It's the dreaded ' Christmas Market ' time !

[Rainbow321]

So I've been to a few ( UK only ) Christmas markets , and my opinion of them all is they are all crap !
The ones I've been to are York ( a few times over the years )
Chester , Harrogate , Edinburgh , Bath , & Lincoln & a few other towns local ones , all equal crap .
Are you with me on this or do you find them magical & wonderful and leaving you full of the Christmas spirit ?

I've had some enjoyable Christmas market trips (Ghent, Antwerp, Brussels, and Worcester's Victorian version) but our local city is not on that list.

For those of you suggesting not to go, due to the layout of the city and the market, that's not always possible. We used to say at work that the council's statistics on footfall for the market were mainly comprised of office workers trying valiantly to get to meetings on the other side of the market which completely bisects the centre. It would mean a long detour to avoid it.

It seems like a great idea. But in practice, the 50 Sheds Of Shite concept has been operating for at least the past decade here. Although I did once snag a bag of hot chestnuts on the way back from one of those meetings, so it's not all bad.

We went to the Chatsworth Christmas market last week and it was fabulous
Tie it in with a visit to the house and gardens then at dusk there's a light show story that's beamed onto the house. Really lovely.
Other Xmas markets that are good are local 'makers' type markets with lots of little independent businesses.
Avoid city centre ones full of rank old olives and sweets

Yep, they are sheds of shite, that’s why I don’t go to them.

I've had wonderful weekends at German , Hungarian and Belgian Xmas markets ( Berlin was fabulous) but UK ones are absolutely awful. It's like they've taken the idea and made it as shit and unenjoyable as possible.

We are going to do Ghent and Brussels this year having done Bruges a few years ago.

I love getting my souvenir mulled wine mug to add to my collection but I've heard they aren't doing them in Belgium this year which is a shame.

I'm in NYC and the Christmas markets here are much better than the UK ones as well.

Less cheap tat, mostly food stalls selling interesting ready-to-eat food or local produce. Even the indoor bar at Bryant Park is much more civilised. I remember the indoor bars at the Manchester Christmas markets just feeling like a pop-up Wetherspoons (though still good fun, tbf).

If anyone is coming to Bath - can I recommend you come here in the few days after the sheds come down - ( usually around 14th) we usually have a beautiful old Victorian carousel up on the main street, the lights are lovely , Sally Army and mini choirs and we still have dotted around random stalls too including mulled wine etc -it still has tons of atmosphere and lots of people - just without the coach trips !!!

I think they’re a waste of time too and ridiculously expensive.

So, I don’t go.

Oh that sounds much more enjoyable

@SweetSakura it's still busy and atmospheric but much nicer!

I think that they've had their day. 10-15 years ago when they were novel, and I was a student in my 20s, I used to enjoy them.

Now I think that they are over priced and overcrowded and I can't think of anything worse than standing around in the cold, dark and damp. I rather have a (cheap) mug of mulled wine at home by the fire.

I think one biggy as to why they are a bit crap is that there are only so many food and craft enterprises that are Uk based and that can afford the cost of the sheds and now that Xmas markets are ten a penny they are all spread a bit thinly - as I said before sadly Brexit too has had an impact, as it's not cost effective or practical for a lot of the EU guys that used to come over -whereas if you are based in say cologne, it's easy to have an outpost at markets all over the EU

Now wait for someone to organise a coach party based on that recommendation 🤣

@ShinyAppleDreamingOfTheSea ha- you are very probably right- I know I always sigh with relief that day!! It's still pretty busy but you can at least get into shops and cafes and grab a coffee and the atmosphere is lovely and Christmassy , rather than frenetic and edgy and claustrophobic etc

Also @RedRiverShore5 and @Chipshopninja

We went to the Chatsworth one two weeks ago and it was lovely. We go every year and, like you, incorporate the House tour. This was the first year I stayed for the light show.

I think their market is good because:
a. The stalls are not selling all the usual Christmas Market tatt but often things I actually want to buy. I manage to do some genuine Christmas shopping there.

b. It doesn't get as overcrowded as the City Centre ones because you have to prebook your car so they can keep numbers to an acceptable level. Hence, you can always get to the stalls to have a good look.

c. The lovely setting and general atmosphere. You can definitely make a good day out of it.

This year I think the market runs until 9th December.