If you like your Christmas markets sandwiched between mighty imperial buildings, then Maria-Theresien-Platz is another must on your list.
- Wonderful location between two museums
- Strong selection of arts, crafts, and food stalls
- Expect around 70 booths
- Skips 2025 due to construction work
- Book a classical concert experience* for your Vienna trip
- Nearby:
- See also:
The market itself
(View down from the Naturhistorisches Museum)
The setting is, of course, fantastic. This is Vienna at its best.
Maria-Theresien-Platz square has the monumental Kunsthistorisches art museum on one side, which always features a wonderful year-end exhibition. The opposite side has the equally-monumental Naturhistorisches natural history museum.
The location means you might feast on sausages at the market, then view the Feast of Venus by Rubens, then discover how our ancestors coped when the giant animals of prehistory objected to being turned into meat products.
After all that science and culture you might need a bracing drink (also available from the Christmas market). Or round off the evening with a concert in the gorgeous Festsaal ceremonial hall of nearby Palais Eschenbach.
As well as the two museums, the square borders the Ring boulevard, beyond which lie the giant Burgtor gates and the Hofburg palace complex. The square’s other side leads to the main entrance to the Museumsquartier (MQ).
If that wasn’t enough, the market huts slip around a large 1888 monument to Empress Maria Theresa (1717-1780).
So eat your chocolate-coated fruit below the alert gaze of the lady who famously said:
While other nations do battle, you lucky Austria, you wed.
(The Empress had 16 children to exploit for her peace-through-marriage policies.)
(A market booth selling specialty chocolates)
You’ll find all the usual Christmas market goodies here, of course, like traditional snow globes.
They actually issued the first patent for a snow globe to a Viennese surgical instrument manufacturer (I have questions). The family-run business still makes the globes today and often pops up at different markets.
The quality of the stands is high with a varied mix of arts and crafts. The location also continues to be one of the largest, which means a few extras you might not find elsewhere.
Just to give you an idea of the variety, the 2024 market included a stand selling Lithuanian candle houses, another featuring mountains of Italian cheeses and salamis, and the Urban Sidewalker booth with its unusual and lovely maps of Vienna.
The layout usually mimics that of a shortened Celtic cross, where the four ends have the highest density of food and drink stalls. The end nearest the Kunsthistorisches Museum typically includes some covered areas with bar tables, just in case it rains or snows.
(The museums flanking the market look gorgeous as the sun goes down)
I’d describe the food choice as seasonally traditional.
My 2024 visit revealed, for example, Leberkäse, Langos & Lebkuchen; pastries, pretzels & potatoes in various forms (tornado fries, wedges, fritters etc.); strudel, spit cakes & soups, roast chestnuts, Gröstl (a dish based on fried meat & potatoes) and more.
Arancini and French nougat appeared as I wandered around, just to add a touch of international flair.
Unlike many markets, the Maria-Theresien-Platz version also had a large temporary toilet facility (cost €1 to use last time out).
This is definitely one location that looks best after dusk, with both museums lit up, and a ghostly Empress watching over it all.
Sadly, the MQ’s Libelle viewing platform closes at this time of year, otherwise it would likely offer a rather fine view down over the Weihnachtsdorf’s booths.
However, you can still take reasonable photos from above. Just climb the steps leading up to either museum or go up to the top of the small slope at the MQ side of the square.
(Market view before we paid more attention to energy use and costs)
If you’re still up for more after visiting, you have three diverse options:
- The famous and popular Christkindlmarkt sits a bit further along the Ring boulevard (clockwise on a map)
- Go anticlockwise around the Ring to eventually find the Art Advent Christmas market on Karlsplatz, which has a unique artistic and organic flavour to it
- Alternatively, if you want to enjoy a Christmas market without too much of the Christmas bit (or much of the market bit, frankly), then wander up to the MuseumsQuartier for their winter event
Next dates & times
Construction work on the entrances to both museums means the square will not host a Christmas market in 2025. The previous version ran from November 13th to December 31st. Those post-Xmas days constituted a Silvesterdorf New Year market: essentially a continuation of the Christmas market.
Opening hours were:
- 11am to 9pm (Sun to Thurs)
- 11am to 10pm (Fri and Sat)
- The market closed earlier on December 24th (4pm), 25th to 30th (7pm) and 31st (6pm)
How to get to the square
Subway: Take the U2 or U3 line to Volkstheater or the U2 to Museumsquartier, then a short walk
Tram: The D, 71, 46, 49, 1 or 2 lines all stop at Ring/Volkstheater (requires a short walk)
Bus: Take the 48A to Ring/Volkstheater
Address: Weihnachtsdorf Maria-Theresien-Platz, 1010 Vienna | Website