The world’s most enchanting Christmas markets – from Europe to beyond

Glühwein and gingerbread, make space for bibingka rice cakes and peameal bacon at these Christmas markets around the world.

Christmas markets. Two words that conjure up a jingle of excitement around the world. Images of snow-covered stalls, the smell of mulled wine and red-nosed carollers in a European setting amid freezing weather…

If that is where your mind goes, it’s not surprising. The original winter markets are thought to have begun in Middle Ages Germany. But today Christmas markets can be found worldwide, and each community brings their unique traditions with it.

Here are the Christmas markets you need to visit around the globe.

1. Christkindlmarket Nuremberg, Germany

Head deep into Bavaria for the world’s most famous Christmas market, located in Nuremberg, one of Germany’s cutest Christmas towns. Christkindlmarket Nuremberg is named after the golden-haired Christkind or ‘Christ Child’, who officially opens the market when a young girl, representing the gift-bringer of Christmas, welcomes everyone.

After that, crowds throng among 180 wooden stalls, buying regional crafts, cups of mulled Glühwein, traditional Lebkuchen gingerbread, roasted chestnuts, and bratwurst sausages cooked on open fires. Cue the soundtrack of choirs and brass bands, and cries of Frohe Weihnachten!

The world’s most famous Christmas market won’t disappoint. (Image: Getty/Juergen Sack)

2. Christkindlmarket, Chicago, USA

It is from the Nuremberg one that America’s most famous Christmas market gets its name. Held in Daley Plaza, Chicago’s Christkindlmarket has 60 traditional wooden stalls that serve up their own versions of gingerbread, mulled wine and pretzels, with the smell of hot chocolate, cookies and roasting nuts also in the air.

There are also some Windy City twists, like international and local food blends, craft beers, visits from Santa Claus for the kids, family workshops, live music and gifts crafted by artisans. The magnificent skyscrapers of the Chicago skyline frame it all.

Christkindlmarket is framed by Chicago’s skyscrapers. (Image: Jim Prisching)

3. Ayala Triangle Gardens Festival of Lights, Manila, Philippines

Filipinos are world-famous for their unwavering devotion to Christmas, with carols playing there from September onwards. So, you’d best believe that their Christmas markets are an extravagant affair to match. A choreographed light show plays intermittently across the market’s surrounding gardens as visitors make their way through stalls selling traditional Filipino crafts like ethically sourced Capiz shell ornaments, delicacies of spices and sauces and bamboo crafts.

Seasonal treats like bibingka, purple puto bumbong, and other kakanin rice cakes should be at the top of the list to try, swiftly followed by barbecued meats, roasted lechon (pork) and beef-filled empanadas.

Filipinos are world-famous for their unwavering devotion to Christmas. (Image: Arthur Parado/Unsplash)

4. Tokyo Christmas Market, Tokyo, Japan

Hot sake and mochi sweet rice cakes compete with glühwein and stollen pastries for your attention at the Tokyo Christmas Market. Hosted in Tokyo hotspots like Hibiya Park, the Japanese metropolis’s take on traditional European Christmas markets is enchanting. Japanese artistry is showcased alongside European-style gifts, Christmas-themed origami workshops are held and Japanese musicians blend their melodies with festive jingles and carols – all under sparkling lights and glowing lanterns.

Tokyo Christmas Market is enchanting. (Image: Getty/Ryuya Horiguchi)

5. Zócalo Christmas Market, Mexico City, Mexico

Steaming tamales, cinnamon and vanilla-spiced hot chocolate, deep-fried buñuelos and sugar-crisped churros. All things you will see clutched in the paws of big-eyed children in Mexico’s most famous Christmas market. Held in Zócalo, one of the largest public squares in the world, a main attraction of the Zócalo Christmas Market is the enormous tree, which is often paired with a Nativity scene.

At this community event, mariachi bands perform festive songs, storytelling pastorelas (Christmas plays) run and folk dances take place. Traditional Mexican craftspeople sell everything from jewellery set with local stones to hand-painted ornaments and ceramic pottery.

The enormous tree is a major drawcard of the a main attraction of the Zócalo Christmas Market. (Image: Getty/Andy Krakovski)

6. Strasbourg Christmas Market, France

The Strasbourg Christmas Market, or Christkindelsmärik, in northeastern France is almost as old as the Nuremberg markets and rivals them in fame. The markets take place on the UNESCO World Heritage site of Grande Île. 300 stalls are arranged around the mediaeval Strasbourg Cathedral, and they sell everything from vin chaud (hot wine) and regional Bredele biscuits to Kougelhopf cakes, onion-bacon-cream-topped Tarte Flambée.

If you’re running late on your festive shopping, there are traditional Alsatian handcrafted ornaments and wooden children’s toys galore.

The Strasbourg Christmas Market rivals Nuremberg’s in fame. (Image: Getty/Diego Martin Lopez)

7. Honolulu City Lights, Honolulu, Hawai‘i, USA

Come December, Saint Nick and Mrs. Claus are switched for aloha-styled shaka Santa and Tūtū Mele on the balmy island of Oʻahu. At the Honolulu City Lights and Christmas Market, European traditions of winter feasting and drinking are given a distinctly Hawaiian flair, with tropical shaved ice, malasadas (doughnuts) and coconut milk hot chocolate.

Temperatures around 25 degrees Celsius mean you can walk in shorts and dresses between the holiday lights, artisan presents of ukuleles and the festive floats of the Christmas parade.

Enjoy Christmas with Hawaiian flair. (Image: Getty/Eric Broder Van Dyke)

8. Edinburgh Christmas Market, Scotland, UK

Edinburgh is one of the places you’re most likely to experience a White Christmas, and what better combination than snowfall and Christmas markets? Stroll under the festive lights of East Princes Street Gardens with Edinburgh Castle in sight in the capital’s Christmas markets. Wooden chalets beckon locals and visitors alike with seasonal gifts like Scottish-designed knitwear. Scottish folk music is played on bagpipes and fiddles, and carols are sung as children dash between carousels and street entertainers.

Of course, the only way to stay warm is through eating (it is Christmas after all…). Tablet fudge, shortbread, mince pies and gingerbread beckon those with a sweet tooth. Scottish pork and venison sausages, neeps and tatties (mashed potato and turnips), and of course, haggis, will capture the mouths of the rest.

9. Toronto Christmas Market, Toronto, Canada

French influence and old-world German traditions meet Canadian culture at the Toronto Christmas Market. Over 100 vendors set themselves up on the cobblestoned streets of Toronto’s Distillery District among 19th-century architecture, with an enormous Christmas tree and glittering lights to bring the festive spirits up high. Toronto seasonal specialties are added to the traditional gingerbread/bratwurst European mix.

Peameal bacon – also known as Canadian bacon – is laden into thick buns and the delectable mess of gravy, cheese curd and fries that is poutine abounds among craft stalls. In addition to Santa Claus visits and holiday workshops, the market is focused on charity and encourages volunteering and donating to causes.

French influence and old-world German traditions meet Canadian culture at the Toronto Christmas Market. (Image: Destination Toronto)