Ready your mulled wine and winter spice appetite for Christmas market season has returned.
Christmas markets are the perfect antidote to the relentlessly wintery weather and the ideal day or evening out with family, friends or a special someone.
Bask in the glow of the fairy lights and heady glühwein while exploring some of the UK’s best artisans and independent businesses. Whether you’re there to Christmas shop or simply enjoy the festive spirit, here are the seven best Christmas markets in the UK right now.
But far beyond a gaggle of alpine huts, these markets offer ice skating, rides, games, circuses and music, turning them into total winter wonderlands.
1. Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, London
14 November 2025 to 1 January 2026
Better described as a village than a market, Hyde Park Winter Wonderland is vast. Not only does it have the usual food, drink and craft stalls of a typical Christmas market, it also houses the UK’s largest ice-skating rink, a circus, carnival games, ice sculpting workshops, and rides ranging from gentle romps to more pant-wetting whirls.
Entrance is £5 with food and attractions all charged separately. Despite the cost, it’s worth a walk around just to take in the scale of everything and the buzz of London at Christmas.
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2. Edinburgh Christmas Market, Edinburgh
15 November 2025 to 4 January 2026
This market is spread over four locations, each themed differently. Wander through East Princes Street for a traditional European Christmas market with 70 Alpine chalet stalls, a big wheel and helter skelter, before moseying over to George Street to check out the Scottish Christmas Fair with ice rink and vintage funfair rides.
Kids have their fair share of fun too — West Princes Street and St Andrew’s Square are dedicated to the children’s market and Father Christmas. That’s if they make it past the cake stalls.
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3. Bath Christmas Market, Bath
27 November to 14 December 2025
The charming wooden huts twinkling in the winder wind are made all the more beautiful with their stunning backdrop of Bath Abbey and the Roman baths.
This market prides itself on its local, independent stall holders from across the Southwest, meaning the food and trinkets on offer are unique to the area. A relief for those who find many Christmas markets a tad samey.
Bath council also runs the market in conjunction with local charities to ensure the festive cheer reaches everyone in the community. The true spirit of Christmas, we feel.
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4. Birmingham Frankfurt Christmas Market, Birmingham
1 November to 24 December 2025
I for one never knew Frankfurt and Birmingham were sister cities, but at this Christmas market the union smacks you round the face. Brimming with pretzels, bratwurst, beer and glühwein, this is the largest German Christmas market outside Germany and Austria.
Live music featuring big names, new talent, and festive choirs provides the soundtrack to your perusing, but steer clear of Council House unless you want to be publicly serenaded by a singing Christmas Moose.
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5. Oxford Christmas Market, Oxford
22 November to 31 December 2025
This market on Broad Street may not be the country’s largest but, a stone’s throw from the Bodleian library and the iconic Radcliffe Camera, Oxford Christmas market is certainly atmospheric.
Get some food from one of the many vendors before ordering something stronger form the Après-Ski Bar, designed to look like a chalet’s façade.
To add to the festivities, take a stroll to the nearby Covered Market which becomes a twinkly wonderland in winter. Then add the cherry to the cake of immaculate vibes by coinciding your visit with a carol concert in an Oxford college — most of them are lit by dreamy candlelight.
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6. Cardiff Christmas Market, Cardiff
13 November to 23 December 2025
Unlike most Christmas markets, Cardiff rotates its 70 stalls every week, meaning over 200 independent businesses are showcased over the festive period.
Browse the host of artisanal producers and craftspeople to create the perfect stocking for a loved one. After all that hard work, pop into the permanent market round the corner to sample some legendary Welsh cakes.
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7. Manchester Christmas Market, Manchester
7 November to 22 December 2025
For the first time in six years, Manchester Christmas market returns to Albert Square. But rather than find an irritable Pat Butcher, you’ll be greeted by a chain of cheery alpine stalls spanning the length of King Street, Exchange Square, Cathedral Gardens all the way to Picadilly Gardens.
Expect pan-European flavours and produce to suit your every taste. But once you’re done shopping, head to the Winter Gardens for live bands and DJs as well as locally brewed ales. Come for the refreshment, stay for the party energy.
