Your Guide to European Christmas Markets

As the days grow shorter and winter chill sets in, Christmas markets begin popping up across Europe. These open-air markets make holiday shopping a relaxed, joyful experience with an emphasis on artisanal food and handcrafted items.

Our year-round Europe cruises open the door to experiences that summer travelers may miss, including the chance to shop and dine at a European Christmas market.

• Traditional European Christmas markets begin in mid-November and close around December 23.
• Holland America has several Christmas market cruises offered in 2027 & 2028 that visit many vibrant ports during the holiday season.
• Christmas markets offer handcrafted gifts and regional specialties, including their own versions of heated, mulled wine often called glühwein or glögg.

Christmas markets are temporary markets that pop up the month before Christmas in European cities, where the community gathers to dine on seasonal specialties, sip mulled wine, and peruse wooden stalls for handmade gifts. The tradition dates back to 15th-century Dresden, and there are now thousands of Christmas markets across Europe.

Some feel like stepping into a vintage postcard, complete with carousels and white lights, while others are more carnival-like with quirky contests, live music, and rides.

Here are some of the cities we visit in Europe and more about their Christmas markets. 

Hamburg has more than 30 Christmas markets, making it a top destination for that classic Christmas feel. The most popular market is Rathausmarkt in front of Rathaus (City Hall). About 80 stalls sell handmade toys, cooking tools, decorations, and baked goods. Santa Claus even “flies” over the market. For a more intimate atmosphere, the St. Petri Church Christmas Market features hundreds of illuminated fir trees around the city’s oldest church.

Hamburg also has novelty Christmas markets, including a dedicated market just for dogs with treats, leashes, and a fenced-off area for the pooches to play in.

What to eat and drink: Glühwein (mulled wine), potato pancakes, currywurst, roasted almonds.

What to shop for: Glühwein mugs, ornaments, paper stars.

Featured itinerary: This itinerary features an overnight stop in Hamburg.

Tuomaan Markkinat, at Senate Square is the oldest Christmas market in the city. It’s known for a strong commitment to sustainability, a vintage carousel, and quirky contests, such as holiday outfit contests for pets. Helsinki’s location near Lapland makes your dream of snow-dusted market stalls a real possibility. But don’t fret about the cold — there’s a Finnish sauna right in the middle. Joulusauna, or Christmas sauna, is a Finnish tradition where the family relaxes in a sauna on Christmas Eve, before the feast.

What to eat and drink: Star puff pastries with jam, artisan cheeses, candied nuts.

What to shop for: Wool mittens, artisan chocolate, and wooden kitchenware.

Featured itinerary: Stay overnight in Helsinki and other spectacular ports with this 27-day cruise itinerary.

Copenhagen is an exceptionally walkable (and bikeable) city, so you may have time to explore a few Christmas markets on a single port visit. For a Victorian vibe, visit Tivoli Gardens, the second-oldest amusement park in the world, opened in 1843. Between mid-November and December, the park is a glow with more than 600,000 lights strung through the trees and buildings.

The Nyhavn Christmas Market is equally as enchanting, but much smaller. Ships are festooned with sparkling lights and market stalls will be set up to sell ornaments, baked goods, and spiced wine. Denmark’s wine has a delightful twist with almonds and raisins at the bottom of the cup. You will find both alcoholic and non-alcoholic varieties.

What to eat and drink: Danish-style hot chocolate, warm apple cider, fried dough, smoke sausages, roast pork sandwiches (flaeskesteg), brunkager cookies.

What to shop for: Danish porcelain, vacuum-packed smoked salmon, licorice.

Featured itinerary: This 15-Day Baltic & Scandinavian Christmas Market cruise features overnight stays in Hamburg and Copenhagen.

Located in Gamla Stan (Old Town), Stortorget, Stockholm’s oldest market, is in the center of Stortorget Square, a medieval square. With traditional red wooden stalls and a backdrop of brightly colored gabled buildings, it’s the perfect place for a Christmas card photo.

Skansen is another popular Christmas market near Stockholm, offering a more rural feel. Skansen dates back to the early 1900s and is held in an open-air museum of an 18th-century Swedish farmstead. Visitors are drawn to the Christmas choirs, dances around the tree, and Lucia Day celebrations.

What to eat and drink: Waffles, kolbullar (pancakes with salt pork), gingerbread.

What to shop for: Knitted handicrafts, wooden ornaments, ceramics, Christmas toffee.

Featured itinerary: Stay overnight in Stockholm and other cities on this 28-day Baltic & Scandinavian Christmas Markets cruise.

The merriment continues on board our holiday cruises with special celebrations, festive décor, entertainment and activities across the fleet, from tree-lighting ceremonies to carol singing.

From Arctic adventures and festive holiday markets to spring blooms and summer celebrations, every season reveals a different side of Europe. Subscribe to Holland America’s Europe Insider Calendar to stay informed about upcoming cultural events, seasonal highlights, and unforgettable travel experiences throughout the region.

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