Austria has plenty of Christmas markets. But the most famous is on Vienna’s Rathausplatz: the square in front of the town hall. This Christkindlmarkt is the centrepiece of the Viennese Christmas experience…
- Vienna’s main Christmas market
- Around 96 booths
- Adjacent park has advent displays
- …including the Tree of Hearts
- Emphasis on sustainability & kids
- 2025 dates: Nov 14 – Dec 26
- Ice skating open longer (until Jan 6th)
- Book a classical concert experience* for your Vienna trip
- Nearby:
- See also:
A Christmas Tradition
(The giant entrance arch and carousel with the Rathaus tower on the left and a sneaky glimpse of the tree of hearts on the right)
The Christmas market that garners the most attention in Vienna (and around the world) is the version on the Rathausplatz square.
This is the home of the Wiener Christkindlmarkt: the one people mean when they talk about the Christmas market in Vienna, even if we have lots of others.
The roots of this yuletide event go back to the late 18th century, though it only moved to its present location in 1975. Who knows how many visitors the market normally attracts, but estimates put the number at 2.8 million for the previous edition.
The Christkindlmarkt
(The market, Rathaus, and giant tree)
All lit up with the partly-illuminated Rathaus city hall behind it, the market makes quite a sight: a kind of fairytale vista that looks exactly as it should. The Christkindlmarkt has blossomed afresh in recent years, largely thanks to an improved layout and decorative ambience.
On the culinary front, you always find traditional regional and seasonal cuisine with various places selling everything from Buchteln to Baumkuchen, pastries to (oven) potatoes, and Schnitzel to Schinkenfleckerl (a glossary might help).
You’re never more than a short throw of a sausage away from, well, another sausage. Or from somewhere offering mugs of Christmas punch or bags of roast chestnuts.
Gastronomy at the market also focuses on organic food: look for the word Bio on menu boards, which means organic in German.
The non-food front makes for quite an eclectic mix.
Numerous art and craft stalls offer decorations, but also textiles, accessories, ceramics, jewelry, Christmas jumpers, and other items of a less adventurous nature. Anecdotally, I’d say the wares have gone up in quality over the last year or two.
Look to the Spittelberg and Karlsplatz markets, though, for locations with a stronger focus on artisan and unusual offerings.
(A giant merry-go-round has appeared in recent years)
The tree & other bonuses
The Rathaus Christmas tree dominates the market panorama and has a large nativity scene at its feet.
Each year, a different Austrian province gifts the giant tree to Vienna in a traditional gesture of friendship (possibly through gritted teeth, depending on the current state of domestic politics).
In 2025, brass bands play daily at the tree from November 28th to December 23rd (from 7pm to 7.30pm and again from 8pm to 8.30pm), while choirs perform on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays of advent weekends inside the main hall of the neighbouring Rathaus (from 3.30pm to 7pm with free entry).
And a giant carousel has returned again in 2025 to dominate the entrance area.
The Rathauspark
(A lighted entrance to the park)
The Rathausplatz also offers more than just the market, because the surrounding park has other Christmas treats.
So, though the market itself delights with its mix of traditional Christmas tastes, sights, and smells, make sure you also wander off along the paths among the trees.
The wooded glades either side of the square feature a fair few seasonal highlights. These include a nativity scene trail and ferris wheel. And various gastronomy stands…so you can enjoy a snack or mug of punch away from the full market bustle.
(We always enjoy a mug of punch: photo taken with a design from an earlier market)
The decorations and lights turn parts into a romantic wonderland (if you ignore the people and phones). And the romance goes all the way up to 11 with the now traditional Tree of Hearts, which I can never seem to photograph adequately.
Boughs full of giant lighted hearts make a fine background when sharing a snack with a loved one.
A bit kitschig and twee?
Of course.
But, frankly, this is the time of the year when you suspend your cynicism, embrace the seasonal spirit, and forget your troubles with something made of pastry and lathered in enough chocolate to float a cow.
(Decorative lights in front of the tree of hearts)
Another traditional highlight in the park is the illuminated ice skating (you can hire skates on site), which lets you glide through the park and transports you along a Disneyesque Christmas trail, albeit with considerably more snacks and less fairy glitter.
The ice skating stays open until January 6th, so a little longer than the market itself. Though it remains closed on December 31st and closes early (at 6.30pm) on December 24th.
The Christkindlmarkt’s organisers once declared the location an area of respite from commercial Christmas stress. But don’t imagine this implies you can take a gentle stroll around the stalls. At peak times, the place gets remarkably busy.
Having said that, recent markets have followed a more open layout, which makes for a better visit. This year’s version, for example, is notably spacious compared to previous events.
(The Ferris wheel in the park)
The best time to go is (inevitably) after dark, when the lights and sights combine to give the true Christmas market experience you read about in leather-bound tomes of travel. Just be prepared to share that experience with quite a lot of other folk, especially as you near December 24th.
A strong option, then, is to go late afternoon, just before the peak crowds and leaving time for an evening advent concert.
Tip: If you want a good twilight photo without actually entering the market, stand at the top of the steps leading up to the Burgtheater theatre building on the other side of the road. Look across for a great view of the lighted entrance arch, illuminated booths and Rathaus.
2025 dates and times
In 2025, the market runs from November 14th through to December 26th.
Opening times are:
- 10am to 10pm
- …but the market closes at 6.30pm on December 24th
How to get to the Christkindlmarkt
Public transport gets you to the market easily, though it’s within walking distance of most of the centre. Even closer if you stay in one of the nearby hotels.
The trams 1, 71 and D stop right outside at Rathausplatz / Burgtheater. That stop commonly closes at busy times for safety reasons. At the 2025 market, this means, for example, from 3pm to 10.30pm on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays until December 21st and also on December 8th.
However, those trams mentioned above take you to adjoining stops at Parlament and Schottentor.
Alternatives requiring a short stroll are…
Tram: take lines 2 (get out at the Rathaus or Parlament stops), 49 and 46 (both to Ring/Volkstheater), 37, 38, 40, 41, 42, 43 and 44 (all to Schottentor).
Subway: take the U3 (get out at Volkstheater) or U2 (get out at Rathaus).
Bus: take the 1a (get out at Schottentor) or 48a (to Ring/Volkstheater).
Address: Christkindlmarkt, Rathausplatz, 1010 Vienna | Website