The 13 best Christmas markets in the UK for magical festive shopping

Manchester is one of Britain’s Christmassiest cities, loud and proud. No fewer than 10 major festive fairs will pop up across the city for 2025, but chief among them is undoubtedly the triumphant return of a market to Albert Square. This year will mark the first time since 2019 that Manchester’s Christmas markets will be held at a public square.

Albert Square’s ‘A Taste of Christmas’ festivities will amount to a festive wonderland, with not just stalls but a walk-through experience, gaming, a traditional carousel and a helter skelter. A local councillor reckons that Albert Square’s big wheel could be ‘one of the biggest Ferris wheels in the world’. And when you’re done with all that? You’ll still have Christmas markets 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 to keep you busy.

Dates: Friday November 7 to Sunday January 4.

Location: Albert Square, 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, Manchester

Best for endless festive fun – Manchester’s Christmas market selection this year is truly, truly huge.

Brum’s Frankfurt Market is one of the biggest German Christmas markets outside of Germany or Austria, and in 2025 it is marking its 25th anniversary. Running from Victoria Square, down New Street and up to the Bullring, you’ll find hot gluhwein, schnitzel, bratwurst and more as well as tonnes of handcrafted gifts, toys, decorations and jewellery. To complete the offering, there’s an ice rink and big wheel at Centenary Square and a bandstand (with German musicians, obvs) at Victoria Square. Put simply, Birmingham’s Frankfurt Christmas Market is the best place in Blighty to enjoy an authentic bratwurst, washed down with some glühwein. Frohe weihnachten!

Dates: Saturday November 1 to Wednesday December 24.

Location: Victoria Square and New Street, Birmingham

Best for getting a true taste of Frankfurt in the Midlands 

In 2024 the Beverley Festival of Christmas was cancelled due to bad weather – and this year it’s set to make up for it with another spectacular festive whole-town takeover. The East Yorkshire town’s Christmas fest reckons it is the biggest single day Christmas event of its kind in the UK, and that’s difficult to dispute. Practically the entirety of Beverley takes part in the festival, which in 2025 will feature Santa and his (real) reindeer, fairground rides, live entertainment (including comedy, traditional brass bands and birds of prey) and a whopping 120 stalls. If you’re longing for an intense shot of a Christmas market experience, Beverley is hard to beat.

Date: Sunday December 14.

Location: Beverley town centre, Yorkshire

Best for one day of total festive overload

York’s Christmas Market – also known as St Nicholas Fair – is among Britain’s most atmospheric Crimbo shopping destinations. And, well, a lot of that has to do with York itself. The city’s cobbled Victorian streets and age-old, leaning buildings ooze character, fitting the festive vibe immaculately.

St Nicholas Fair’s goodies go far beyond mere festive stuff: this year you’ll also get gourmet scotch eggs, cheshire cheese, locally-distilled gin and gift options including terrariums and crochet supplies. Over 80 percent of the alpine chalets of Parliament Street and St Sampson’s Square will be occupied by Yorkshire businesses.

Dates: Thursday November 13 to Sunday December 21

Location: Parliament Street and St Sampson's Square, York

Best for a Victorian Christmas, only with less smog and more bougie locally-made goods

In 2025 there’ll be a pretty massive shake-up of Glasgow’s Christmas markets scene. The usual stalls will be set up at St Enoch’s Square in the city centre, but the George Square event is being moved to Glasgow Green. The fair at St Enoch’s Square is smaller, with fairground rides including a kids’ carousel and a Grinch train, and food options like mac and cheese, churros and waffles.

At Glasgow Green will be a ‘wonderland’ – named Winter Wonderland on the Green – with an ice rink, observation wheel and more. Both venues have stalls selling artisan gifts, décor and more, but if you’ve got someone who’s a little pickier on your Christmas shopping list, I’d recommended nipping into the upmarket Princes Square Shopping Centre – it’s right around the corner from both sites, and the central atrium always has a gorgeous tree. Plus, if you’re lucky, you might catch a choir singing carols to raise money for charity while you’re there. ‘Tis the season for giving, after all.

Dates: Friday November 21 to Sunday January 4.

Location: St Enoch Square and Glasgow Green, Glasgow.

Best for a bit of both: modern festive rides and traditional stalls

The 2025 festive season will be Cardiff Christmas Market’s 30th birthday. Organised by fair crafts company Craft*Folk, the Welsh capital’s market is an opportunity for local artists, crafts people and food and drink producers to sell their goods. The vast majority of what’s on offer is made by small Welsh businesses, so when browsing the stalls here expect to come across hand-stitched red dragons, wooden love spoons and cushions with the word ‘cwtch’ (there’s no exact translation, but it basically means a cuddle) on them. But there’s all your textbook Christmas market content in there too, including mulled wine, fairy lights and even a Winter Wonderland, complete with an ice rink, down the road. Cardiff Christmas Market’s wooden stalls are located on pedestrianised areas on St John Street, Working Street, Trinity Street and Hills Street.

Dates: Thursday November 13 to Tuesday December 23.

Location: Cardiff’s main central shopping streets – St John Street, Working Street, Trinity Street and Hills Street.

Best for getting your Christmas presents exclusively from local craftmakers

Stratford-upon-Avon makes a magical setting for a Christmas market with a historical twist: the town transforms into a Victorian winter wonderland. Stallholders dress up with lace bonnets and stick-on sideburns, joined by a traditional fairground and a programme of entertainment.

In 2024 Stratford experimented with holding two two-day markets (rather than one four-day event), and in 2025 the organisers will stick with the two two-day format.

Dates: November 29 and 30, December 6 and 7 (December 13 and 14 as back-up if either of the previous weekends are cancelled).

Location: Stratford-upon-Avon town centre, on Henley Street and Waterside

Best for living museum enthusiasts

Dig out the flower crown and eco-glitter you wore at Glasto – they’ll go down a storm at the Frost Fayre held in the pretty Somerset town. As well as outdoor stalls, a farmers’ market and a grotto, morris dancers, all-day buskers and street performances add to the jovial atmosphere at this artsy festive event. The Frost Fayre may only take place on one day, but it packs in the attractions: as well as all the above, you’ve got Father Christmas (at the Abbey House), five stages (at Benedict Street, Magdalene Street, Northload Street, Archers Way and the top of the High Street), a grand lights switch-on (at 5pm) for the town Christmas tree and a bunch of fairground rides.

Date: Saturday November 29.

Location: Glastonbury (whole town), Somerset

Best for Glasto fans curious about visiting the town outside the festival

Another major UK festive fair marking a big birthday in 2025: Bath’s Christmas market will turn 25 this year. Over three weekends, tens of thousands of tourists will flock to see Bath’s Christmas market, which takes over its historic city centre. With its glittering chalets among the city’s UNESCO-protected Regency and Georgian architecture, Bath’s Christmas Market is one of the most picturesque festive fairs in Europe. Independent boutiques flog goodies alongside high-street stores, while stallholders are overwhelmingly local – the majority of the 250 independent stallholders and caterers are from the southwest.

Dates: Thursday November 27 to Sunday December 14.

Location: Bath Abbey, Abbey Churchyard and the surrounding streets

Best for taking in UNESCO sights with a hot cup of mulled wine in-hand 

Not feeling a city Christmas market? Swap high-street stress for a fair in the peaceful grounds of magnificent country house Blenheim Palace. The Oxfordshire estate’s market will feature gift ideas, street food and drink, but there will also be a host of other festive things to see and do. The palace’s Great Court becomes an ice rink (called, fittingly, the Great Skate), a vast observation wheel offers views out over the market and estate, and inside the palace will be an experience inspired by the Wizard of Oz. Then, of course, there’s Blenheim Palace’s usual light trail. The estate’s after-dark illuminated walk is as much of an attraction as the market: in 2025 it’s set to be even bigger than before, bringing together light works by a selection of British and international artists.

Dates: Friday November 14 to Saturday January 3.

Location: Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, Oxfordshire

Best for mixing Christmas shopping with public art

Nottingham’s Old Market Square transforms into a Christmas Winter Wonderland every festive season, featuring a glowing ice rink, a helter-skelter and snowy alpine ski lodges. Within the wonderland is also a sparkling Christmas market, with around 70 wooden stalls surrounding a huge glittering Christmas tree. The event’s famous ice bar, with its impressive ice sculptures, will return with an all-new theme for 2025.

Dates: Wednesday November 12 to Wednesday December 31.

Location: Old Market Square, Nottingham

Best for combining Christmas market vibes with a night on the town

Another market that is as much about where it is as what it offers. Winchester Cathedral’s fair sits on the grounds of the legendary place of worship (the longest medieval cathedral in the world), with more than 100 chalet-style stalls selling all kinds of edible and non-edible goodies. There’s an impressive focus on artisans at Winchester: new for 2025 are a wooden toymaker, a clothing seller specialising in yak wool and award-winning cheesemakers The Book & Bucket Cheese Company. Stalls aside, the trees are illuminated with colourful lights and carol concerts soundtrack your shopping spree.

Dates: Friday November 21 to Monday December 22

Location: Winchester Cathedral Grounds, Hampshire

Best for a quirky and diverse range of stalls

The Scottish capital has an air of Christmas to it pretty much all year round, but a Yuletide visit is a must for an even more potent festive atmosphere. The Scottish capital has a traditional market at East Princes Street Gardens, which is also where you’ll find a big wheel (this year sponsored by LNER) and the towering (80 metres, to be specific) ride Around the World Starflyer.

Elsewhere in the city’s festivities, there’s an ice rink at George Street and a Santa experience at West Princes Street Gardens. Best of all, it gets pretty chilly up in Auld Reekie in December – there’s a chance that your festive shopping might be topped by a sprinkle of extra Christmassy snow.

Dates: Saturday November 15 to Sunday January 4 (that’s just the market – other attractions are open on different dates).

Location: Edinburgh city centre, various locations. 

Best for wrapping up warm to see one of Britain’s most Christmassy cities in its element