If you’re wandering through the old town in Vienna, admiring the opera house and preparing for the Kärntner Straße shopping street, consider taking a moment to pop into the Advent Genussmarkt: a small Christmas and New Year gourmet market.
- Sells a range of specialty foods from Austria and Italy
- One of the smaller markets
- Next dates: TBA
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- See also:
The gourmet market
(The booths ran under a glass roof at the previous edition)
The Genussmarkt is organised by Haas&Haas (a lovely tea shop and tea rooms that sit behind Stephansdom cathedral; a bastion of scones, cucumber sandwiches and Earl Grey in a city ruled by cake and coffee).
At the last edition, a handful of huts formed 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.
For example, one stall looked like a Venetian gourmet market stand, piled high with pecorino, parmesan, salami, pasta, pesto and black truffles.
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 covered the booths and offered shelter in inclement weather, so you could cheer yourself up in the wet with a quick langos (a local fried snack).
(Italian culinary flair reaches Vienna)
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 (when not booked for private gatherings). Not a market as such, but Winter in the City has open fires and hot punch to encourage a classic Victorianesque wintry feeling.
(Cheese, anyone?)
Dates & times
I don’t have confirmed dates for the Gourmet Advent market at the time of writing. Check locally.
The market took a break across Advent, Christmas and New Year’s Eve in 2023 and 2024, but hopefully it returns in the future.
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 next to the east wing of the State Opera House.
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: Herbert von Karajan Platz, 1010 Vienna | Website