Vienna – Christmas Markets

You only need a short trip to Vienna, Austria to enjoy the delights of the Christmas markets – so its a perfect weekend destination if travelling from Europe.

There are several Christmas markets dotted around Vienna but our top 3 we went to (all of these are free) are:

Christkindlmarkt at Rathausplatz (largest of the markets and has a great selection of stalls with food/drink/decorations/gifts/wooden toys as well as festive lights, rides and ice skating). This market is well worth a visit but if you aren’t so keen on the crowds then the other markets below will be more favourable. 

The Christkindlmarkt market is located in-front of the town hall and has something for everyone.

Weihnachtsmarkt am Stephansplatz (central location lovely setting around the Stephansdom Cathedral). Also with this market being in the centre of town you are surrounded by shops and restaurants so lots of options and we love options!

More traditional feel to the market in Stehansplatz and is located in the pedestrianised part of town.

Aside from the Christmas markets we also managed to visit the Schoenbrunn Palace and Gardens which was really impressive but by far the best bit was being just next door to the Vienna Zoo.

Feeling the cold with the penguins at Vienna Zoo

If you visit Schonbrunn and don’t go to the Zoo then you’ve missed a trick – it’s so worth a visit and you can get incredibly close to the animals. Even with the cold it’s still the best zoo we have been to in Europe!

Even better is that you can “kill two birds with one stone” and visit the smaller Christmas market at Schoenbrunn Palace, see the gardens and the Zoo!