdom, seem more fully formed. I'm hoping to renew my old habit of collecting quotes in a series called Wisdom on: in which I pair quotes that resonate with me with pictures that are inspired by the words. In keeping with the spirit of the blog, I'm trying to feature European crafters and artists. Here's my quote for this week:   "I like living. I have sometimes been wildly despairing, acutely miserable, tacked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing." Agatha Christie - An Autobiography Nursery art by CassiaBeck Another Wisdom on: the unfounded fear of being childish .

On starting over, in a place of my own

  A lot has happened since I last wrote here, 5 years ago. A lot of good things, too! But somehow the biggest internal transformation in my life was to turn this online writing into a profession. Into the only way to make my living.  It had its highs (which were really high), and its lows (which were, predictably, really low). And now I'm settled into a pattern in which I write for much of the week, for much of the month, about things that other people pay me to write about. It's nice to make a living on your own terms. But it's also emotionally exhausting to turn a creative hobby into a job.   But the side-effect, the only side-effect that keeps my head spinning, is not having anything to enjoy at the end of the day. Feeling like a keyboard monkey is an understatement. In a year when I thought understatements are no longer possible.  So I'm back here, in this little corner of the internet, where nobody reads (the relief), and people don't know my name (the relief).