When Vienna's Christmas markets open and close
Vienna's Christmas markets do not start on one shared day. They switch on in waves through November, beginning with the palace and the cathedral square and ending with the Belvedere and the Prater about two weeks later, and they close in waves as well. Most of the small squares pack up on 23 December and the big ones carry on to 26 December, while a few stay open into January. The table below holds the dates and daily hours of every market we cover, followed by the calmer nights and plans for a short stay.
How the markets open through November
The first huts open in the first week of November. On 6 November the market in front of Schönbrunn Palace and the Christmas village on Stephansplatz start trading, a week ahead of the rest. The Christmas exhibition in the Hirschstetten botanical gardens follows on 12 November, open Thursday to Sunday only.
The big wave comes on 13 November. That day six markets open together: Rathausplatz, Am Hof, Spittelberg, Art Advent on Karlsplatz, the student market on the old university campus and Christmas Magic on Schwarzenbergplatz. The Freyung and the craft market in Türkenschanzpark follow a day later. On 20 November the Belvedere's K&K market opens at the same time as the Christmas village on Maria-Theresien-Platz, and the winter market below the Giant Ferris Wheel in the Prater starts that day too.
Closing runs the other way round. Hirschstetten ends first, on 20 December. Most of the smaller markets, among them the Freyung, Am Hof, Spittelberg, Karlsplatz and the campus, close for good on 23 December. Rathausplatz, Stephansplatz, Maria-Theresien-Platz and Schwarzenbergplatz carry on until 26 December. The Belvedere keeps going to New Year's Eve, and Schönbrunn and the Prater winter market last until 6 January.
Every market's dates and daily hours
Where a market lists holiday hours, as Spittelberg and the Belvedere do, those apply on 8 December too.
| Market | Dates | Daily hours | 24 to 26 December |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stephansplatz | 6 Nov to 26 Dec | 11 am to 9 pm | 24th 11 am to 4 pm; 25th and 26th 11 am to 7 pm |
| Am Hof | 13 Nov to 23 Dec | Mon to Thu 11 am to 9 pm; Fri to Sun and holidays from 10 am; food until 10 pm | Closed |
| Freyung | 14 Nov to 23 Dec | 10 am to 9 pm | Closed |
| Rathausplatz | 13 Nov to 26 Dec | 10 am to 10 pm | 24th until 6:30 pm; 25th and 26th open |
| Vienna Ice World, Rathauspark | 13 Nov to 6 Jan | 10 am to 10 pm | 24th until 6:30 pm; closed on 31 Dec |
| Maria-Theresien-Platz | 20 Nov to 26 Dec | Mon to Fri 11 am to 9 pm; weekends 10 am to 9 pm | 25th and 26th open; check the 24th |
| Spittelberg | 13 Nov to 23 Dec | From 2 pm on weekdays, from 11 am on weekends and holidays; closes 9:30 pm | Closed |
| Schönbrunn Palace | 6 Nov to 6 Jan | 10 am to 9 pm | 24th until 4 pm; from the 25th 10 am to 7 pm |
| K&K market, Belvedere | 20 Nov to 31 Dec | Mon to Fri 11 am to 9 pm; weekends and holidays 10 am to 9 pm | 24th 11 am to 5 pm (31 Dec the same) |
| Art Advent, Karlsplatz | 13 Nov to 23 Dec | Noon to 8 pm; food until 9 pm | Closed |
| University campus, Altes AKH | 13 Nov to 23 Dec | Mon to Thu 2 pm to 10 pm; Fri 2 pm to 11 pm; Sat 11 am to 11 pm; Sun 11 am to 9 pm; 23 Dec 2 pm to 8 pm | Closed |
| Christmas Magic, Schwarzenbergplatz | 13 Nov to 26 Dec | Mon to Fri 11 am to 9 pm; weekends 10 am to 9 pm | Check the market's page |
| Winter Market, Riesenradplatz (Prater) | 20 Nov to 6 Jan | Mon to Fri noon to 10 pm; weekends 11 am to 10 pm | 24th 11 am to 5 pm; 31 Dec noon to 2 am |
| Türkenschanzpark | 14 Nov to 23 Dec | Mon to Fri 3 pm to 10 pm; weekends noon to 10 pm | Closed |
Treat this table as a guide rather than a promise. Each organizer confirms its final dates and times only a short while before the season begins, so check the market's own page before you plan a late evening around it.
Calm nights and crowded ones
The sun sets around 4 pm, so the lights are on long before dinner. From Monday to Thursday, the stretch between dusk and 6 pm is the calmest part of the evening at the big squares. The queue at the Punsch stand stays short.
Friday and Saturday evenings are the busiest of the week, and the Saturdays of mid-December are the fullest of all. 8 December is a public holiday on which shops may open, and the center is very busy that day.
If a busy day is the only one you have, go early. Rathausplatz and Schönbrunn both open at 10 am, hours before the evening crowd. Save the crowded evening for a market away from the big squares, such as Spittelberg or the campus market, which stays open until 11 pm on Fridays and Saturdays.
24 to 26 December, and on to 6 January
Christmas Eve is a half day. Austrians open their presents that evening, brought by the Christkind, so shops and most markets close in the afternoon. Stephansplatz and Schönbrunn shut at 4 pm, while the Belvedere and the Prater winter market stay until 5 pm. Rathausplatz holds out longest, until 6:30 pm.
On 25 and 26 December the shops are closed, but several markets reopen. Stephansplatz trades from 11 am to 7 pm and Schönbrunn from 10 am to 7 pm. Rathausplatz and Maria-Theresien-Platz open on both days, and so does the Belvedere on its holiday hours. After the 26th, Schönbrunn and the Belvedere carry on with the Prater winter market and the skating paths in Rathauspark. On 31 December the Belvedere closes at 5 pm while the Prater stays open until 2 am, and the skating paths take the night off before running to 6 January. See the City Hall square and its rink and the palace markets for details.
Keep a Saturday for the Alps
Saturday evenings in mid-December are the hardest time for the big squares, so spend that day elsewhere. 7 TRAVEL's Hallstatt day trip, from ~$73, starts at the tourist information on Albertinaplatz, with hotel pickup as an option. It pauses for half an hour at Schloss Ort on the Traunsee, then leaves about three hours for Hallstatt itself, with the Skywalk as an extra, and gets back at about 8:15 pm. It runs daily except 31 December, for about $102 on Viator. The catch is the road. Some 8 of the 13 hours pass in a big coach, and food is extra. The lake boats sail mainly from May to October, and snow, though likelier there than in Vienna, is never certain. Back in town, the campus market is open until 11 pm on Saturdays.
A Saturday in the Salzkammergut
Thirteen hours by coach from Albertinaplatz, with a castle stop on the way and about three hours in Hallstatt, from ~$73. Pack a lunch to eat on the go, and come back to a city where the crowded evening is nearly over.
Evening plans for a short stay
- One evening. Start at Stephansplatz around 4 pm and follow our evening walk up the Graben to Am Hof and the Freyung, then out to Rathausplatz. Finish in the lanes of Spittelberg, which trade until 9:30 pm;
- Two evenings. Give the first to the Old Town markets and the Graben lights. Spend the second at Rathausplatz with skates on. Then cross to Maria-Theresien-Platz and finish at Spittelberg;
- Three evenings. Add a night beyond the center. Art Advent on Karlsplatz serves organic food in front of the Karlskirche until 9 pm, and tram D runs to the Belvedere's imperial-themed market. On a Friday, the campus market makes a late alternative;
- A daytime plan. See Schönbrunn's state rooms in the morning, as our guide to the palaces in winter explains, and stay for the forecourt market, which opens at 10 am. In the afternoon, pick out glass ornaments on the Freyung by daylight before the lights come on.
For the cold, read what to wear in December, and for what goes in the mug, our Punsch and food guide. Families should see Vienna at Christmas with kids, and day trips from Vienna goes beyond Hallstatt.