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Europe’s best Christmas markets spotlight artisans, from candlemakers in Helsinki to jewellery designers of Košice.
ADVERTISEMENTCatherine Roberts is a writer at travel company Responsible Travel.Get behind small businesses this Christmas by visiting the European markets that put passionate craftspeople and producers centre stage. By visiting, you’ll get to dig into delicious delicacies, find unique souvenirs and gifts, and enjoy a friendly, festive experience that welcomes you with open arms… and perhaps even a mug or two of something mulled!Pick out positive gifts at Helsinki Christmas market in FinlandHelsinki Christmas Market embraces the sub-zero temperatures of winter by creating an incredibly cosy affair in Senate Square. Over 100 small producers sell everything from knitted socks and hand-painted candles to silver jewellery inspired by the Finnish winter. Tuck into delicious food, including banh mi and caramel rice porridge from Helsinki’s favourite N4ku, plus ‘Karelian pies’ (a traditional Finnish rye pastry stuffed with rice porridge), smoked fish, and spruce-spiced ‘glögi’, the typical Nordic mulled spirit. A carousel lights up the heart of Helsinki Christmas Market which, like the rest of the stalls, is powered by renewable energy. There’s a push for positive waste reduction too: sellers can donate surplus goodies to Helsinki food aid charity HurstinApu.When and how: 29 November to 22 December 2024. For a full Christmas adventure, catch the train or fly into Helsinki and join a Finland Christmas holiday that throws in Rovaniemi’s markets – and a chance to meet Santa – for good measure.Tuck into a feast of flavour at Old Town Christmas market in LatviaRiga’s Dome Square makes for a picturesque setting for the Old Town Christmas Market.Creatives sell beeswax candles and wool gloves from wooden huts with candy-striped roofs, and chefs cook up a feast of piragi bacon buns, sauerkraut, and smoked hot dogs. Grab a cone of warm, freshly caramelised hazelnuts and go with the flow. Another Christmas market fills the wooden houses of the Kalnciema Quarter every Saturday during Advent. Farmers, designers and artists from across Latvia sell goods as varied as jars of kimchi, embroidered slippers, painted bowls, and bottles of the famous Riga Black Balsam liqueur.When and how: 29 November 2024 to 2 January 2025 for the Old Town market. Saturdays from 30 November to 28 December for the Kalnciema Quarter market. Riga has plenty of rail and air connections, including a train bound for Vilnius that takes four hours and 20 minutes – which leads us to…ADVERTISEMENTUnearth handmade treats at Lithuania’s Vilnius Christmas marketThe Christmas tree in Vilnius’ Cathedral Square has a spectacular costume change each year: past themes have included chess, fairytales and – for the city’s 700th anniversary last year – a towering, tiered cake. Spot the tree, and you’ve spotted the main market, which is the go-to place for handmade Christmas gifts. The week of 18-22 December is a great time to be in town, as talented designers from all over Lithuania set out their very stylish wares at the Christmas Design Square in Vincas Kudirka Square.When and how: Vilnius Christmas Festival runs from 29 November to 29 December 2024. The city has great connections, including a train station that connects you to Kaunas and the Baltic coast.ADVERTISEMENTEmbrace a winter warmer at Schönbrunn Palace Christmas market in AustriaSchönbrunn Palace Christmas Market in Vienna has had a revamp for 2024 and, despite its regal surroundings, retains a village-like feel. This year, stalls ramble across the whole palace forecourt, along with ice stock lanes (a bit like curling) and an ice rink, mini train, Ferris wheel and children’s craft hut. Winter warmers include mountain recipes like ‘gröstl’ (Austrian’s answer to bubble and squeak), ‘spätzle’ (a hearty egg noodle dish), and the melted goodness of Alpine cheese – raclette. You can also browse for handmade souvenirs such as ceramic bells, vanilla shortbread, wooden toys, and Nativity sets. The market also raises funds for Licht ins Dunkel, which supports inclusive social projects in Austria.ADVERTISEMENTWhen and how: Now! Schönbrunn Palace Christmas Market opened on 8 November and will shut its doors on 6 January 2025. Stay at Vienna’s beautifully designed magdas HOTEL, a social business that employs staff with refugee backgrounds.Let it snow with a fairytale Christmas in Košice, SlovakiaDreaming of a white Christmas market? You may well get it in Slovakia’s eastern city of Košice, which often comes with a frosting of snow. Toast the season with a glass of ‘medovina’, a sweet mead concocted from honey sourced from Slovakia’s beloved beekeepers, and wander between the wooden huts that line the pedestrianised stretch of the high street. Time your trip for 6 to 7 December to catch MAME market at Tabačka Kulturfabrik cultural centre. It’s a treasure trove of eye-catching design-led creations from illustrators, jewellery makers, graphic designers and chocolatiers.ADVERTISEMENTWhen and how: 1 to 31 December 2024. You can catch a train or plane to Košice or Poprad. Tatra Escapes offers guided and self-guided Christmas market holidays that include plenty of free time to wander off and do your own shopping – or even admire ice sculptors at work!Dreaming of gingerbread? Head to Brasov’s Christmas market in RomaniaChristmas markets are a relatively new affair in Romania, with the first organised in Sibiu in 2007. Bucharest now hosts the biggest – but Brasov, a Transylvanian city at the foot of the Carpathians, might just host the prettiest. Brasov Christmas Market pops up in Council Square, framed by an atmospheric collection of medieval Saxon buildings and the gothic Black Church. ADVERTISEMENTThe market stalls are piled high with goodies like tree decorations, wood carvings, orange and cinnamon tea, baked apples, caramelised almonds, and ‘baumstriezel’ – a pastry spiral coated in sugar and cinnamon. The candied cherry on top? Just over a million lights, including a display that turns City Hall into a gingerbread house.When and how: Mid-November to early January. Brasov has an airport and train station – and, if you’ve not yet had your fill of festivities, it’s only a 2.5-hour train ride away from Bucharest Christmas Market.Discover Sweden’s oldest Christmas market – and pop-up ones too!You can take your pick of Christmas markets in Stockholm. ADVERTISEMENTHeading to the Old Town for Sweden’s oldest Christmas market is a must though: it’s been stocking people with seasonal supplies since 1837. Stockholm is also an expert in pop-up speciality markets. Sci-fi, comic book, and boardgame fans can unite at the Market of the Geeks (30 November to 1 December). Meanwhile, the Fair Christmas (7 to 8 December) supports organisations that work for human rights and environmental issues. ADVERTISEMENTDon’t forget to drop into Färgfabriken, a factory transformed into a modern art gallery where you can shop for fashionable presents to the tune of live bands and DJs (14 to 15 December). Plus, the dock of Skeppsholmsgården is another great choice as blacksmiths and waffle stalls fire up in view of the ships’ masts (14 to 15 December).When and how: Late November to late December. Grab a spot on a November departure of the Baltics, Helsinki and Stockholm winter tour because, in the spirit of Stockholm, why stick to one Christmas market when you can visit five?Wrap up in style at Tallinn Christmas market in EstoniaTallinn Old Town is dressed to impress at Christmas, wreathed in strings of lights and garlands and topped off with a Christmas tree that’s the centrepiece of Tallinn Christmas Market. ADVERTISEMENTComforting winter cuisine is everywhere: Black pudding, sour cabbage, and elaborately decorated gingerbread biscuits, as well as wine beautifully mulled with blueberries. Keep an eye out for woollen goods from the Estonian islands too. Socks, hats, scarves – and hats long enough to double as a scarf – come decorated with geometric snowflakes.When and how: 22 November to 27 December 2024. You can fly into Tallinn Airport or take the train from a number of European cities. Helsinki and its Christmas market are just across the water via a two-hour ferry ride.
