What’s Christmas without a trip to the markets? If there’s one thing that’s going to get you in the festive spirit, it’s adorable alpine huts decked in fairy lights surrounded by the sounds of jingle bells and Mariah Carey, and engulfed in the scent of glühwein and hot mince pies.
Christmas markets will be popping up all over the UK this month, but some will be far better at putting you in the festive mood than others. So, Time Out has put together a list of the greatest Christmas markets in the UK to help you avoid any bitter disappointment. And for 2025, the finest Christmas market in the UK belongs to Manchester.
This year, Manchester’s council-run markets promise to be an enormous affair. There will be 10 fairs in total scattered across the city centre, made up of more than 200 alpine huts full of Christmas crafts and festive grub.
Most excitingly, the event’s biggest market on Albert Square, which been absent for the past six years to allow for work on Manchester Town Hall, will make a brilliant, triumphant return as a festive wonderland titled ‘A Taste of Christmas’. Here’s everything you need to know about Britain’s greatest Christmas market for 2025.
When is Manchester Christmas Markets?
Manchester’s Christmas Markets return on Friday, November 7 and will stick around until December 22. ‘A Taste of Christmas’ on Albert Square, the ice rink and the stalls at Cathedral Gardens will remain open until January 4.
What are its opening times?
The craft stalls will be open from 10am until 8pm each day while the food and drinks stalls will keep serving until 9pm.
What are the main attractions?
Albert Square’s ‘A Taste of Christmas’ is the centrepiece of the markets, with a walk-through experience, gaming, a traditional carousel, a 50ft ferris wheel and a helter skelter, as well as the traditional stalls. A local councillor reckons that the big wheel could be ‘one of the biggest Ferris wheels in the world’.
There’s also the Skate Manchester ice rink in Cathedral Gardens and the jubilant Christmas parade through the city, which is happening on December 7.
You’ll find the rest of the market at St Ann’s Square, King Street, Exchange Square, Exchange Street, The Corn Exchange, New Cathedral Street, Market Street, Cathedral Gardens and the Winter Gardens at Piccadilly.
How to get there
The markets are spread all throughout Manchester city centre, so they won’t be hard to find. The easiest way to get there will be on public transport. You can arrive by train into Victoria and Piccadilly Stations, which are both an easy walk to the markets, or you can take trams or buses that run every 12 minutes into the city centre. The most convenient car parks for the markets are at Piccadilly Plaza and Chorlton Street.
Explore all the best Christmas markets across the UK here.
Did you see that Manchester Christmas Market is also our second favourite festive market in all of Europe?
Stay in the loop: sign up to our free Time Out UK newsletter for the latest UK news and the best stuff happening across the country.