With so many German Christmas Markets – Aachen, Cologne, Brussels and Düsseldorf – a brief drive away from our headquarters in Eindhoven, we tend skip the Dutch markets. Big mistake. We finally made it to the Royal Christmas Fair in the Dutch capital of Den Haag and, well, wow! This fair is vast, with something for everyone.
The Royal website states there are 100 “Christmas houses” with artisanal products, food, performances “and the most beautiful Christmas decorations.” All true.
Now, about that whole “royal” thing … Co-CEO Cheryl and I were standing in line for pretzels, joking about expecting Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima to be doling out gluhwein when Mantieu van Pelt schooled us. “It’s the ‘royal’ fair so they can charge more for everything,” van Pelt said with a wink. Van Pelt was in from Gorinchem and told us his hour drive to the fair is well worth it.
We heartily concur. We’d even go as far as to say it’s the best market we’ve visited in the Netherlands.
First, the Royal Christmas Fair has blocks and blocks of stalls. The fair takes place in a big open space on Lang Voorhout, a block north of the Binnenhof (the Dutch Parliament), the complex that includes Noordeinde Palace and the fabulous Mauritshuis Museum.
Second, this is a seriously chi-chi part of the upscale Dutch capital, a criminally underrated city, ignored by tourists. The Royal Christmas Fair is an area of Den Haag that in and of itself is fantastic. There’s a lot to see and do within a quick walk, including the city’s best restaurant row and endless choices for cafés and restaurants. (We hit Club 19 for coffee and apple pie.)
The Royal Christmas Fair itself offers a wide range of experiences, including seasonal food and drink stalls and the Royal Christmas Stage with performances and visits from Santa Claus, a relatively new visitor to the Netherlands, where St. Niklaus is still most identified with Christmas.
At the fair, we checked out:
• Duck & More, with hotdogs (8.50 euros) and burgers (9.50 euros) made from our feathered friends
• a booth selling crispy pork belly for 10.50 euros with an incredibly long line
• “De Snertbar” with authentic Dutch snert (pea soup) for 9.50 euros with wurst
• a huge row of cafés at the entrance with gluhwein, cocktails and beer. They include bars named after German cities (not sure why), including Bar Berlin, Bar Munich and Bar Düsseldorf.
• booths with every kind of apparel including Australian cowboy hats for 54.99 euros
• lots of tchotchkes including those little Dutch houses lit from within with tea lights.
One of the innovations we noticed this year at Dutch Christmas Markets, including Maastricht, is the addition of free photo stops. The ones at the Royal Christmas Fair were especially well done, with authentic one-horse open sleighs (see above) and other nostalgic touchstones.
The ambiance is enhanced by a canopy of lights overhead and the market is, like most things in the Netherlands, so esthetically well done. Just go ….
The Details
Don’t delay because this fair is over after 23 December.
Hours are: Daily, noon to 9 p.m.
Entrances to the Royal Christmas Fair are at the Kloosterkerk (Kneuterdijk), Hotel Des Indes (Denneweg) and the American embassy (Korte Voorhout). We had to search for a bit because it’s not obvious where it is from the Binnenhof.
You’ll see an old-fashion London double-decker bus. That’s the information center for the fair.
Be sure to set aside at least a couple of hours to see the Christmas Fair, then a couple of more hours to explore the surrounding area.
Our tip:
Take the train from wherever, book an inexpensive room at the Moxy, which is ideally located in the center of the action, hit the Mauritshuis, which has an unrivaled collection of Old Masters including major Rembrandts, then the fair.
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See more about Christmas Markets here in Dispatches’ archives.
Co-CEO of Dispatches Europe. A former military reporter, I'm a serial expat who has lived in France, Turkey, Germany and the Netherlands.
