Basel
Best for Glühwein with a Rhine view
Switzerland · Index 7.8
People’s Choice 2026
Vote for Europe’s best Christmas market
You’ve been, you’ve had the mulled wine, and you know which market won your heart. Give it your vote, wherever it is in Europe, and on Tuesday 19 January we crown the people’s favourite.
Voting closes in
Polls shut at midnight on Sunday 10 January, and voting takes about a minute.
The 20 in the running
Our favourites from the ChristmasWanders Index, which rates 194 Christmas market cities on atmosphere, stalls, food and drink, value and how easy they are to reach. Two per country at most, listed A to Z so nobody gets a head start. Tap Vote on the one you loved and it goes straight onto your ballot.
Bath
Best for Georgian streets and local makers
UK · Index 7.5
Bolzano
Best for South Tyrolean wine and beer
Italy · Index 7.9
Helsinki
Best for gifts straight from Finnish makers
Finland · Index 7.2
Ljubljana
Best for riverside mulled wine after dark
Slovenia · Index 7.2
Manchester
Best for a big-city market crawl
UK · Index 7.0
Sibiu
Best for crafts under the Council Tower
Romania · Index 7.5
Tallinn
Best for a medieval old town setting
Estonia · Index 6.9
Zagreb
Best for sarma, štrukli and fritule
Croatia · Index 7.5
Your favourite isn’t one of the 20?
Vote for it anyway. Every Christmas market in Europe counts, from Aachen to Zurich, and the crown goes to whichever market gets the most votes, shortlist or not.
Best-kept secrets
Eight smaller markets that score high in the Index and still fly under the radar. If you’ve found one, pick it as your best-kept secret. Totally optional, totally recommended.
Bamberg
Germany · Index 7.4Best for a town, not a market
Brno
Czech Republic · Index 7.7Best for Christmas on a budget
Esslingen
Germany · Index 7.6Best medieval market by torchlight
Kaysersberg
France · Index 7.6Best village market for real crafts
Montbéliard
France · Index 7.9Best for handmade gifts and local folklore
Mulhouse
France · Index 7.8Best for a Christmas fabric souvenir
Ravenna Gorge
Germany · Index 7.2Best-looking market in Germany
Regensburg
Germany · Index 8.0Best four-market crawl in Bavaria
Your ballot
People’s Choice 2026. One vote per email address, open until Sunday 10 January.
One vote per email address. We use your email to check votes, and we only send you emails if you tick the newsletter box. Here’s our privacy policy.
Fair and square
Who can vote?
Anyone who’s been to a Christmas market, whether that was last weekend or five Decembers ago, wherever you live. We ask how many you’ve been to, and we take your word for it.
Can I vote more than once?
No. It’s one vote per email address, and that one vote covers both awards. Try again with the same address and the ballot box politely says no.
How do you stop people gaming it?
Before we count, we throw out throwaway email addresses and obvious ballot-stuffing, like a pile of votes from one connection in a few minutes. Markets asking their own visitors to vote is fair game, though. That’s half the fun.
Why can’t I see who’s winning?
Running totals stay secret until the vote closes, so an early leader can’t snowball. On Tuesday 19 January we publish the winners and every market’s share of the vote.
Can I vote for a market that isn’t on the shortlist?
Yes, and please do. Pick Somewhere else on the ballot, then find your market in the list of all 230 we track. If it isn’t there either, type its name. The 20 on the shortlist are our favourites from the ChristmasWanders Index, but the crown goes to whichever market gets the most votes.
Who runs this, and is anyone paying?
ChristmasWanders, an independent guide to Europe’s Christmas markets. Nobody pays to be shortlisted, ranked or crowned, and there’s no prize for voters, just the result and our eternal gratitude.
I’m a journalist. Can I see the results early?
Yes. We share the full results under embargo a few days before 19 January. Email hello@christmaswanders.com and we’ll add you to the list.
Rally your regulars
Run a Christmas market, or the tourism board behind one? Your visitors are your biggest voting bloc. Every shortlisted market has its own vote link that opens with the market already picked, and there’s a badge for your website.
Your market’s vote link
- Bamberg
- Basel
- Bath
- Bolzano
- Bratislava
- Brno
- Brussels
- Budapest
- Colmar
- Dresden
- Esslingen
- Gdańsk
- Helsinki
- Kaysersberg
- Ljubljana
- Manchester
- Montbéliard
- Mulhouse
- Nuremberg
- Prague
- Ravenna Gorge
- Regensburg
- Sibiu
- Strasbourg
- Tallinn
- Vienna
- Wrocław
- Zagreb
Copy the link for your market (right-click, or long-press on a phone). It works anywhere: your website, newsletter, Instagram bio, even a QR code on the stall.
Not on the shortlist? Your visitors can still vote for you. Email hello@christmaswanders.com and we’ll send you a link that opens with your market already picked.
The shortlist badge
Paste this where you want the badge, then swap wroclaw for your own market from the list.
<a href="https://christmaswanders.com/christmas-market-vote/?vote=wroclaw#ballot"><img src="https://christmaswanders.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/peoples-choice-2026-shortlisted-light.png" alt="Shortlisted for Europe’s best Christmas market, ChristmasWanders People’s Choice 2026" width="180" height="180"></a>On a white or pale website, the dark version stands out more. Just swap light for dark in the code. Need another size, or a square for social media? Email hello@christmaswanders.com and we’ll send it over.