Berlin Christmas markets: which one to pick and when to go
- Published
- 24 October 2026
- Reading
- 5 min read
- Where
- Berlin, Germany
- Prices checked
- 26. Oct 2026.
The Berlin holiday market worth paying for is the WeihnachtsZauber on Gendarmenmarkt, the one with a gate and a weekday free window. Charlottenburg and the Memorial Church market cost nothing, and the details for 2026 are below.
Berlin has roughly a hundred Weihnachtsmärkte (visitBerlin lists 110 entries), and most of them cost nothing. The prettiest one asks €2, which is why the free-market line you hear about Advent in Berlin only half holds. The official season starts on 22 November 2026, although some markets open earlier. This page picks the ones that repay a trip and gives you a route through them.
WeihnachtsZauber at Gendarmenmarkt
The WeihnachtsZauber runs 23 Nov – 31 Dec 2026 around the Konzerthaus, and it is the advent market with a gate. Hours: Sun–Thu 11am–10pm, Fri–Sat 11am–11pm, 24 Dec noon–6pm. Entry costs €2 and children under 12 go in free. The free window is Mon–Fri 11am–2pm (except 24, 25, 26 and 31 Dec). A stage in front of the Konzerthaus has a programme every day, heated tents hold gourmet restaurants and a craft section with champagne, and about 1,000 lights hang over the square. Fireworks go up on 31 December and dogs are not allowed. The nearest stops are U6 Stadtmitte, which has a lift, U2 Hausvogteiplatz, which does not, S Friedrichstraße and bus 147.
Official ticket
- Entry
- €2
- Children
- free under 12
- Free window
- Mon–Fri 11am–2pm
Through a partner
- options with a guide or audio guide
- usually costs more than the official ticket
The market in front of the palace
The Weihnachtsmarkt am Schloss Charlottenburg runs 23 Nov – 27 Dec 2026 and costs nothing to enter. Hours: Mon–Thu 1–10pm, Fri–Sun noon–10pm, closed 24 Dec. More than a hundred exhibitors sell from wooden huts and heated pagoda tents, two children's carousels turn beside a small Ferris wheel, and the palace is lit behind it all. Buses 309 and M45 stop at Klausenerplatz and at Schloss Charlottenburg, about 100 m away, while the guides also point to U Richard-Wagner-Platz and S Westend. The Berggruen and Bröhan museums sit close by, so a cold afternoon here can end indoors.
Gedächtniskirche on Breitscheidplatz
The Weihnachtsmarkt an der Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche runs 13 Nov 2026 – 1 Jan 2027 and is free to enter. A carpet of lights stretches 400 m across the square, light figures stand between more than a hundred stalls, and the menu is Thüringer Rostbratwurst, waffles and candied fruit. The money from mulled wine goes to charity, to the DRK and its Wärmebus, and the market stays open after Christmas, so it works as a New Year market too. Weekend evenings are hard going with a mug in your hand. On 19 December 2016 a truck was driven into this market and 12 people died. The stations are S+U Zoologischer Garten and U Kurfürstendamm.
Berliner Weihnachtszeit and Alexanderplatz
The Berliner Weihnachtszeit at the Rotes Rathaus runs 23 Nov 2026 – 3 Jan 2027. Hours: Mon–Fri noon–10pm, Sat–Sun 11am–10pm, closed 24 and 31 Dec, 3 Jan until 8pm. An ice rink circles the Neptunbrunnen, a 50 m Ferris wheel has heated cabins, and one street is built with the façades of old Berlin. U5 Rotes Rathaus is about 100 m away and S+U Alexanderplatz about 400 m, and the guides list entry as free. The Weihnachtsmarkt am Alexanderplatz next door runs 23 Nov – 26 Dec 2026, also free. Hours: daily 11am–10pm. Guides describe it as loud and packed, so stop briefly on your way to the Rathaus rather than planning the evening around it.
- Thüringer Rostbratwurst, the standard first stop at any big market.
- Handbrot and lángos, for something hot to hold.
- Gebrannte Mandeln, roasted almonds sold by the bag.
- Waffles and candied fruit, for the sweet end of the walk.
- Mulled wine for adults and Kinderpunsch for children.
A food tour with a local guide: several tastings in one walk.
What to drink and what it costs
Mulled wine costs €5 at the larger markets such as Alexanderplatz, Charlottenburg and Potsdamer Platz, and a report of 12 November 2025 found that the price had not changed from the year before. Stands on Breitscheidplatz charge differently from one booth to the next, so look at the board before you queue. These are last season's prices and 2026 may differ.
Smaller markets, easier breathing
The Lucia-Weihnachtsmarkt in the KulturBrauerei in Prenzlauer Berg runs 23 Nov – 22 Dec 2026, with no entry fee. Hours: Mon–Fri 3–10pm, Sat–Sun 1–10pm. The nearest stop is U Eberswalder Straße, and on Friday and Saturday evenings the courtyard fills with locals. In the old town of Spandau a craft market, running 23 Nov – 22 Dec 2026, stretches across the Marktplatz to the church of St Nicholas, 200 m from U7 Altstadt Spandau and about 25 to 30 minutes from the centre. The Winter Market on Schlossplatz at the Humboldt Forum runs 18 Nov 2026 – 3 Jan 2027. The RAW grounds on Revaler Straße 99 and the Heissa Holzmarkt both charge entry for part of the week, RAW from Thursday to Sunday, so the claim that Berlin's markets are free does not hold.
One day, in order
On a weekday begin at Gendarmenmarkt during the free window, then walk to the Humboldt Forum and Museum Island, which are close by. Go on to the Rotes Rathaus and Alexanderplatz for a short stop, and spend dusk at Lucia or on Breitscheidplatz. If you stay in the west, do Breitscheidplatz first and take the metro to Charlottenburg. Last season Santa flew over the market at the Rathaus on sleighs at 16:30, 18:30 and 20:30. Weekend evenings are densest at Gendarmenmarkt and on Breitscheidplatz, while weekday afternoons are the quietest of the week.
Check the same room on both sites: price and cancellation terms can differ.
Up high or indoors
Berlin's markets are free or cheap, so the better question is which view or which warm room to add to the evening. The towers give you the lit city from above, while the cathedral and the palace give you somewhere warm with a reason to stay. Book a tower for a clear night and a church or a palace for a bad one.
- TV Tower has an observation deck open daily 9:00–23:00. The standard ticket is €20, and the operator says the best price is always online
- Panoramapunkt sits on the 24th floor of the Kollhoff Tower at Potsdamer Platz, 90 m above the square
- Berliner Dom sells a ticket from €15 with an audio guide, covering the dome, the crypt, the church and the museum. The Rundfunkchor Berlin sings its a cappella Christmas concert there on 22 December 2026 at 20:00
- Schloss Charlottenburg stands behind its own market, and while the market runs the palace and grounds offer special tours on Hohenzollern Christmas traditions
Pick Gendarmenmarkt on a weekday at lunchtime, and finish the evening at Lucia.
A ticket with a chosen time slot, booked ahead.
Official ticket
- Floor
- 24th
- Height
- 90 m above the square
Through a partner
- options with a guide or audio guide
- usually costs more than the official ticket
A ticket with a chosen time slot, booked ahead.
Germany, in brief
What now
If this sounds like your trip, start here.
Berlin
→A city cut in half by a wall that fell in 1989, and which never made a secret of the scar
Berlin in 3 days
→Government, museums and the Wall in three days that don't overlap — with a Reichstag dome that costs nothing and one €24 ticket for all of Museum Island.
Day trips from Berlin
→Six day trips from Berlin, all by train: Sanssouci in half an hour for €5, the camp at Oranienburg with no admission, and a lake you reach on an ordinary city ticket.
Where to stay in Berlin
→Six Berlin districts with prices for two a night — and the one thing listings never mention: how loud it is under the window.
What Berlin costs
→Three daily Berlin budgets, added up line by line — from €56 with a hostel and a döner to €268 with a hotel, taxis and dinner with wine.
Berlin with an address: a listening station and a river pool
→Ten Berlin things with an address and a price: an abandoned listening station in the forest, an airport as a park, a pool in the river, and how never to pay the €60 fine.
What to eat in Berlin
→Berlin eats standing up, from a döner in Kreuzberg to a currywurst under the elevated railway in Prenzlauer…
The best time to visit Berlin
→May, June and September for walking, summer for the lakes, winter for museums and clubs — and for a day eight hours long.
Getting around Berlin
→Berlin reads most easily as a ring, an east-west viaduct and nine U-Bahn lines, with the airport express reaching the Hauptbahnhof in 23 minutes and the trams working the east.
Germany
→A country with no single centre but a dozen, each convinced it is the main one
Strasbourg's Christmas market, and how old it really is
→How old the Strasbourg market really is, when it runs in 2026, where the crowds gather, what to eat from the deposit cup and why so many visitors sleep in Colmar.
Vienna Christmas markets: which one if you only have one evening
→Five markets, the 2026 dates, what a punch and a mug deposit cost, and an order for one evening on foot.
Salzburg Christmas markets: five markets, one day
→Salzburg has five Christmas markets with five sets of dates, and the 2026 dates and hours are already published.
Innsbruck Christmas markets: seven of them, and which comes first
→Seven Christmas markets stand within walking distance in Innsbruck, and Advent there is a route rather than a single square.
Nuremberg Christmas markets: Christkindlesmarkt and three more
→The Hauptmarkt holds the headline market, but a December day in Nuremberg divides better across four.
Dresden Christmas markets: Striezelmarkt and nine more
→The Advent market on Altmarkt gets the attention, yet the city lists ten, from medieval craftsmen in the Stallhof to white pagodas in Neustadt.
Cologne Christmas markets: six markets, one route
→Cologne counts 13 markets for 2026, and six of them repay an evening.
Munich Christmas markets: which to visit and in what order
→Munich has around ten Christmas markets, each with its own theme, and in 2026 the season opens with an ice rink before the main Christkindlmarkt follows a week later.
Prague Christmas markets: which to pick, dates and prices
→Two big Prague Christmas markets fill the central squares while a handful of smaller ones sit in the neighbourhoods.
Budapest Christmas markets: which first, what it costs, when to go
→Two Christmas markets lead Budapest's Advent, and the order you visit them in decides how much of the evening you enjoy.
Zagreb Christmas markets: an advent spread across the squares
→Zagreb spreads its Advent across squares, parks and whole neighbourhoods instead of one fenced-off spot.
Ljubljana Christmas markets: where the stalls are and how to walk them
→Ljubljana's Advent market runs as a string of stalls along the river, from Prešeren Square to Breg.
Bratislava Christmas markets: three squares and a hall
→Bratislava's Christmas markets fill three squares of the old town that sit side by side.
Kraków Christmas markets: the Main Square, Mały Rynek and szopki
→Kraków has two Christmas markets, one on the Main Square and a smaller one on Mały Rynek, plus a szopka contest that gives December its own date.
Timișoara Christmas markets: where, when and in what order
→This guide to the Timisoara Christmas market covers the three squares and the county fair beside them.
Graz Christmas markets: sixteen markets, one walking route
→Sixteen Christmas markets sit within walking distance in the old town of Graz, and one of them is the pick for a single evening.
Leipzig Christmas markets: from the Markt to Augustusplatz
→Which areas make up the Advent market in Leipzig, when they open, how the mug deposit works and how to walk them in one evening.
Brno Christmas markets: five squares and when each one runs
→Brno spreads its Advent market over five squares in the old centre.
Sibiu Christmas market: dates, food and one-evening plan
→One square, one Christmas market in Sibiu, Romania, and a short list of things that cost money.
Wrocław Christmas markets: the Rynek, Plac Solny and Kraina Koni
→Wrocław has two Christmas markets, and only one of them has official 2026 dates so far.
Gdańsk Christmas markets: Targ Węglowy and the six zones
→Gdańsk has one Christmas market, the Jarmark Bożonarodzeniowy, spread over several zones around Targ Węglowy.
Paris Christmas markets: which to pick, dates and ice rinks
→Paris has three big Christmas markets, at Tuileries, La Défense and Notre-Dame, and each suits a different kind of evening.
Lyon Christmas market and Fête des Lumières: how to see both
→Lyon has one big Christmas market and a four-night festival of light that matters more.
Rome Christmas markets: Navona, nativity scenes and lights
→Rome has one craft market, a Vatican exhibition of nativity scenes and a lot of light.
Naples Christmas markets: the street of the crib and what else opens
→Naples answers the question of the Christmas market with one street of nativity workshops, San Gregorio Armeno, where red huts stand in front of the shops.
Verona Christmas markets: from Piazza dei Signori to the Arena
→Verona spreads its Christmas markets over four places, from the Arena square to the old Arsenal, and one evening is enough to walk the best of them.
Milan Christmas markets: Duomo, Oh Bej and one evening in order
→Milan has three events that pass for Christmas markets, and they differ in age, size and price of admission.
Madrid Christmas markets: Plaza Mayor and what else is worth it
→Madrid's main Christmas market sells decorations rather than mulled wine.
Barcelona Christmas markets: Santa Llúcia, the port, Sagrada Família
→Three Christmas fairs, a Catalan idea of what one should sell, and a route for one December evening.
London Christmas markets: Winter Wonderland and where else to go
→London has no single Christmas market, only a ticketed amusement park, a riverside walk and a few lit squares.
Christmas markets in Europe: which city suits which trip
→Forty-eight cities compared on dates, size and character, with a pick for one evening, for children, for after New Year and for anyone tired of mulled wine and wooden huts.
Linz Christmas markets: Hauptplatz and Volksgarten
→Two free Linz Christmas markets, one for crafts on Hauptplatz and one for families in the Volksgarten, with dates, hours and a sensible order for one visit.
Warsaw Christmas markets: Old Town and Plac Defilad
→Warsaw has two Christmas markets in two different places, one in the shadow of the Palace of Culture and one beside Castle Square in the Old Town.
York Christmas markets: St Nicholas Fair and what to pair it with
→York's main Christmas market is St Nicholas Fair, set along Parliament Street, and this page explains where it sits, when it runs and how to fit the Shambles and the Minster into the same evening.
Bath Christmas market: a short run, so pick your day
→Bath Christmas Market is short and compact, with chalets in the historic centre beside the Abbey.
Maastricht Christmas market: Magisch Maastricht on the Vrijthof
→Magisch Maastricht turns the Vrijthof into a winter park with a covered ice rink, a 45 m Ferris wheel and Austrian-style chalets.
Trieste Christmas markets: the mercatini around the Borsa and Ponterosso
→The Trieste Christmas markets are a handful of streets and two squares near the Borsa and Ponterosso, with an ice rink and the San Nicolò fair nearby.
Turin Christmas markets: a small village and a city of lights
→Turin has no single big Christmas market.
Bologna Christmas markets: five small fairs, the oldest under a portico
→Five small Bologna Christmas markets, the oldest under a portico roof, with dates for 2026/27, what to eat on the way and a simple order for one evening.
Debrecen Christmas market: Kossuth tér, ice rink and Advent
→Debrecen's Christmas market is a citywide Advent with its centre on Kossuth tér, where an ice rink and ten thousand lights share the square.
Hamburg Christmas markets: Rathausmarkt, Jungfernstieg, Santa Pauli
→Hamburg runs several Weihnachtsmärkte at once, from the historic Rathausmarkt to white tents on the Alster and an adults-only market on the Reeperbahn.
Novi Sad Christmas markets: Zimzolend on Trg slobode
→Novi Sad has one Christmas market, called Zimzolend. It fills Trg slobode with wooden huts, and entry is free.
Olomouc Christmas markets: two squares, a rink and quiet hours
→Olomouc runs two Christmas markets at once, one on the two main squares and one beside an ice rink, and the quieter hours suit families best.
Poznań Christmas markets: Betlejem Poznańskie
→Poznań spreads its Christmas markets over three places and keeps them running until Epiphany, with free entry on the two squares and a separate fairground stop.
Toruń Christmas market: gingerbread and the Old Town
→Toruń's Christmas market is a single fair on the Old Town Square, with more than 100 exhibitors, gingerbread baking workshops and a full children's programme.
Bled Christmas market: the Winter Fairytale by the lake
→Bled's Christmas market is the Winter Fairytale on the lakeside promenade, with regional food, live music at weekends and a legend about a sunken bell.
Sofia Christmas market: the NDK fest and the German market
→Sofia has two Christmas markets, a festival in front of the NDK and a German market in the City Garden. Official dates for 2026 are not out yet.
Szeged Christmas market: Advent at Dóm tér
→Szeged Advent turns Dóm tér into a small Christmas market with a 50 m Ferris wheel, a straw maze for children and mulled wine.
Front row for the next trip
Leave your email and we'll let you know when a new destination or story goes up.