If you’re wandering through the old town in Vienna, admiring the opera and preparing to find your way down the Kärntner Straße shopping street, consider taking a moment to pop into the Genussmarkt bei der Oper, a small Christmas and New Year gourmet market.
- Sells a range of specialty foods from Austria and Italy
- A covered pedestrianised part of the street, so good for bad weather
- 2022 dates: TBA (was Nov 12 – Dec 31 in 2021)
- See also:
The gourmet market
The Genussmarkt
A handful of huts form a small row along a pedestrianised street opposite the State Opera House, so this small market won’t take much time out of your sightseeing schedule.
The stands almost only sold food and drink on my visit: partly for immediate consumption, partly to take home with you and stare at admiringly in the fridge or pantry. And there were some rather fine specialties to be had.
When I visited, for example, one stall featured great slabs of Austrian cheese in various varieties (and colours). Another looked like a Venetian gourmet market stall, piled high with pecorino, parmesan, salami, pasta, pesto and black truffles. Another offered hams and sausages.
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It all felt like an outdoor delicatessen from one of the finer upmarket food stores, but with added Lebkuchen. If you prefer simpler fare, you could still get your punch and chestnuts, of course.
A glass roof covers the booths and offers shelter in inclement weather, so you might cheer yourself up in the wet with a quick glass of sparkling wine or similar.
With so few huts, I wouldn’t treat this as a destination in its own right. But if you’re passing, it’s worth popping into for a glimpse of those assorted Italian delicacies and maybe to refresh yourself with a bite to eat before braving the neighbouring shops.
Incidentally, the Haas&Haas tea rooms also has an outdoor courtyard that hosts another Advent alternative. Not a market as such, but Winter in the City has open fires and hot punch to encourage a classic Victorianesque wintry feeling.
Opening times 2022
It’s still early for 2022 details, but the last Gourmet Advent market ran from November 12th to December 31st with opening times of:
- 11am to 9pm (later on New Year’s Eve)
- Closed December 24th
How to get to the Genussmarkt
If you’re wandering the usual tourist trail in the city centre, you’ll probably pass the market. It sits opposite the east wing of the State Opera House at the approach to the Ringstraßen-Galerien shopping mall.
Subway: take the U1, U2, or U4 lines to Karlsplatz and look for the Oper exits (Karlsplatz is a big subway station).
Tram and bus: various tram lines stop next to the opera house at the “Oper/Karlsplatz” stop, including the D, 1, 2, 62 and 71. The 2A bus also stops there. On New Year’s Eve, these services may be diverted or cancelled.
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