The 2026 Christmas market season starts in earnest this weekend. On Friday 13 November several of Europe’s best-known markets open on the same day, in Vienna, Budapest, Innsbruck, Copenhagen and the caves of Valkenburg. If you were waiting for the first proper market weekend, this is it. Every date below comes from the organiser or the city’s official tourism site.
Christmas markets opening this weekend
Vienna: Rathausplatz, Am Hof and Spittelberg (from Fri 13 Nov)
Vienna’s tourist board, WienTourismus, lists the Viennese Christmas Market at Rathausplatz from 13 November to 26 December 2026, daily from 10am to 10pm, with shorter hours on 24 December. The Vienna Ice World skating paths next to it run from 13 November 2026 to 6 January 2027. The markets at Am Hof and Spittelberg open on the same day, and the Old Viennese Christmas Market on the Freyung follows on Saturday 14 November. Schönbrunn Palace’s market has been open since 6 November. The Christmas Village at Maria-Theresien-Platz and the market at Belvedere Palace open a week later, on 20 November.
Our full route and every market’s dates: Vienna Christmas markets 2026.
Budapest: Vörösmarty tér and St Stephen’s Basilica (from Fri 13 Nov)
Both of Budapest’s big markets open on 13 November. The Christmas Fair on Vörösmarty tér runs to 31 December, and the Advent Feast in front of St Stephen’s Basilica runs to 1 January 2027, both with shorter hours over Christmas. See our Budapest Christmas market guide.
Innsbruck: the Old Town under the Golden Roof (from Fri 13 Nov)
Innsbruck Tourism lists the Old Town market on Herzog-Friedrich-Strasse and the family market on Marktplatz from 13 November to 23 December, daily from 11am to 9pm. Kaiserweihnacht at Bergisel opens the same day and runs on Fridays, weekends and 7–8 December. More in our Innsbruck guide.
Copenhagen: Christmas in Tivoli (from Fri 13 Nov)
Christmas in Tivoli opens on 13 November and runs to 3 January 2027; check Tivoli’s own calendar for daily hours and closed days. On Saturday 14 November the market on Højbro Plads opens too, with crafts and food from Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands. See our Copenhagen Christmas guide.
Valkenburg: the cave markets (from Fri 13 Nov)
In the Dutch town of Valkenburg, the Christmas markets inside the Gemeentegrot and Fluweelengrot caves open on 13 November and run to 30 December. Entry is by timed ticket and both close on 25 December. Our guide to cave and underground Christmas markets has the details.
Stockholm: the Christmas lights (from Sat 14 Nov)
Stockholm’s #Stockholmsjul lights switch on on 14 November across more than 40 streets, centred on Kungsträdgården, and stay up to 16 January 2027. It’s a light display rather than a market; the Christmas market on Stortorget in Gamla Stan opens on 21 November. See our Stockholm Christmas guide.
What opens next
The following weekend is bigger still: Munich’s Christmas Village in the Residenz opens on 16 November, Berlin’s Humboldt Forum market and Hamburg’s Jungfernstieg on 18 November, and Zurich and Salzburg on 19 November. Our Christmas market calendar lists every opening date we have confirmed, with the official source for each.
Opening days are busiest in the evening. For a quieter first visit, go in the late morning or early afternoon, and check the organiser’s site on the day for any weather closures.
