Vienna Christmas Markets – December 2018

My new tradition of visiting European Christmas Markets drew me to Vienna this year.  The Viennese Christmas Markets start in mid-November and continue until Christmas and the end of the year.  The city hosts several markets scattered throughout and all have a slightly different flavor from one another.  Here are just a few that we visited:

• Christkindlmarkt at Rathausplatz
  • Dozens of vendors including gifts, traditional food and drinks
  • Ice skating with skate rental

• Christmas Village / New Year’s Eve Village at the Maria Theresien Platz
  • Popular market that lasts until the New Year
• Old Viennese Christmas Market at the Freyung
  • Very small market near Town Hall with a few

We found great local foods and the obligatory Weihnachtspunsch (Christmas Punch), a warm and sweet alcoholic drink.  The crafts we abundant and too many to list.  One of my favorites was jewelry made from the graffiti street art around the city and along the banks of the Danube Canal.

If a November or December visit to Europe is on your schedule, a trip to a city with traditional Christmas Markets is well worth the effort.