Is the Newcastle Christmas Market Worth It?
If you love eating your way round a Christmas market, Newcastle is going to make you very happy. The chalets wind round Grey’s Monument and down Grey Street, which is easily one of the most beautiful streets in Britain, and they’re packed with local food, from crispy duck wraps and Greek gyros to crumbles from the market’s own trader of the year and chips loaded Christmas-style.
The people behind the counters are local too. More than 86% of the 70-plus traders come from within 20 miles of the city centre, so instead of the same German sausage chain you see in every British city, you get Geordie bangers, County Durham fudge and beer brewed down the road in Blaydon.
What it isn’t is a craft market, and that’s the bit that lets me down. Food stalls outnumber the gift ones, so if you turn up hoping for rows of handmade decorations, you’ll walk the whole thing and come away with fudge. So eat your way down Grey Street and buy your presents elsewhere, and Newcastle turns into one of the most fun Christmas weekends in the country.
When Is the Newcastle Christmas Market 2026?
Newcastle’s Christmas Market runs from Thursday 19 November to Wednesday 23 December 2026, and it’s free to wander.
The lights switch on a week before the market opens, on Thursday 12 November at Grey’s Monument, with free entertainment from 18:00 and the lights at 19:00.
It’s open 10:00 to 20:00 Monday to Saturday, and 10:00 to 17:00 on Sundays, so don’t leave a Sunday visit until the evening, because the stalls will be shut while the bar and the Christmas Village carry on without them.
The street stalls finish on 23 December. The Christmas Village shows keep going to Christmas Eve, and the Ferris wheel, the carousel and the Moosenwirt bar run until 31 December, closing only on Christmas Day (their hours for 24, 26 and 31 December aren’t out yet). On New Year’s Eve the Quayside hosts Howaymanay, with free family fireworks at 18:00 and a ticketed party with fireworks over the Tyne at midnight.
| Date | What’s on |
|---|---|
| Mon 2 Nov | Fenwick’s Christmas window opens on Northumberland Street |
| Sat 7 Nov | Ice rink opens at the Life Science Centre |
| Thu 12 Nov | Lights switch-on at Grey’s Monument, 19:00 |
| Thu 19 Nov | Christmas market opens |
| Fri 20 Nov | Northern Lights trail starts in Leazes Park (selected dates) |
| Sat 21 Nov | Christmas Village, Ferris wheel and carousel open in Old Eldon Square |
| Tue 24 Nov | Jack and the Beanstalk opens at the Theatre Royal |
| Sat 28 to Sun 29 Nov | No trains between Peterborough and London King’s Cross |
| Fri 4 to Sun 6 Dec | Durham Christmas Festival, 11 minutes away by train |
| Sat 12 to Sun 13 Dec | Christmas market at the Glasshouse in Gateshead |
| Wed 23 Dec | Last day for the market stalls |
| Thu 24 Dec | Last day for the Christmas Village shows |
| Thu 31 Dec | Howaymanay on the Quayside, last day for the wheel and Moosenwirt |
| From Fri 1 Jan | Market closed until next season |
The Newcastle Christmas Market, Street by Street
Everything sits within about five minutes’ walk of Grey’s Monument, so it’s easy to see in one go, and each street has its own job. Once you know which one does what, the whole market clicks.
Grey Street (Where to Eat)
Grey Street is the foodie heart of the market and where I’d spend most of my time. The stalls line the curve of those grand Georgian buildings, with the Theatre Royal’s columns halfway down, and in the dark with the lights on I could stand there all night. The choice of food is ridiculous, so go in with an empty stomach and a plan.
Crumbling’s local crumbles were the 2025 Trader of the Year, and they’re back. Geordie Banger Co does loaded hot dogs and pigs in blankets, Lucca fires Neapolitan pizza in a wood oven, and BagHead brings Irish spice bags. When your feet need a rest, the Moosenwirt, an Alpine-style pop-up bar with fire pits and a log bar, is halfway down.
Grainger Street (Where to Shop)
This is the gift street, and the best one for presents. There’s cheese from Matthew’s, a Grainger Market cheesemonger, North East photography prints, County Durham fudge, beer from Blaydon’s Firebrick Brewery, spirits and chutneys. Shop Grainger Street on a weekday morning, before the crowds arrive.
Many of the gift stalls rotate every week, so the market on 20 November isn’t the same as the one on 20 December. That’s annoying if you’re hunting one particular stall, and fun if you’re coming back twice.
Nelson Street
Round the corner, Nelson Street has more stalls this year, and it’s the prettiest little corner for browsing, with Morpeth bakes, Jianzhan ceramics, lamps, crocheted flowers and cosy cardigans. It’s small, so it won’t take long, but it’s the closest Newcastle gets to the craft market people wish it was.
Grey’s Monument
The hub of it all, with jewellery, local spirits, hot sauces, prints and, from 10 to 16 December, raw Northumberland honey. It’s also home to The North Pole, heated igloo domes looking down Grey Street, which you can book from £20 for a 1h45 slot. With a group of friends and a few drinks on a freezing night, that’s a great shout, and it gets you out of the scrum for a bit.
Old Eldon Square (Rides and the Christmas Village)
This is where you’ll find the kids. The Ferris wheel is 22 metres tall this year, up from 15 last year, and there’s a vintage carousel next to it.
The Christmas Village has Santa Stories in a tipi from £10.50 a child and £6.50 an adult, plus a booking fee, gingerbread decorating at Mrs Claus’ Bakery from £5, reindeer stage shows, and Christmas films like Elf and Home Alone from £7.50 with free popcorn. It has more hot food as well, including C&C Loaded Chips’ Christmas in a Bowl and Greek gyros from Acropolis.
What to Eat and Drink
Food is the whole point here, so these are the stalls I’d hit, roughly in this order.
- Christmas in a Bowl from C&C Loaded Chips, homemade chips with a festive load on top. It’s daft and glorious.
- A crispy duck wrap from Hatch 76 on Grey Street, hot, crunchy and messy.
- Gyros and halloumi from Acropolis in Old Eldon Square, the one I’d queue for twice.
- Raclette potatoes from Alpine Fondue, for when it’s freezing.
- A crumble from Crumbling for pudding, warm and buttery and exactly what a cold night calls for.
- Mulled wine or a beer, both £6.50 last year, with hot chocolate at £5.50.
For a big UK market, the drinks are actually decent value. Last year’s price study put Newcastle among the cheaper big markets for a beer, and last year the Moosenwirt served drinks in plastic cups, so there was no mug deposit to fuss with there (less pretty, but less faff). Card and contactless are the norm, but keep a bit of cash on you just in case.
The food is another matter. Bratwurst ran £7 to £9 last year and churros or crêpes £6 to £8, so a good graze for two adds up fast, and that’s the bit that makes me wince.
Where to Buy Gifts
Since the market itself is short on gifts, I’d do my Christmas shopping just behind it. Grainger Market is right behind the stalls, a covered Victorian market with more than 100 independent traders, and it’s where Matthew’s Cheese and Crepes Gourmet have their everyday stalls. It’s open Monday to Saturday and shut on Sundays.
Grainger Market’s Sunday closure is where the Glasshouse comes in. If you’re here on the weekend of 12 and 13 December, cross the Tyne to Gateshead, where around 30 independent makers sell illustration, ceramics, knitwear and vintage each day, free to browse. And on the 4 to 6 December weekend, the Durham Christmas Festival is the big one for handmade gifts.
Fenwick’s Christmas Window
This is a Newcastle institution, it’s free, and it’s the one bit of Christmas every Geordie seems to have a memory of. Every year the Fenwick department store on Northumberland Street, about five minutes north of Grey’s Monument, fills its front windows with a Christmas story, and locals queue to see it like it’s a ride.
This year’s window is The Gruffalo’s Child, with the Gruffalo’s little one off on a snowy woodland adventure and Santa’s sleigh crossing the night sky. It’s free, and up until early January, so you can see it any time you’re in town. Go after dark for the full effect, and go on a weekday if you’ve got small children who’ll want to stand at the glass for ages.
When to Go
Avoid Saturday afternoons. The market drew more than two million visits last season, and on a December Saturday the stalls slow to a shuffle and the seats by the Moosenwirt fire pits go fast.
My plan would be a weekday, shopping in the morning and eating in the evening. Do Grainger Street and the Grainger Market while it’s quiet, then come back to Grey Street for food as it gets dark, which in mid-December is around half past three.
And think twice about the weekend of 28 and 29 November if you’re coming from London. There are no trains between Peterborough and King’s Cross that weekend, so the trip means a coach to Bedford and a Thameslink in, which turns the London run into an expedition.
More Christmas in Newcastle
The market isn’t the only reason to come in December, and a few of these are worth planning a trip around.
- The panto. The Theatre Royal, right on Grey Street, has Jack and the Beanstalk from 24 November 2026 to 17 January 2027, with Danny Adams, Clive Webb and Chris Hayward, and Joe McElderry as the Spirit of the Beans. Danny and Clive are a Newcastle Christmas tradition in their own right, so book early. The Tyne Theatre does Aladdin from 4 December, with Marcus Collins and Michael Greco.
- Northern Lights in Leazes Park. An after-dark light trail with its own little Christmas village, on selected dates from 20 November to 31 December, from £21.25.
- Ice skating. The outdoor rink at the Life Science Centre in Times Square, right by Central Station, runs 7 November to 3 January. It’s £15.75 an adult and £14.50 a child, or £49.50 for a family of four, with skates included.
- Candlelight at the cathedral. Newcastle Cathedral has Christmas by Candlelight on 11 December and a Bublé Christmas by Candlelight on 12 December.
- The Quayside. There’s no market down there, but walk ten minutes downhill at dusk and you get the Tyne bridges lit up over the water, which is the best free view in the city.
Where to Drink
Newcastle does old pubs brilliantly, and a few of the best are a short walk from the stalls. Lady Grey’s sits right beside the Theatre Royal, so it’s perfect before the panto. The Old George, tucked into a yard off the Bigg Market, is one of the oldest pubs in the city, with low ceilings and a fireplace you’ll want to move into.
Down on the Quayside, the Crown Posada is a gorgeous little Victorian pub with stained glass, and the Broad Chare is the one for proper food. And if you’ve got time before your train home, the Centurion Bar inside Central Station is a restored first-class waiting room, which is a very grand place to wait for a train.
Getting There and Around
Newcastle sits right on the East Coast line, so trains from London King’s Cross take from 2h38, Edinburgh is 1h21 away and York just 49 minutes. From the station it’s about a ten-minute walk up Grainger Street to the monument, and the stalls start well before you get there.
Flying in, take the Metro from the airport straight to Monument in about 25 minutes, and a single is capped at £2.50.
What’s the Weather Like in Newcastle in December?
Cold, and windy off the Tyne. It averages around 8°C by day and 3°C at night, feels below freezing after dark, and it rains on a third to half of December days. The sun’s down by about 15:40, which at least means the lights come on early.
There’s a small chance of snow, about 8% for a weekend trip, so pack a warm, waterproof layer and shoes with decent grip, because Grey Street and Grainger Street are both steeper than they look.
Day Trips From Newcastle
Durham is the reason I’d stay an extra night in Newcastle.
Durham is 11 minutes by train, and its Christmas Festival on Palace Green, between the cathedral and the castle, runs 4 to 6 December with more than 120 craft and producer stalls, which is everything Newcastle’s market isn’t. You need to book, so do it as early as you can.
A few more are an easy ride away:
- Beamish, the living museum, does Christmas daytimes from 21 November and Christmas evenings on a few December Thursdays and Fridays, with an Edwardian town street and Father Christmas at the station. It’s not on the railway, but buses 28 and 29 go from the city centre, and arriving by bus gets you 25% off.
- Hexham is about 35 minutes up the Tyne valley by train, with an abbey Christmas fair on 12 December.
- Alnwick. Alnmouth station is about half an hour away, then a short bus or taxi into town for the Alnwick Garden’s Winter Lights from 20 November.
- York is 49 minutes away, for a more traditional market in a medieval city, and the York Christmas market pairs well with Newcastle for a two-city weekend.
So, Is the Newcastle Christmas Market Worth It?
Yes, if you come for the food. Grey Street lit up for Christmas, a crispy duck wrap in one hand and a mulled wine in the other, with the Theatre Royal glowing behind the stalls, makes a brilliant night, and Newcastle is among the cheaper big UK markets for a drink.
For gift shopping, bolt on the Durham festival or the Glasshouse market, or carry on up the coast to Edinburgh. Then go on a weekday, see the Fenwick window, and eat everything on Grey Street.
