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The Best Christmas Markets in Italy

Italy's best Christmas markets are in South Tyrol, five Alpine towns linked by regional trains, with Milan three hours down the line.

This season 
  

Milan's Duomo chalets haven't published separate hours for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day or New Year's Eve yet.

Plan a trip across ItalyCompare two markets →Trains between them →
Bolzano Christmas Market
Christmas Wanders Index 2026 award seal

Our pick in

Bolzano7.9/10 · № 12 of 195
The short answer

If you only go to one Christmas market in Italy this year

Our pick, and the runner-up worth the detour.

Our pick in Italy

Bolzano

Bolzano · 26 Nov–6 Jan · 112 huts

Bolzano scores highest in Italy, with 112 huts running from Waltherplatz past the Gothic cathedral to the Kapuzinerpark. Craft stalls close at 19:00, but the food stands and the Wine Lounge, pouring local St. Magdalener and Lagrein, keep going to 22:00 or later until 23 December. Coaches pack it on Advent weekends, so come at opening time on a weekday, and remember it's shut on Christmas Day.

Merano, 40 minutes away by hourly train, puts about 80 exhibitors on the river promenade by the Art Nouveau Kurhaus, with food until 22:30 on Fridays and Saturdays.

This is the shortlist

It's ranked on atmosphere, stall quality and how well the city works as a base.

Bolzano
Best overall
Merano
Riverside stalls by the Kurhaus
Bressanone
Light show on the Hofburg
Trento
Open on Christmas Day
Milan
Open latest, to 10 January
Verona
By the Arena, ends 27 December
Vipiteno
Carillon under the tower
Brunico
Most room to breathe
Rome
Piazza Navona and the Befana

Still torn? Take the market quiz and get your top three →

This season

When does every Italy Christmas market open and close?

This list is updated as official dates land

Italy · opening dates
MarketOpensClosesSizeEntrySince
Milan
Mercatino di Natale in Duomo
Fri 20 Nov
Sun 10 Jan
MediumFree
Bolzano
Bozner Christkindlmarkt / Mercatino di Natale di Bolzano
Thu 26 Nov
Wed 6 Jan
MediumFree1991
Runs into January Closes before the New YearDates change from year to year, so check the market’s own page before you book.

Going further? Every market’s dates in one place, in the market calendar →

Browse by country

One Christmas season, country by country

Every market, ranked

All Christmas markets we visited in Italy

Bolzano Christmas Market

Bolzano

7.9

26 Nov – 6 Jan · Free

Atmosphere8
Food and drink8
Value7
Elbow room4
Read the guideFind hotels
Milan Christmas Market

Milan

7.0

20 Nov – 10 Jan · Free

The Duomo chalets run 1 December to 6 January. The Villaggio delle Meraviglie opens on 20 November and stays until 10 January.

Atmosphere7
Food and drink7
Value6
Elbow room5
Read the guideFind hotels
Side by side

How they compare

Tick any two markets to put them head to head. The Index is the overall score out of 10, and elbow room is a planning signal that sits outside it.

MarketAtmosphereValueFoodElbow roomAccessStallsIndex
8784887.9
7675877.0

Swipe the table sideways to see all six scores and the Index →

Sorted by Index. Tick a third market and it swaps out the one you picked first.

Head to head
Index
Index

Atmosphere
Value
Food
Elbow room
Access
Stalls
Compare them in full →Plan both in one trip →

The full comparison adds who each one suits, how cold it gets and the real trains between them.

On the map

How far apart are the Christmas markets in Italy?

Every line is a train between two markets, with the fastest journey time. Tap a market to see its dates, the trains from there and hotels nearby.

Staying in one place? See everything in reach.Pick your base and the big map colours every Christmas market by train time from there. Add your dates and it hides the ones that are closed.
Open the big map →
Planning the trip

Christmas markets you can pair by train

Pick a day and you get that day’s real trains, the last one back and where to buy the ticket.

Munich → Bolzano
How often4h04 · 5 direct Railjets a day
Innsbruck → Bolzano
How often1h57 · Railjet, or about 2h10 changing at the Brenner
Verona → Bolzano
How often1h28 · about 2 an hour, all direct
Bolzano → Merano
How often40–48 min · at least hourly
Bolzano → Bressanone
How often28–34 min · at least 24 a day
Bolzano → Trento
How often29 min by Frecciarossa, 47–55 min by regional train
Milan → Bolzano
How often3h03 · one direct a day, otherwise about 3h05 to 3h45 via Verona
Milan → Verona
How often1h13 · Frecciarossa about hourly
London → Milan
How oftenabout 11h40 · via Paris, 2 same-day options, 3 on weekdays

Fastest train that day, station to station. Last back is the last train back to where you started. Check the exact train before you pay.

Trip planner

Got a few of these in mind? We’ll build the days.

Pick your dates and the markets you want. The planner checks every market is open on the day you’re there, saves the lit-up squares for after dark, times the trains between them and lists what to book, in the order it sells out.

  • Open on your dayNo turning up the day after a market has closed.
  • Real trains, timedFrom the timetable for your date, with the last one back.
  • Bookings in the right orderHotels, trains and tours, with the ones that sell out first at the top.

Your trip

About a minute. Nothing to sign up for.
Nights
Markets
Who’s going
Build my trip →

Opens the trip planner with your days already built. From there you can print the trip pack or save it as a PDF, add the trip to your calendar or share the link.

Italy on our theme lists

Which cities here made each list, so you can pick by what you’re into.

Krampus runsBolzanoDog-friendlyMilanIce skatingMilanGood for kidsBolzano and MilanCastles and palacesMilanNativity scenesBolzano and MilanFor foodBolzano
A ChristmasWanders pocket guide, a street map of every market on one side and hours, prices and transport tips on the other

A pocket guide, both sides

Free pocket guide

Every market in your city, on one sheet of paper

Tell us which city you’re going to and we’ll email you its pocket guide. It’s a real street map with every market on it, plus the opening hours, what things cost and how to get from one market to the next. Print it, fold it, and it still works when your phone dies in the cold.

Two A4 pages, made to print on both sides of one sheet. After that, a few emails a season, and you can unsubscribe in one click.

Quick picks