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: scheduled for Nov 11 – Dec 31
- 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
The Gourmet Advent market is scheduled to run from November 11th to December 31st with basic opening times of 11am to 9pm.
(The market normally closes on December 24th and stays open longer on December 31st.)
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.
Address: Mahlerstraße 6, 1010 Vienna | Website