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About ChristmasWanders

We score Europe's Christmas markets so you can pick the right one.

ChristmasWanders is an independent guide to Europe's Christmas markets. Every market gets the same five scores, dates checked at the source and an honest verdict, including the ones where we'd tell a friend to go somewhere else.

IndependentNo paid placementsPublished methodEvery guide written after a visit
Christmas market in Vienna
ViennaAt the Christmas markets
Why it exists

Most Christmas market advice is out of date

ChristmasWanders started for two reasons. We love Christmas markets, and most of what you find about them online is press releases, old blog posts or dates that were true three years ago.

The same twelve cities, the same three foods, the same photo of the same tree. What almost never shows up are the things that actually decide a trip. When the market opens and closes, what a mulled wine costs, how packed it gets on a Saturday night and whether it's worth the train ride.

So we write those things down, for every market, the same way every time.

01A score out of 10Five measures with the same weights for every market. Atmosphere, stalls, food and drink, value, and getting there.
02Dates checked at the sourceOpening and closing dates plus Christmas Eve and Christmas Day hours, taken from the organisers and marked when they're still estimates.
03Elbow roomA separate crowd score, so you know when to go and not just whether to go.
04An honest verdictIf a market is overrated, or a smaller town nearby does it better, we'll say so.
Been there

Every guide is written after a visit

We've walked every market we write a guide for. The Index also covers markets we haven't written up yet, and those are scored from the organisers' own information, visitor reviews and travel data, using the same published method.

Aachen ✦ Bamberg ✦ Berlin ✦ Bratislava ✦ Bremen ✦ Budapest ✦ Colmar ✦ Cologne ✦ Dortmund ✦ Dresden ✦ Düsseldorf ✦ Edinburgh ✦ Esslingen ✦ Frankfurt ✦ Freiburg ✦ Gdańsk ✦ Graz ✦ Hallstatt ✦ Hamburg ✦ Innsbruck ✦ Kaysersberg ✦ Kraków ✦ Leipzig ✦ Lille ✦ Munich ✦ Nuremberg ✦ Paris ✦ Prague ✦ Ravenna Gorge ✦ Regensburg ✦ Reims ✦ Riquewihr ✦ Rothenburg ✦ Salzburg ✦ Strasbourg ✦ Stuttgart ✦ Vienna ✦ Warsaw ✦ Wrocław
The Index

Same five measures, every market

Each measure gets a score from 1 to 10 against a written rubric and checkable facts like stall counts, prices and the walk from the station. The weighted total is the score you see, out of 10.

Crowds get their own score, elbow room, which sits outside the total. A market shouldn't lose points for being loved.

Read the full methodology →
30Atmosphere and setting
25Stalls and what they sell
20Food and drink
15Value for money
10Getting there and around
+Elbow room, outside the total
Nobody pays to be on the Index

Nobody pays to be on the Index and nobody pays to move up it. No tourism board, hotel or tour company can buy a score or change one. If a city points out a wrong date, we fix the date. The score stays ours.

How the site pays for itself

Some links on the site are affiliate links for hotels, tours, trains and travel extras. If you book through one, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It never decides what we recommend or how a market scores.

The details are on the affiliate disclosure page.

Say hello

Spotted a wrong date, or want to tell us about a market we've missed? We read everything that comes in.