Markets by theme
Every market sells sausages and mulled wine. These go further, with a market built around a local speciality or a separate gourmet market run by chefs and producers.
20 cities built around food
Every market sells sausages and mulled wine. 20 of the cities we cover go further, with a market built around a local speciality or a separate gourmet market run by chefs and producers. Strasbourg’s Quai des Délices and Colmar’s Marché Gourmand are the ones to plan a trip around.
Best Index score first. Open them on the map →
| Market | The food | Market open | Index |
|---|---|---|---|
 | The official gourmet market of Alsace food, on the Terrasse du Palais Rohan. | 27 Nov – 24 Dec | 9.1 |
 | The official site leads on Nürnberger Lebkuchen, and this is the home of the Rostbratwurst in a bun. | 27 Nov – 24 Dec | 8.7 |
 Dresden Dresdner Striezelmarkt | The market is named after the Striezel, Dresden’s Stollen, and holds the Stollenfest parade on 5 December 2026. | 25 Nov – 6 Jan | 8.4 |
 Budapest Advent Bazilika (Szent István tér) | The organisers bill the food as a main draw, with kürtőskalács, bejgli, flódni, Tokaji wine and paprika among the 2026 stalls. | 13 Nov – 3 Jan | 8.3 |
 | A gourmet market of nine chef-run cabins, plus a terroir market of local producers. | 23 Nov – 29 Dec | 8.1 |
 Montbéliard Allée gourmande on square Sponeck, Pass Noël Gourmand | A dedicated food alley with Montbéliard sausage, cancoillotte and regional cheeses, the guest country's cuisine by the town hall, a €9 tasting pass and an apéro space with oysters, foie gras and snails. | 21 Nov – 24 Dec | 7.9 |
 Lübeck Niederegger Weihnachtsbasar; city markets | Lübeck marzipan, with Niederegger's Christmas bazaar of over 300 marzipan gifts and a free Marzipan Museum, plus Fliederpunsch on the Koberg. | 23 Nov – 30 Dec | 7.8 |
 Brno Gourmet Vánoce, Old Town Hall courtyard (Radnická 8) | A courtyard market of nine stalls run by restaurants picked for the Gourmet Brno guide. | 13 Nov – 31 Dec | 7.7 |
 Erfurt Whole market | Protected Thüringer Rostbratwurst, Erfurter Schittchen stollen first recorded in 1329, Thüringer Klöße and pear Glühwein. | 24 Nov – 22 Dec | 7.6 |
 Kaysersberg Farmers' Christmas Market (Place de la Mairie) | A second market just for local farm producers, alongside the craft market. | 27 Nov – 20 Dec | 7.6 |
 Aachen Aachener Weihnachtsmarkt (Markt and Katschhof) | The official stall list has its own Aachener Printen category, with the Printen houses Nobis, Lambertz, Klein and Drouven all trading. | 20 Nov – 23 Dec | 7.4 |
 Baden-Baden Gourmet igloos and the Art and delicacies tasting tour | Eleven fondue igloos, a sommelier-judged mulled-wine award and a guided tour with eight tastings. | 26 Nov – 6 Jan | 7.1 |
 Manchester King Street, Lincoln Square | Food-led sites, with new food trucks on Lincoln Square and deli and street food on King Street. | 6 Nov – 3 Jan | 7.0 |
 Tallinn Town Hall Square | Blood sausage with sauerkraut, more than 20 glögi stalls and a medieval spiced wine called hippocras. | 20 Nov – 6 Jan | 6.9 |
 Newcastle Grey Street and Old Eldon Square | The organiser calls Grey Street the market’s foodie heart, with local hot food traders like Geordie Banger Co, Acropolis, Crumbling and Redhead’s Mac ’N’ Cheese. | 19 Nov – 23 Dec | 6.8 |
 York York Christmas Market | Every food trader represented Yorkshire in 2025, and over 80% of all traders are from Yorkshire. | 12 Nov – 21 Dec | 6.8 |
 Belfast Belfast Christmas Market, St George's Market | An outdoor festive food court with international street food and exotic burgers (ostrich, wild boar, crocodile), and St George's Market food hall was named the UK's Best Large Indoor Market in 2023. | 14 Nov – 22 Dec | 6.7 |
 Leeds Leeds Christmas Market, City Square | The food comes from Leeds independents such as Little Bao Boy, La Grassa and House of Trembling Madness, though prices ran high in 2025. | 19 Nov – 31 Dec | 6.6 |
 London Borough Market; Southbank street food | Borough Market’s Christmas season (30 Nov to 31 Dec) and Southbank’s street-food-led market. | 31 Oct – 4 Jan | 6.5 |
 Rotterdam Kersthal in de Markthal | More than 100 food spots plus pop-up stalls of festive food from around the world, at weekends from 5 to 27 Dec. | 5 Dec – 30 Dec | 5.0 |
Go hungry.
France · Le Quai des Délices
Le Quai des Délices is the official gourmet market of Alsace food, on the Terrasse du Palais Rohan by the river.
France · Marché Gourmand; Place Jeanne d'Arc Terroir Market
The Marché Gourmand is nine cabins run by chefs, and there’s a terroir market of local producers on Place Jeanne d’Arc as well.
Germany · Nürnberger Christkindlesmarkt
The home of the Rostbratwurst in a bun and of Nürnberger Lebkuchen, which the official site puts front and centre.
