The Christmas Markets of Vienna, Austria

One of the best things about traveling in November is that the Christmas markets in Europe are open for business! If you’re planning a Thanksgiving trip and need a little inspiration, look no further than Vienna, Austria. The holiday magic is already going strong and those Glühwein are ready for consumption!

There are nine main Christkindlmarkt in Vienna that I’ll outline for you in this post. Each is slightly unique and all are worth exploring! If you’re looking for a souvenir, each market also boasts its own holiday mug. Did we purchase all nine and drag them back to the USA? Yes. We now only use Wiener holiday mugs in our house.

Fun side note, Vienna is locally known as Wien. You’ll see a lot of signs that reference Wien or Wiener, which my preteen children found highly amusing.

Another quick note is that it was more mix-and-match in terms of credit vs. cash than I expected. Some vendors happily accepted card while others were a cash-only business. I would suggest hitting up an ATM so that you have some Euros on hand before you end up sad that you can’t purchase your Käsekrainer.

At the end of the holiday market round-up, you can also find some of my suggestions for activities, museums, and restaurants in Vienna as well. Let’s start exploring (and eating!) around Vienna’s magical Christmas Markets.

Rathausplatz Christkindlmarkt

This is the largest holiday market in Vienna and is located outside of their City Hall aka Rathaus. This market looks especially amazing after dark when all of the lights provide a little extra holiday magic. There are over 150 vendors here offering amazing food, crafts, ornaments, drinks, toys, ceramics, and art. This is also the location to find if you want to go ice-skating! Open from 10am to 10pm, this is the most impressive of the markets on the list.

If you’ve never heard of Lángos, you are in for a treat! It’s like a super fluffy pizza crust covered in butter and garlic. Ah-mazing. You can also get it with sour cream, bacon and cheese. We also found some sweet versions with Nutella. Worth every calorie.

Public transportation is pretty easy throughout Vienna, so don’t be afraid to hop on a train or bus. Look for Rathaus or Burgtheater for this stop. You can’t miss it!

Schönbrunn Palace Market

This is the summer home for the royals, so it’s little bit outside of the city. You can easily get to this UNESCO World Heritage site within 30 minutes using the train. The palace backdrop of this market and huge Christmas tree at it’s center makes it a lovely place to hang out all day. There are over 90 stalls here with a more artisan vibe – handmade wooden nativities, beeswax candles, snow globes, etc. This location also has a Ferris wheel, a small skating rink (it’s not real ice), and a great play area for younger children.

Since you made the trek to Schönbrunn, I would also highly recommend taking the Apple Strudel cooking class. The strudel was invented in Vienna, and watching the pastry chef work this dough is a lot of fun! You get some strudel and a coffee (or hot chocolate) as you engage with the chef and watch how the pastry has been perfected over the years. It’s in both German and English at 11:00, 12:00, 3:00 and 4:00 for €18.50 per person. This show does sell out! I suggest booking in advance.

If you’d like an audio tour of the palace itself, now is the time! It was a little rainy when we visited, so it was nice to get inside and learn about the 1,441 rooms and the Habsburg family that summered on the grounds. There are many different tours offered depending on how much you want to see and spend. You can see all of their ticket options here.

The Vienna Zoo is also located on the Schönbrunn Palace grounds. This is the world’s oldest zoo and is home to some special friends like giant pandas. During November it closes early at 4:30, so be sure to check it out earlier in the day. Tickets cost €29 for adults and €17 for kids (under 6 are free). You can buy tickets and learn more here.

Prater Winter Market

A Christmas market AND an amusement park? It really can’t get better for families than Prater. This iconic Vienna destination has all of the fun of an amusement park – Ferris Wheel, bumper cars, haunted houses, and some serious rollercoaster fun. The Christmas market here is a little smaller and mostly focuses on food and drinks. The amusement park is the main attraction, but who doesn’t like a hot alcoholic beverage before being spun in circles? Entrance into Prater is free and easy with public transportation. Each ride will cost you cash per person though, which is a little annoying. Also have some spare coins on hand for bathrooms fees.

Belvedere Palace

With a lovely location right on the Palace grounds, this is a smaller, more intimate market. Although there are still shopping stalls, this market seems more like a great place to grab lunch or dinner and chat with friends. Since it’s smaller, it’s also a lot quieter. There was a small carousel, but mostly I’d suggest Belvedere for a street food meal and ambiance.

am Hof

This is one of the oldest and most traditional markets in Vienna. It has a less touristy vibe, plenty of quaint atmosphere, lots of shopping, and tons of food and treats. This market also boasts a great Champagne bar equipped with heaters so you can sip in comfort. Several of these vendors have slightly more “in-door” or enclosed stalls, so it’s still a great spot if the weather isn’t cooperating. Fun side fact, Mozart gave his first performance in Vienna in this very square.

Spittelberg

Full disclosure, it took a little Google Map magic to actually find this tiny market. Unlike the other markets that take place in large open areas, Spittelberg is a winding little market along neighborhood streets. It gets a little cramped, but it felt the most “local” of all the markets we visited. This market felt like it was mostly people from the neighborhood stopping off for some food and fun on the way home from work. There were more textiles here like scarves, mittens, and hats. There were also several stalls with handmade jewelry and crafts.

Karlsplatz

One of the best markets for little kids is Karlsplatz. There’s a whole petting zoo area here with goats, pigs, donkeys, and other small animals. They also do presentations for children on crafts, have local children’s choirs perform, and have very approachable food stalls. If you’re looking for handmade gifts from local artisans, this is the place to visit. There is a lot of cool and quirky art here ranging from table lamps to woodworking to sculptures and oil paintings. Most of the market is in one large square outside of Karlskirche, but it does tentacle off down a few side streets as well.

Altwiener Christkindlmarkt

This market has been going strong since 1772 in Freyung square. Known for it’s hand blown glass, this is another market that boasts a lot of artisans and a great spot for handmade souvenirs. This market also comes together with the local farmer’s market, so you can grab some fresh produce, sausages, chocolates and local wines. If you’re into Advent music, there are performances daily at 4pm.

Stephansplatz

One of the coolest spots in Vienna is near St. Stephen’s Cathedral right in the heart of the city. This market isn’t huge, but it loops around the cathedral and has a giant Christmas tree. This is also the spot to visit if you want to do a horse and carriage ride around Vienna’s main shopping area. We didn’t spend too long here since it was pretty crowded, but definitely worth a stop!

Did you collect all of your Christmas mugs? Now you can enjoy memories of Vienna forever over your morning coffee!

Vienna Recommendations

So, you visited all the markets and still have time to spare? Here are some other places worth popping on your Vienna itinerary:

Museum of Military History – Lots of information about World War I and II, cool old weapons, gruesome paintings of battles, and really neat sculptures.
Natural History Museum – All the typical bones and fossils.
Imperial Treasury – I really enjoyed this one! Really amazing crowns, gowns, and jewels.
Haus des Meeres (Aquarium) – Super quirky building full of fish, reptiles, and birds. Perfect size for a rainy day afternoon.
Time Travel Vienna – Awesome mix of videos, holograms, immersive rooms and history taught in bite-sized, fun ways.
Kunst Haus – Modern art and architecture.
Albertina Modern Art – Honestly, check out the entire Museum Quarter for lots of options on art, armor, history and more.
Naschmarkt – This is an outdoor market full of cheap souvenirs, sweatshirts, food and spices. There are a lot of great restaurants here if you’re looking for something easy or elevated.
House of Music – Interactive music museum featuring Vienna’s favorite composers.