JANUARY 2026

Salzburg is one of my favorite cities in the world, one I have visited many times and hopefully will visit even more in the future. Visiting the Christmas markets in Salzburg was one of my dreams and in 2025 I was able to make this dream come true. I specifically planned our skiing holiday near Salzburg, so we could combine this holiday with a visit to the markets. What is especially amazing about Salzburg’s Christmas markets is that they continue for a short while after Christmas, making it easy to visit them on your Christmas break. In Germany lots of Christmas markets close before Christmas, but luckily this not the case in Austria. Find all my recommendations for the Salzburg Christmas markets in this blogpost!

Practical information

in 2025 the Christmas markets were held from November 20 until January 1. On fridays and saturdays the markets are open until 9PM, while other days they close somewhat earlier. Please check the special opening hours on this website. Salzburg can get crowded during the Christmas season, but somehow the markets were quite relaxed. We visited the Sunday after Christmas and even though there were lots of people, there were no queues at the stands or museums. For parking I recommend finding a parking garage near Parcelsus Bad, this means you will park close to the Mirabell garten and have a lovely walk into Salzburg. This blogpost is aimed at the Christmas markets, but I do have a full Salzburg guide, which you can find here.

Christkindlmarkt

The largest market in Salzburg is the Christkindlmarkt, which takes place at the Dom and Residenzplatz. I found this market quite aimed at gifts and less at food. However we were able to find good kaiserschmarrn and delicious prosecco glühwein. Underneath the large Christmas tree you could find a miniature set up with trains, that our son really loved. Further, I was a bit surprised at the lack of attractions for kids. I am used to finding a vintage carroussel or ferris wheel, but not at the Christkindlmarkt in Salzburg. Salzburg is a beautiful city and doesn’t need a lot of decorations to be festive. While I liked the decorations, they did not go all out on this market. I did see some people overlooking the Christmas market from a terrace connected to the Dom. If you want to visit this terrace to have a great view over the Christkindlmarkt, you should buy tickets for the DomQuartier, as this gives access to that specific viewpoint.

Small Christmas markets

What is really fun about Salzburg is that you will find some smaller markets scattered throughout the city. Salzburg is known for its shopping arcades and loads of these arcades feature a little Christmas market. We found a very cute market called Sternadvent, and we walked into the city from this market and encountered loads of cute Christmas set ups. Most of these aracades are side streets from the famous Getreidegasse. Go out and explore and discover gems yourself 🙂

Stiegl-Keller

The Stiegl-Keller brewery also organizes it’s own Christmas event. They have a lovely terrace overlooking the old town that they decorated with Christmas baubles. They serve a delicious glühwein which you can have on a romantic benchseat underneath a blanket, with a gorgeous view. Unfortunately, a fog arrived to Salzburg by the time we got to Stiegl-Keller, ruining a part of the view. This event seems to be somewhat of a hidden gem as we were easily able to find a table. This definitely was my favorite spot at the Salzburg Christmas markets. Even my husband, who doesn’t like crowds and doesn’t love Christmas markets really loved this place.

Ice skating rink

The ice skating rink is located at the Mozartplatz. Access to the rink is € 6,5 and they offer some interesting discount options if you are a family and you need to rent skates. From the Mozartplatz you look over the Residenzplatz, so you will have the Christmas market as a gorgeous backdrop. When we visited they played great songs, more Fleetwood Mac and Abba than Christmas, which added cozy vibes to the experience.

Kollegienkirche

I love that everytime you visit a familiar city, you can still find new spots. We found a nice spot to have some food opposite the Mozarts Geburtshaus and this is how we found the College Church. You can enter for free and we found it incredibly impressive!