(Editor’s note: This is the second installment in our series of 2022 Christmas markets lists. You can see Pt. 1 here, with Berlin, Strasbourg, Vienna, Düsseldorf and more.)
Dispatches has had Christmas markets roundups every year since 2017 though there were years when the pandemic shuttered some of the markets. This year, to everyone’s relief, the pandemic is a distant memory and it’s once again time to celebrate the Yuletide as only Europeans can.
New for this year is a more stripped-down Christmas market list format that makes it easier to just get the details. But, you can see the observations and curated recommendations of our expat network here, here and here.
Let’s start Pt. 2 in Nuremberg, the market where it all began.
Nuremberg Christkindlesmarkt
The Christmas market in Nuremberg is one of the oldest in the world and dubbed the “little city of wood and cloth.” For 2022, it runs from 25 November (opening ceremony) to 24 December and is located on
Hauptplatz.
This is one of the biggest and most visited Christmas markets in Europe. More than two million visitors come to Nuremberg’s open-air market every year to drink the glühwein, eat lebkuchen and peruse the crafts.
Nuremberg is famous for ginger bread (spekulatius) and the grilled, spicy sausages, two foods
you absolutely have to try at the Christmas market (and elsewhere, for that matter). The central
role belongs to the Christkind, represented by a young girl dressed in white and gold, who opens
the festivities on 25 November at 5:30 p.m.
Nuremberg’s market has a separate area for children with a merry-go-round and Ferris wheel and even a kid-sized train. You can find children’s activities such as writing a letter to Santa, making candles and decorating cookies at the Children’s Christmas Market.
Also adjoining the Christkindlesmarkt is the Market of the Sister Cities, where craftsmen sell international wares from all of Nuremberg’s sister cities.
Visitors can tour the market in a horse-drawn stagecoach, or board a tram/train at Hallplatz for a tour of the medieval buildings that surround the town square.
This really is a bucket-list market.
Here are the opening times:
Opening on 25 November, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Monday to Sunday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Christmas Eve 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Salzburg Christkindlmarkt
With the Salzach River flowing though the city and snow covered mountains as the back drop – not to mention an enormous fortress as this Austrian city’s crowning glory – Salzburg is a very romantic place to be at Christmas.
There are three Christmas markets – two in the city and one outside. Here are the details including opening times and dates.
• The most popular market is held just outside the Salzburg Cathedral and the Salzburg Residence in the heart of the old town.
Dates: 17 November thru 1 January, 2023
Times:
Monday – Thursday : 10 a.m. to 8:20 p.m.
Friday : 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Saturday : 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Sunday : 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Christmas Eve: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Christmas Day and 26 December, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Schloss Mirabell Market, 17 November to Christmas Eve
The Mirabell Palace is situated on the opposite bank of the river from the Residence and the Cathedral. The market is in the open area in front of the palace.
Times:
Sunday to Thursday : 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Friday and Saturday : 10 a.m to 9 p.m.
Christmas Eve: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Advent Market at Schloss Hellbrunn
Strictly speaking, Hellbrunn Palace south of the city isn’t in Salzburg, but it is a very historic and romantic location for an Advent market and very easy to get to from the city, with a shuttle service offered at weekends.
Visit the market outside the cathedral and don’t forget to taste one of Salzburg’s specialties:
Salzburger Nockerln, a sweet, fluffy desert to which even a song was dedicated.
17 November to Christmas Eve
Times :
Monday to Friday : 1 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday : 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Christmas Even: 10 a.m to 2 p.m.
Amsterdam
Amsterdam has the reputation of being the “capital of cool,” and you understand why after visiting one of the more than 13 Christmas markets scattered all across the city. The most famous is Ice*Village with a skating ring, stalls selling all the artisan Dutch food, drink and ornaments. This religion-free zone is just a place to enjoy life and celebrate the holidays.
That said, there will be a crowd. But, who cares?
• Ice*Village Christmas Market dates: 14 December 2022 to 26 December 2022. Strictly speaking, Ice*Village on the Museumplein is not really a “Christmas market” in the sense of Salzurg or Nuremburg. The Ice*Village version is more of a hipster Christmas market. Or at least a Bohemian Christmas market.
Check out the website, which is really detailed.
• Ice*Amsterdam: Ice Amsterdam dates are 12 November 2022 thru 5 February 2023.
Opening times: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, the market closes at 5 p.m.
• A special Amsterdam experience is Funky Xmas market, a one-day only event. The market is a good place to find Christmas presents that are, well, funky, as well great food and drinks.
Funky Xmas Market is 18 December 2022.
Opening times: Noon to 6 p.m.
Location: Westergasfabriek , Polonceaukade 27
Inka Piegsa-Quischotte is an international attorney-turned-travel and lifestyle writer based in Spain. She has contributed to BBC/Travel, several in-flight magazines, TripSavvy (Spain) and TravelAwaits among many other publications.
