Good Christmas market in uk and a recommendation of where to stay?

[Booksandflowers]

I’ve seen bath and Winchester are supposed to be good. Anyone been to either?

London. Hyde Park - Winter wonderland

Also they normally have one at the SouthBank and various other ones doted around

The Manchester one suppose to be big

@Booksandflowers Not York it's ridiculous, and they plan on screwing over market traders next year

Bath is so busy you can't breathe. Winter Wonderland is shite.

Bath is horrendous, extremely crowded and you’re lucky if you can get anywhere near a stall. I know you said UK, but if I were you I would head to Vienna or one of the German markets, they’re infinitely more interesting and Christmassy.

We were disappointed with Winchester.

Exeter is supposed to be good

Winchester has a continual throng of people surging around the circuit of stalls, it is hard to break free to actually stop to look at any stalls. It is slightly quieter in the late afternoon/evening.
Exeter is lovely, as is Bath, although very busy as expected.

Edinburgh is a rip off

@ssd tbh they are all ripoffs
Mmm £9 for a luke warm hot chocolate, happy Xmas 🎄

The UK isn't exactly known for its Christmas markets

Oxford has a tiny market of a few stalls, quite a sweet stop off as part of a bigger trip.

What about Blenheim Palace? Woodstock is a nice little town to stay in, the light trail is quite cool and the shop has some genuinely nice things in it. You'll wave goodbye to a ton of cash but that's what it's for.

London Winter Wonderland was renamed Winter Scamland after our visit. It was awful and very expensive. We didn't enjoy it at all. We were there a couple of days before the catapult ride snapped, too, so I'm dubious about the health and safety checks completed by the LA.
I live very close to York. My DH works in the city centre too, and it gets crazy busy at Xmas market time.

Reminds me of this:

@CoffeandTiaMaria if I were you I would head to Vienna or one of the German markets, they’re infinitely more interesting and Christmassy

Which German one would you recommend?

I'm going to Berlin this year just in time for the Christmas market there. Very excited. I'll be honest, I wouldn't normally lift a finger to go to a British one.

The London ones are crap, mainly food and overpriced tat which has nothing to do with Christmas.

I went with friends to Bath for my 50th birthday with an overnight stay, we had a lovely time shopping. Yes it is busy but they are all busy. I may be trained, I lived near Nürnberg for 4 years and got used to the chaos.

We went last year. The one at the Rotes Rathaus (Red Town Hall) was great, but really busy.

The one at Alexander Platz was a disappointment.

The one at Bebelplatz has a small entry fee, it is a bit more upmarket but lovely things to buy.

I doN't think there are any good ones in the Uk

Can recommend Vienna

Same stuff every year at Winchester, very crowded to the point you can't even look at the stalls unless you push your way through - and I've heard that a lot of visitors complain they can't even find the market! (It's behind the Cathedral, not really visible from the high street)

Last time I went they didn't even have the few sheds by the front of the cathedral or the ice rink. Also, incredibly difficult to find anywhere to eat that wasn't absolutely packed - we managed to get a bite of lunch in the National Trust Watermill as its members only to get to their tiny cafe...

York or Lincoln
Don't go to Manchester markets they are spread out, overpriced and utterly shit

German markets can get very busy too! I recommend going in the week during the daytime. Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz are beautiful; also Annaberg, Schwarzenberg, Schneeberg, Marienberg if you don't mind venturing out a bit further. Fly to Leipzig or Dresden with Ryanair.

I've been to Bath, Birmingham and Edinburgh a couple of times each.

I prefer Edinburgh, but the UK Christmas markets are all much of a muchness. I can highly recommend a trip to Riga - the Christmas market there was lovely and the old town is incredibly pretty.

I always go to at least one of Winchester, Bath & Exeter.
Bath is the largest. Yes it’s busy, but that’s part of the atmosphere. Winchester is smaller. The Christmas market is behind the Cathedral but the HighStreet is also filled with craft …stalls.
Exeter is again smaller but very quaint.
Enjoy

God no to WW it is awful unless you like being cattle herded into a muddy field and paying £££££ to do anything or buy any of the generic Christmas market tat. The. A crush to get back into the tube. No thanks.

Bath is ok but tbh they are all much of a muchness.

My dd went to a German city & found out it had 5 Christmas markets. She was surprised that they all only sold food.