Christmas market in Berlin

Go on a city break in Berlin and enjoy a stay in the cultural city with sightseeing, shopping and lots of lovely Christmas atmosphere. As Christmas approaches in Berlin, countless Christmas markets spring up all over the city, transforming the beautiful capital into a true Christmas paradise for people of all ages.

The Christmas market in front of the Red Town Hall is hard to miss, with its huge 50-metre high Ferris wheel, beautifully decorated with colourful lights. Here visitors can delve into Berlin's history and experience an old-fashioned urban environment as it looked in Berlin around 100 years ago. Particular emphasis is placed on the old virtues and traditional crafts and art forms. As well as countless stalls and food tents, you'll find a long list of entertainment on offer in the form of rides and the impressive 600m² floodlit ice rink. You might also be lucky enough to spot Santa Claus, who passes by three times a day on his sleigh for photos and hugs.

Not far from the Red Town Hall on Alexanderplatz you will find another Christmas market. Here you'll find Europe's largest 'walk-in' Christmas pyramid, decorated with more than 5,000 lights and offering a lovely view from the top. The market is one of the most visited in town, offering plenty of exciting entertainment and cosy stalls where you can enjoy everything from gingerbread to bratwurst.

Another of the city's most popular Christmas markets is the centrally located Gendarmenmarkt, which lies between the Deutscher Dom and the French cathedral. Here, visitors can see a wide range of exciting crafts every year and watch some of the talented artisans at work. Of course, you'll also find plenty of delicious Christmas food and general stalls selling all sorts of Christmas goodies.

More than 250 stalls are set up in front of the beautiful Schloss Charlottenburg, which, combined with lots of Christmas decorations, food and Glühwein tents and nostalgic rides for the kids, form the backdrop to the cosy Charlottenburg Weinachtsmarkt. The castle itself will be decorated and lit up with lots of Christmas lights in festive colours and the whole area around is transformed into a Christmas land with a big Ferris wheel, merry-go-rounds and slides where the kids can have fun while the adults ooze around between the stalls.

Berlin's biggest Christmas market is just outside the city centre, in the beautiful Alstadt Spandau district. Around the beautiful St. Nikolai Kirche, craftsmen of all kinds have set up stalls and the market has a very special atmosphere with its big Christmas tree and the many smells, sounds and music that fill the air here.

These Christmas markets are just a small part of all the exciting and cosy Christmas markets that can be found around Berlin. A small selection - but others worth visiting are the beautiful "Winter World" Christmas market at Potsdamer Platz and the Christmas markets at the Palace Square in Köpenick and at the Opernpalais in Berlin Mitte.

Get into the Christmas spirit with Risskov and book one of our many hotels in Berlin and the surrounding area, and stay close to all the great Christmas experiences in the historic capital.