Vienna's Christmas market season 2026 opens on 6 November, when the markets at Schönbrunn Palace and Stephansplatz start, and most of the city follows on 13 November, including the big Wiener Christkindlmarkt on Rathausplatz (13 November to 26 December, daily 10:00 to 22:00). Austria's tourism board lists fifteen markets across the city for 2026. A few run into the new year: Schönbrunn until 6 January 2027, the Prater winter market until 6 January, the Belvedere listing until 31 December. Many of the smaller craft markets close on 23 December, so plan a December trip around that date.
The markets differ more than the photos suggest. Rathausplatz is the big, busy one with an ice rink. Schönbrunn has the palace backdrop and the longest season. Spittelberg and Am Hof are where people go for crafts, Karlsplatz only admits makers selling their own work, and Freyung keeps to an older, quieter style. Below are the ones worth your evening, with dates and how to reach each.
Wiener Christkindlmarkt on Rathausplatz: the big one
The market in front of the neo-Gothic City Hall is the one most visitors picture: rows of wooden huts, trees in the park strung with lights, and the Rathaus façade lit up behind it. It is also the most crowded, especially on Friday and Saturday evenings. Alongside it runs the Wiener Eistraum ice rink, so you can skate with the City Hall on one side and the Burgtheater on the other.
The Rathausplatz market at night, with the City Hall and the lit trees of the Rathauspark. Image: Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net)., CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Go early in the afternoon if you want to look at the stalls rather than queue. After dark it is at its most atmospheric and at its fullest.
Glass baubles on one of the ornament stalls at the Rathausplatz market. Image: böhringer friedrich, CC BY-SA 3.0 at, via Wikimedia Commons.
Practical info: Rathausplatz, 1010 Vienna. Open 13 November to 26 December 2026, daily 10:00 to 22:00; on 24 December until 18:30. The ice rink at the market runs 13 November 2026 to 6 January 2027 (closed 31 December). Trams 1, 71 and D to Rathausplatz/Burgtheater; tram 2 to Parlament; U2 to Rathaus; U3 to Volkstheater (Ring exit).
Schönbrunn Palace: the longest season and a palace backdrop
The market in the forecourt of Schönbrunn Palace has more than 90 huts in front of the yellow Baroque façade, with a large Christmas tree in the middle. It is the best choice for families: there is a skating rink that is free for children, ice-stock lanes, a carousel, a Ferris wheel, a children's train and a craft workshop. After Christmas it carries on as a New Year market until Epiphany.
Schönbrunn's Christmas market in the palace forecourt during a snowfall. Image: Funke, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Because it runs until 6 January it is also the market to aim for if you are in Vienna between Christmas and New Year, when many others have closed. You can combine it with a palace tour; the market itself is free to enter.
Practical info: Schloss Schönbrunn forecourt, Schönbrunner Schlossstraße, 1130 Vienna. Open 6 November 2026 to 6 January 2027: daily 10:00 to 21:00 until 23 December; 24 December 10:00 to 16:00; 25 December to 6 January 10:00 to 19:00. U4 to Schönbrunn, then a short walk to the palace gate.
Spittelberg: lanes, crafts and Punsch
Spittelberg is a small quarter of Biedermeier houses in the 7th district, and its market fills the cobbled lanes rather than a square. The stalls lean towards crafts, ceramics, textiles and design, and the narrow streets make it feel more like a neighbourhood party than a tourist venue. It is the market locals tend to recommend.
A Spittelberg Punsch mug. Each market has its own design. Image: Geolina163, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
It opens later on weekdays, so come after work hours like the Viennese do.
Practical info: Spittelberg lanes, 1070 Vienna, a short walk from U2/U3 Volkstheater. Open 13 November to 23 December 2026: Monday to Friday 14:00 to 21:30; Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays 11:00 to 21:30.
Am Hof and Freyung: two old squares, a few minutes apart
Am Hof, one of the oldest squares in the city centre, hosts an Advent market of crafts and design, around 70 stalls in 2025. Vienna has painted this square at Christmas for well over a century: the watercolour below is by Carl Wenzel Zajicek and dates from the early 20th century.
Carl Wenzel Zajicek's watercolour of the Christmas market Am Hof, early 20th century. Image: Carl Wenzel Zajicek, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Five minutes' walk away, the Altwiener Christkindlmarkt on the Freyung keeps to a traditional look and a quieter pace than Rathausplatz.
The entrance arch of the Altwiener Christkindlmarkt on the Freyung. Image: Palickap, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Practical info: Am Hof, 1010 Vienna: 13 November to 23 December 2026. Altwiener Christkindlmarkt, Freyung, 1010 Vienna: 14 November to 23 December 2026. Both are a short walk from U3 Herrengasse. The organisers had not published 2026 opening hours when this guide was written; expect late-morning opening and evening closing.
Art Advent at Karlsplatz: makers only
The market in front of the Karlskirche is the one to visit if you want something made by the person selling it. The organiser, Divina Art, admits only stallholders who make their own products, so you will find jewellery, ceramics, glass, leather and woodwork rather than imported decorations.
Art Advent at Karlsplatz, in front of the Baroque Karlskirche. Image: Elekes Andor, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Practical info: Karlsplatz, 1040 Vienna, at U1/U2/U4 Karlsplatz. Open 13 November to 23 December 2026; listed hours are daily 12:00 to 20:00, with food and drink until 21:00.
Maria-Theresien-Platz and Stephansplatz: between the museums and at the cathedral
The Weihnachtsdorf on Maria-Theresien-Platz sits between the Kunsthistorisches Museum and the Naturhistorisches Museum, so you can spend the afternoon in a museum and come out to the market at dusk. It opens a week later than the others.
The Christmas village on Maria-Theresien-Platz, with the Natural History Museum behind. Image: Geolina163, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
The small Stephansplatz market stands beside St. Stephen's Cathedral and opens early, on 6 November. It is mostly food and drink and is useful as a stop while you are in the centre, rather than a destination in itself.
Stalls beside St. Stephen's Cathedral on Stephansplatz. Image: Bybbisch94, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Practical info: Maria-Theresien-Platz, 1010 Vienna: 20 November to 26 December 2026, at U2/U3 Volkstheater or U2 MuseumsQuartier. Stephansplatz, 1010 Vienna: 6 November to 26 December 2026, at U1/U3 Stephansplatz.
Which market should you choose?
- First visit, one evening only: Rathausplatz after dark, then walk 10 minutes to Spittelberg for a quieter second stop.
- With children: Schönbrunn (free skating for children, Ferris wheel, children's train) or the ice rink at Rathausplatz.
- Buying gifts: Art Advent at Karlsplatz for handmade work, then Spittelberg and Am Hof for crafts and design.
- Old-fashioned atmosphere: the Altwiener Christkindlmarkt on the Freyung.
- Visiting between Christmas and New Year: Schönbrunn (until 6 January), the Prater winter market (until 6 January) and the Rathausplatz ice rink (until 6 January, closed 31 December).
- Combining with museums: Maria-Theresien-Platz, between the Kunsthistorisches and Naturhistorisches museums.
A one-day Christmas market route
Start in the late morning at Schönbrunn, when the palace forecourt is quietest, and take the U4 back to the centre. Spend the early afternoon at Art Advent on Karlsplatz (it opens at 12:00) for handmade gifts. From Karlsplatz, the U1 takes you one stop to Stephansplatz; walk on through the old town to Am Hof and the Freyung, which are five minutes apart. As it gets dark, walk on to Rathausplatz to see the City Hall lit up, and finish the evening in the lanes of Spittelberg, which stays open until 21:30. Every leg of this route is on foot or a few stops by U-Bahn.
More markets for 2026
Austria's national tourism board lists these other Vienna markets and dates for 2026:
- Weihnachtszauber at Schwarzenbergplatz: 13 November to 26 December.
- Weihnachtsdorf on the University Campus: 13 November to 23 December.
- Winter garden at the MuseumsQuartier: 13 November to 23 December.
- Türkenschanzpark: 13 November to 23 December.
- Advent market in the Hirschstetten flower gardens: 12 November to 20 December.
- Winter market at Riesenradplatz, Prater: 20 November 2026 to 6 January 2027, under the Giant Ferris Wheel.
- Belvedere Palace: listed by the tourism board for 20 November to 31 December, but at least one local listing reports construction work in front of the palace and no market for 2026. Check before you go.
Punsch, Glühwein and the mug deposit
Two hot drinks dominate. Glühwein is mulled wine. Punsch is a mixture of fruit juice, tea, spices and spirits, often with rum, and comes in many flavours; most stalls also sell a non-alcoholic Kinderpunsch. Roasted chestnuts and roasted almonds are the classic snacks, alongside plenty of hot savoury food.
Drinks come in a ceramic mug with a deposit (Pfand) added to the price. Return the mug to any stall of the same market and you get the deposit back; keep it and it becomes your souvenir. Each market has its own mug design, and the deposit differs from market to market, so mugs from one market are not accepted at another. If you are given a token or receipt with the mug, keep it until you return the mug.
Tips for visiting
- Timing: Weekday afternoons are the quietest. Friday and Saturday evenings at Rathausplatz and Schönbrunn are very busy.
- Christmas Eve and after: Most markets close by mid-afternoon on 24 December, and many end on 23 December. Between Christmas and New Year, Schönbrunn, the Prater winter market and the Rathausplatz ice rink are still running.
- Getting around: All the central markets are on the U-Bahn or tram network, and Am Hof, Freyung and Stephansplatz are within a 10-minute walk of each other. A good evening route is Freyung, Am Hof, Stephansplatz, then on to Karlsplatz by U-Bahn.
- Where to stay: The Innere Stadt (1st district) puts you within walking distance of most markets. Neubau (7th district), around Spittelberg and the MuseumsQuartier, is quieter and well connected by U2 and U3.
- Weather: Vienna is cold in December, often around freezing in the evenings. Wear warm shoes: you will be standing on cobbles and stone squares.
- Dates change: The dates above come from the market organisers and Austria's tourism board, and organisers sometimes adjust them at short notice. Check each market's website before you travel.
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