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Original poster

Christmas markets are crap !

129 replies

KittyCatsby · 02/10/2022 15:15

There I've said it . Over the years I've been to a few ( Bath , Chester , York , Lincoln , Edinburgh , Manchester , Harrogate )
Never found one that have lived up to expectation. Mostly selling over priced rubbish , atmosphere almost zero , can hardly get to see the stalls as over crowded , kids miserable etc etc .
Anyone else feel the same ?

OP posts:
InglouriousBasterd · 02/10/2022 16:27

The Cologne one is so beautiful, it’s ruined any other Christmas market for me!

queenrollo · 02/10/2022 16:27

I went to Lincoln years ago and it was really lovely. Didn't go back for ages and when I did I lasted about 45 minutes before giving up and retreating to my parents house for a cuppa. It had lost all its charm and just become utterly full of tat, and was SO busy you couldn't even get to most of the stalls to see what they were selling. At points you literally got carried along with the crowd and couldn't step off the 'conveyor belt' if you wanted to.
Then it was cancelled a few years ago due to the weather conditions and some traders held a very small 'alternative Christmas market' in a hall off the main drag and that was delightful. Very small, all interesting handmade crafts.

I really love the idea of a festive market, but the reality is always very disappointing.

Skinnermarink · 02/10/2022 16:30

dreamingbohemian · 02/10/2022 16:00

Does anyone know if the one in Winchester is decent?

The ones in London are not great and thinking about where we could go for a day trip.

We used to live in Germany, to be fair some of the xmas markets there are shite as well : ) but really miss the atmosphere of the nice ones.

It used to be but has fallen foul really of the things mentioned in this thread over the years.

That said, it’s in a beautiful setting in the cathedral grounds, and Winchester is beautiful anyway and looks gorgeous at Christmas. Make sure you have a drink at the Wykham Arms nearby and if you like quirkiness, go to the Black Boy pub, it’s wonderful and it’s there’s nothing else like it.

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Wheelyweddingwipedout · 02/10/2022 16:30

Agree OP - overpriced tat. However, thanks for posting because you made me remember to order my mulled cider (after being shocked at being charged £7 per cup at Baths Christmas market last year)

megletthesecond · 02/10/2022 16:32

Hot chocolate from a shed.

I don't like hot chocolate and I have a shed in my garden year round.

ShakeItOff40 · 02/10/2022 16:32

We live within walking distance of one of the ones on your list. And I love it.

HOWEVER. It’s crap, and I wouldn’t visit it if I couldn’t walk from my house. We basically go, and see part of our city feeling festive, and consider it the beginning of Christmas IYSWIM.

We prepare to pay over the odds for a burger and mulled wine, and support something that brings people to the city. But the stalls are usually pants and we always come home amazed how many people come just to see it!

Coastalcreeksider · 02/10/2022 16:32

hangsangwitch · 02/10/2022 16:00

My friend has booked a hotel overnight for us to visit the one in Winchester. It’s an excuse to have a nice day out and a stay in a posh hotel, but I have no interest in the market. I’m sure it will be the same shit as the one in my suburban London high st.

I went to the Winchester one quite a few years ago as Winchester is quite near but it was very disappointing, wouldn't bother to go again.

Winchester is quite nice though and of course, has the lovely cathedral.

generalh · 02/10/2022 16:33

Best ones are always abroad

daisydalrymple · 02/10/2022 16:36

I’m so glad to read this thread! I honestly thought I must be missing a trick when I’ve not enjoyed them. Everybody raves about them, but I just find they’re full of the homemade craft crap everybody started making through lockdown, which I have no purpose for and would never use.
Our local one closes off a street in town, then charges an entry fee just to get in and look at the stalls. We did it once and just won’t bother again.
I did go to Prague one year for a friend’s birthday, and that one was fabulous and had a great, festive atmosphere.

goingtotown · 02/10/2022 16:38

If you don't mind being ripped off go to Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, awful place.

Tara336 · 02/10/2022 16:39

@dreamingbohemian nope it's rubbish. A tiny overcrowded area with maybe 20 stalls all selling the same mass produced things you see at every other Christmas Market. You can barely move and barely see anything properly.

Phos · 02/10/2022 16:41

The Leeds one is nice, not too big and I actually kind of like the stuff they tend to sell like the wooden toys and decorations and those pretty painted bowls. Not to mention the chocolate dipped fruit kebabs.

It hasn't happened for a few years though.

Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park is lovely if you go during the day on a weekday. Evenings and weekends, not a chance.

countvoncount · 02/10/2022 16:48

I loved the Edinburgh one a good few years ago, thought it was well organised and stalls were great
(Clearly it's gone done the pan since then, shame)
This year I'm going to rome in December, not specifically for a Christmas market, but I'll certainly look for one when I'm there, I love the festiveness of them, even if they are filled with tat, I'm a sucker for it

maddiemookins16mum · 02/10/2022 16:49

Most markets (Christmas or otherwise), are shite.

MadMadMadamMim · 02/10/2022 16:51

I hate crowds, so although I vaguely like the thought of wandering round stalls feeling Christmassy and drinking mulled wine I know I'll loathe it in reality.

I wouldn't go.

tectonicplates · 02/10/2022 16:52

Inmyhandbag · 02/10/2022 16:45

OMG. That thread is absolute gold.

dustofneptune · 02/10/2022 17:02

There is a big one every year in my city and I agree!

The first year was magical - then every year since it's been the same crap.

It's too cold, too crowded, too expensive, too samey, and too difficult to get a drink if you want to do one of the best things about it - which is to socialise with friends.

That being said, I weirdly like the fact that it's on... Just walking through it and stuff, soaking up the lights and vibes when it's quiet. But do I buy a single thing from it? No 😂

Shufflebumnessie · 02/10/2022 17:02

Completely agree! I love the idea of them but the reality is always a huge disappointment.

HuzzahIndeed · 02/10/2022 17:03

Agree. I stopped going to them years ago. They are all the same and just full of stuff made in China and nothing special.

I went to Lincoln a few times in the far distant past and found it lovely but went recently and it's the same as all the others now which is a shame.

Daisy38 · 02/10/2022 17:04

I liked the Edinburgh Christmas Market when it started around 20 years ago but in recent years it’s just been rows and rows of overpriced goods.

I remember being in Edinburgh around Christmas 2018 so decided to see what was in the market, but as I approached I realised I knew what was going to be at every stall at every part of it and there was nothing I wanted so decided not to bother.

As others have said, the organisers this year have just pulled out so it’ll be interesting to see what happens as it’s only 7 weeks until it’s meant to open!

AngelinaFibres · 02/10/2022 17:04

They are vile.
Birmingham, crime ridden rip off.
Bath. Very expensive, totally unnecessary junk.
Cheltenham, half hearted waste of time
Cardiff. Desperately depressing.
Worcester Victorian fayre. Overcrowded bunch of tat.
I want to love them. I have been to many several times in the hope they are better the next year. They aren't. They look prettier in the dark but it's just tat.

Hoppinggreen · 02/10/2022 17:04

tectonicplates · 02/10/2022 15:37

I also don't understand people who go abroad just to visit a Christmas market. How long do you spend there - like an hour or two at the very most? Is that literally your plan for the entire holiday, or do you include it in a holiday where you do other stuff like visiting museums etc? I never understand it when people say "I visit Germany to go to the Christmas markets".

We are spending 1 day in a town we love outside Munich, one day at a Thermal Spa and 1 day in Munich itself at the markets. We have one day where we haven’t decided yet. I wouldn’t go JUST for the market but we visit Germany pretty regularly anyway

MrsDThomas · 02/10/2022 17:06

Chester is shit, plus most shops there are also closed now.

manchester is good , plus the shops so you don’t have to stay there.

christmaspudding43 · 02/10/2022 17:07

tectonicplates · 02/10/2022 15:37

I also don't understand people who go abroad just to visit a Christmas market. How long do you spend there - like an hour or two at the very most? Is that literally your plan for the entire holiday, or do you include it in a holiday where you do other stuff like visiting museums etc? I never understand it when people say "I visit Germany to go to the Christmas markets".

Just different strokes for different folks really isn't it? I feel the same about beaches in that I can't understand why on earth anyone would want to fork out on flights and hotels to lie on a beach all day, and I definitely can't understand why they get so excited about going to, for example, Mexico, just to never leave the resort, but to each their own (and obviously here I'm not talking about the people who do leave the resort, before I get jumped on).

UK Christmas markets are shite and so is Bruges, I shudder when I see it recommended here. But Basel and Vienna were great. If you don't like them I guess you wouldn't get it but as a pp mentioned, they are often a socialising option in those places, so people will go and spend an evening there drinking and catching up with friends (one of the markets in Basel had a fire with seating around for this purpose). In that sense it's the same as when people visit any destination because a particular event is on. There might be food specialities, drinks, local stalls etc that are as much a part of the local culture as consuming the food and drink in a restaurant or visiting local shops.

For me, I go abroad because I actively enjoy the colder weather and atmosphere, I like seeing the lights and the activity, enjoy the markets themselves and like exploring the wider city. I like seeing what festive specialities places have. I would say I'm going to X for the Christmas markets because that's the reason I've chosen to go to such a place at such a time of year, not because I plan to do absolutely nothing else there.

But just to repeat, yes the UK ones are shite.