In fact, it’s hard to imagine a more festive way to celebrate the season than by sipping hot mugs of gluhwein in the cold winter air, shopping for hand-crafted gifts at wooden chalets, or snacking on classic wintery treats.

Although originally originating in Germany, these festive markets are now held in many other countries around the world and there are now hundreds – if not thousands – to choose from.

That’s why we decided to find out which are the most popular cities in Europe based on their Christmas markets.

We analysed a variety of factors to determine which are the most popular, including search volume data, the number of Instagram hashtags and the number of Christmas markets in each city.

What’s more, we also found out the average flight time for each city, whether it’s Christmas market has an ice rink and the number of stalls it has, as well as the chance of snow – very important for anyone wishing to see snowflakes fall.

As well as Europe, we also analysed the most popular cities for Christmas markets in the UK for those wanting to stay a bit closer to home.

Read on below to find out the results…

The Most Popular Cities In Europe For Christmas Markets

Vienna

Surprisingly, sitting in the top spot is not a German city but the capital of Austria, Vienna. The city held its first “December Market” way back in 1298 and still offers festive delight today. Rathausplatz is home to Vienna’s most famous Christmas market: an elaborate winter wonderland that sprawls in front of the dramatic, neo-Gothic city hall.

Being so picturesque, it is no wonder that #Viennachristmasmarket has been used almost 14,000 times. The city is also very likely to be under a canopy of snow during the festive market season, which will make its 20 Christmas markets all the prettier. It is not a long journey either, with the average flight time from London to Vienna being just over two hours.

Berlin

The birthplace of Christmas markets does make an appearance though, with its capital city Berlin securing second place. The city’s first Christmas market dates back to 1530 and was held in Alt-Berlin, a neighbourhood situated in the Berliner locality of Mitte. Today though, there are over 80 Christmas markets in Berlin – so there is definitely something to suit all!

Berlin’s festive markets are searched for more than those in any other European city too, with the term ‘Berlin Christmas Market’ averaging 3,300 searches on Google each month. However, it’s not the place to head if you’re looking for a white Christmas as the chance of snow in the city is fairly low.

Strasbourg

Taking third place overall is the French city, Strasbourg. It is France’s oldest Christmas market, which is not surprising considering its close proximity to Germany. The city scored highly for the number of times revellers have used its Instagram hashtag – over 16020 times – and for its monthly Google searches – 2700 on average.

The Christmas market has existed since 1570 and takes place every year between the end of November and 31 December. Snow is also very likely, making this market the perfect winter wonderland. However, getting to Strasbourg is not the most straightforward of journeys as there are currently no direct flights from London.

Munich

Germany takes another top-five position, with Bavaria’s capital Munich ranking in fourth place. It was the first official ‘Christmas market’ that took place in Germany – and the world – and dates back to 1310. Another benefit of visiting the ‘oldest Christmas market’ is that it is only a short 1h 50m plane journey from London.

However, like other large German cities, Munich has a fairly low chance of snow during the festive season so anyone set on a white Christmas should consider elsewhere. For those who don’t consider snow a dealbreaker, there are plenty of ways to keep entertained by browsing over 300 festive stalls and enjoying the large open-air ice rink in front of the beautiful Karlskirche.

Frankfurt

Anyone not keen on flying should consider visiting fifth place for a Christmas getaway. Another German city, Frankfurt has the shortest flight time from London at only 1hr 30m. The Frankfurt Christmas Market is one of the oldest German Christmas festivals, dating back to the year 1393. Today, it is so well-renowned that the English city, Birmingham, has named its own German Christmas market after it – “Frankfurt Christmas Market Birmingham”.

Frankfurt scored highly for the number of mentions that it has had on Instagram – over 9,000 – and scored higher than any other German city. But like other large German cities, the chance of snow in Frankfurt is fairly low, meaning that it’s unlikely to be a white wonderland during the festive period.

The Most Popular Cities In The UK For Christmas Markets

Edinburgh

Taking the top spot for the most popular Christmas market in the UK is Edinburgh. The Scottish capital ranked highly in the Instagram category with a score of 41,000 hashtags – clearly a Christmas market that people want to show their friends! Edinburgh’s Winter Festival brings its Christmas market and famous Hogmanay together in a festive period full of twinkling lights, enchanting sounds, mouth-watering flavours and lots of fun!

Bath

Securing second place is Bath – a city that has up to 1.3 million yearly visitors and is one of England’s cities visited most by overseas tourists. The picturesque streets of the spa town are transformed into a magical, festive experience of over 200 stalls, an ice rink, and plenty of twinkling lights. Unfortunately, the city has cancelled its market for this year, but we’re sure that people are looking forward to its big return in 2022!

Manchester

In third place is England’s ‘capital of the North’. Impressively, #Manchesterchristmasmarket has been used over 48,000 times, making it the most Instagrammed festive market in the UK. It is also one of the largest Christmas markets in the UK and boasts over 300 stalls.

London

Ranking fourth overall is England’s actual capital city, London. Unsurprisingly, the city has more Christmas markets than any other city in the UK – there are around 16 festive markets advertised in London so visitors definitely have their pick! The Capital is also home to the UK’s largest outdoor ice rink, which is set up during the festive period around the iconic Victorian bandstand in the heart of London’s Hyde Park.

York

Making up the top five best UK cities for Christmas Markets is picturesque York. The city is the most searched UK Christmas market on Google – seeing 5,200 searches each month on average. And it’s no surprise that people are keen to visit, the medieval city lines its streets with wooden chalets full of trinkets, festive food and mulled wine.

Methodology

To find out the best cities for Christmas markets, we first collated seeding lists of over 100 cities from every country in Europe and the most populous cities in the UK – both using data from various sources.

We then analysed each city on the below factors:

• Average monthly search volume
• Instagram hashtags
• Number of markets in the city

We used a variety of credible sources to find data for each of the above categories and then ranked the countries from first to last based on this data.

We then added the scores together to get a total score, before ranking the cities based on this overall, final score.

For cities that had a tied overall score, we used ‘search volume’ data point as the tie-breaker – ranking the city with the higher number first. If the cities were still tied, we then looked at the ‘number of Christmas markets’ data point.

The full dataset is available upon request.

Sources:
www.ahrefs.com
https://www.europeanbestdestinations.com/christmas-markets/
www.instagram.com
https://www.visitengland.com/best-christmas-markets-england
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/best-christmas-markets-holidays
Official City Council websites
Official Christmas market websites