Kevin and I booked our trip to Austria back in 2019 to be visited in 2020…and after a slight delay in the world, we eagerly made it in 2022! I’d be lying if I said I researched Austria so much and had a laundry list of reasons to visit but truthfully, we booked the trip for the Christmas markets!
Europe is known for the beautiful Christmas markets whether in France, Germany, Hungary, Czech Republic or you guessed it…Austria! This was my first visit to a market, and I can’t wait to visit other countries! If you’re able to travel in late November or December, make it a point to include a market no matter which country you’re vacationing.
This blog touches upon some of the markets in Vienna Austria. One of Europe’s biggest and top ranked Christmas markets is found in Vienna and is named “Viennese Dream Christmas Market”.
Christkindlmarket on the Rathausplatz or Viennese Dream Christmas Market is located in front of City Hall, giving a spectacular backdrop to a beautiful market. The streets are lined with stalls offering an array of goods including kids’ toys, winter accessories, ornaments and holiday decorations. If shopping has you hungry then don’t worry, grab a traditional Austrian treat whether it’s roasted chestnuts, cream filled pastries, Fladenbrot (flatbread with toppings), Christmas punch and of course gluhwein to warm you up! Once you’re done browsing the stalls, make your way over to the giant tree in the middle of the market, very reminiscent of the Rockefeller tree for those NYC lovers! Outside of the stalls is the Tree of Hearts where you can visit with your partner and share a special kiss for cupids’ luck, walk through Rathaus park which is decorated in twinkling lights and features a nativity scene, take a ride on the Ferris wheel or test your luck with ice skating on the rink! There’s something to be said for visiting the largest market as it definitely offers the most activities. We visited during the day (as it’s less crowded) to actually shop and look at the stalls and then again at night to admire the tree, lit up garden and heart tree.
Other popular markets, with many stalls, food and drink offerings include the Christmas Village at Belvedere Palace, Christmas Village on Maria Theresien Square and Christmas Market at Schönbrunn Palace. I stopped at each of these and enjoyed them very much! I found the stalls and food to be similar from market to market but enjoyed these being a little less busy than the Viennese Dreams. With that being said, some of my favorite markets were the tiny ones we stumbled upon made up of maybe 10-20 stalls found on a tiny street corner or smaller square. I found them calmer, quaint and particularly charming.
While each market is similar, I enjoyed seeing the different mugs for the gluhwein offered at each market, we collected a heart shaped mug and a boot shaped mug.
Start planning a Christmas Market trip for 2023!