Christmas markets in Berlin: Looking forward to the festive season
Berlin, 4. November 2026 From atmospheric displays of lights and traditional Christmas markets set against historic backdrops to ice skating through a spectacular light and sound installation: Berlin offers plenty of reasons to visit in the run-up to Christmas. Around 100 winter and Christmas markets invite you to stroll, enjoy and discover this year. Whilst some take place only on selected Advent weekends, others remain open until the New Year.
The first winter markets begin as early as the end of October, with the traditional Christmas markets mostly following from 23 November, the Monday after Remembrance Sunday. Our overview of Berlin’s Christmas markets.
With around 100 winter and Christmas markets to choose from, it’s not an easy choice. Whether traditional, creative, family-friendly or particularly romantic: our tips for Berlin’s Christmas markets will help you find the right one more quickly.
Looking forward to the festive season: Berlin’s first winter markets open
Even before the traditional start of the Christmas market season on 23 November, the first winter markets and light displays are getting people in the mood for Advent. The Lichtenberger Winterzeit on Landsberger Allee kicked things off on 31 October. Around 80 fairground rides and attractions, including a 45-metre-high Ferris wheel, a free-fall tower and a three-storey haunted house, create a festive winter fair atmosphere. A few days later, on 7 November, the LGBTQIA* Winter Days begin at Nollendorfplatz, followed by Christmas Avenue at the same location on 23 November. Beneath the U2 elevated railway line, stalls selling arts and crafts, jewellery and culinary specialities invite visitors to browse.
On 18 November, two further winter events get underway: the Christmas Garden Berlin transforms the Botanical Garden into a winter wonderland of lights. Along a circular route stretching some two kilometres, visitors can look forward to more than 30 light installations, audiovisual artworks and a Christmas village with food and drink on offer. On Schlossplatz at the Humboldt Forum, the winter market opens with more than 150 stalls selling arts and crafts, gift ideas and international specialities. Historic carousels and laser shows on selected evenings round off the programme.
From 20 November, ‘Christmas at the Zoo’ invites visitors to enjoy an evening stroll through the illuminated grounds surrounding Friedrichsfelde Palace. Around 30 light installations, an ice rink and food stalls create a wintery atmosphere.
Festive Christmas magic: markets with a nostalgic atmosphere
Historic settings, traditional crafts and festively decorated market stalls are the hallmarks of some of Berlin’s best-known Christmas markets. From 13 November, the Christmas market at the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church invites visitors to stroll around Breitscheidplatz. Between the Memorial Church and Kurfürstendamm, the festively decorated stalls offer gift ideas, arts and crafts, and winter specialities.
On 23 November, three traditional Christmas markets open their doors: the ‘WeihnachtsZauber’ returns to the Gendarmenmarkt. Against the backdrop of the Konzerthaus and the domes, arts and crafts, culinary delights and a stage programme featuring music and performances come together. In the historic old town, the Spandau Christmas market invites visitors to stroll around St Nikolai Church and along the narrow streets. Market stalls offering gift ideas and culinary specialities create a festive pre-Christmas atmosphere. Against the baroque backdrop of Charlottenburg Palace, the Charlottenburg Palace Christmas Market also opens its doors. Festively lit pagoda tents, arts and crafts, and culinary delights characterise the market scene in front of the palace façade.
From 4 to 6 December, the historic Richardplatz will be transformed into a nostalgic Christmas village for the Alt-Rixdorf Christmas market. The focus is on handmade gift ideas and stalls run by charitable organisations, accompanied by traditional Christmas music. If you’re also looking for inspiration for Advent and the festive season, you’ll find further markets, events and festive experiences in our guide to the festive season in Berlin.
Special Christmas markets: Nordic charm and creative gift ideas
Scandinavian traditions, historic settings and unusual gift ideas: some of Berlin’s Christmas markets offer unique experiences. With their varied concepts, they complement the capital’s traditional Christmas market offerings, some of them taking place only on selected Advent weekends. From 23 November, the Lucia Christmas Market at the Kulturbrauerei invites visitors to soak up the Nordic Christmas atmosphere. Named after the Scandinavian Festival of Lights, it combines specialities and arts and crafts with attractions such as the coat-warming stall and a small sauna. The Nordic Fairytale Christmas at Britz Castle also draws on Scandinavian traditions. On all four Advent weekends, fairytale characters, historic craft stalls and Nordic-inspired specialities transform the estate grounds into a wintry fairytale world.
The winter market at Tempelhof Airport offers a completely different setting: the market opens on the second and third weekends of Advent in the Alte Feuerwache (Old Fire Station) at the former airport. In the historic hall, traders and creative artisans showcase arts and crafts, design products and culinary specialities.
A special culinary experience awaits visitors from 16 November at ‘Christmas on the Spree’. For a one-off admission fee, this all-inclusive Christmas market offers mulled wine, winter drinks and a selection of food at no extra cost. The ://GLÜHWEINGARTEN, on the other hand, focuses on Berlin’s club culture. On the four Sundays of Advent, a rotating line-up of music acts, a heated dance tent, mulled wine and a fire barrel invite visitors to enjoy a winter get-together.
Anyone still looking for unusual gifts will find what they’re after at Holy Shit Shopping on 28 and 29 November. The design market brings together independent labels and creatives offering fashion, jewellery, art and home accessories. Our shopping guide offers further inspiration for special Christmas gifts from the capital.
Fun on the ice: Christmas markets with ice rinks
Ice skating beneath spectacular architecture, around a historic fountain or amongst atmospherically lit fir trees: Berlin’s ice rinks are once again offering unusual backdrops this winter. Right in the heart of Berlin, the ice rink at the Centre on Potsdamer Platz, ‘Center on Ice’, opens its doors to skaters from 13 November. A 600-square-metre ice surface stretches out beneath the striking roof structure of the former Sony Centre. From 23 November, the neighbouring Winterwelt Christmas market will draw visitors with a twelve-metre-high toboggan run and festive market stalls. A historic setting awaits visitors from 23 November at the Berlin Christmas Market at the Rotes Rathaus. Situated between the town hall and St Mary’s Church, the ice rink winds its way around the famous Neptune Fountain.
At FOREST – WINTERLIGHTS by DARK MATTER, the ice rink itself becomes part of a light installation. From 4 November, visitors will glide through a former industrial hall beneath more than 600 floating fir trees, whilst thousands of lights in the ice create changing patterns and colours in time to the music. The Christmas market at Winterquartier Berlin also embraces an industrial vibe: from 6 November, the Napoleon Komplex in Friedrichshain invites visitors to go ice-skating in a 1,000-square-metre ice rink. Weekend ice discos, street food and a cultural programme round off the line-up.
There’s also winter ice-skating fun to be had in the city’s outlying districts: from 23 November, the Zehlendorf Christmas market invites visitors to come and skate on the festively lit village green. Artfully carved wooden huts and a programme of family activities create a pre-Christmas neighbourhood atmosphere. In south-east Berlin, the Grünau lido will be transformed into ‘Winterwelt Grünau’ from 13 November. Set amongst real fir trees, fairy lights and cosy wooden huts, a 1,000-square-metre ice rink stretches out, which also hosts an ice-skating disco at the weekend.
Relevant images can be found here.