When Do Europe’s Christmas Markets Open in 2026?

By Nicole Damiano, ASTA Verified Travel Advisor with FG Luxury Travel · Updated October 2026

Most of the big Christmas markets open the last week of November 2026. Dresden opens November 25, Strasbourg November 26, Nuremberg November 27 and Prague November 28, and if you want to go earlier, Vienna’s Schönbrunn market opens November 6 and Copenhagen’s Tivoli November 13.

A Christkindlmarkt Christmas market lit up at night — Photo via Unsplash

Our family is traveling Europe this winter, so this calendar is open on my desk right now.

The date to watch is the closing date.

Most of the German markets close December 23 or 24. Cologne and Hamburg close on the 23rd. Nuremberg, Dresden and Munich close on the 24th.

If your trip is after Christmas, go where they keep going. Prague and Vienna’s Schönbrunn run to January 6. Brussels and Tivoli run to January 3.

With kids, Nuremberg has its own children’s Christmas market. Tivoli has the rides.

I’d go the first two weeks of December on weekdays. Weekend evenings in Strasbourg are shoulder to shoulder.

Quick answers

Which Christmas markets stay open after Christmas in 2026?

Prague, Vienna’s Schönbrunn, Bolzano and Tallinn to January 6, and Brussels, Riga and Copenhagen’s Tivoli to January 3.

Which Christmas markets close before Christmas?

Cologne and Hamburg on December 23. Nuremberg, Dresden, Strasbourg and Munich on December 24.

When does the Nuremberg Christmas market open in 2026?

November 27, 2026, running to December 24.

What is the earliest Christmas market to open in 2026?

Vienna’s Schönbrunn Palace market on November 6.

When is the best time to visit Europe’s Christmas markets with kids?

Weekdays in the first two weeks of December. You get the lights and the stalls without the weekend crowds.

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Keep planning: Prague with kids, Vienna with kids, Copenhagen with kids and Brussels with kids.

Nicole Damiano, ASTA Verified Travel Advisor with FG Luxury Travel. Adventures We Seek is my travel blog and planning resource. Trips are booked through Favorite Grampy Travels. Last checked October 2026.