The 5 best Christmas markets in Berlin 2025

If you are thinking of visiting the Christmas markets in Berlin, get ready to immerse yourself in a magical world where traditions, light and aromas make the city like a winter fairytale. The Berlin districts are home to dozens of markets throughout the city, with wooden stalls full of handicrafts, Christmas decorations and more original gifts. All accompanied by a festive atmosphere that combines history and modernity to satisfy your appetite with typical local specialities. Live music, shows, attractions for children and a chance to go ice skating complete the experience. Around every corner, there is a gift that will make you feel the magic of a Berlin Christmas.

What are the Christmas markets like?

The Berlin Christmas markets attract thousands of visitors every year and are one of the most popular and deeply rooted traditions in the city. With the arrival of the cold weather, from the end of November and until Christmas Eve, the German capital hosts numerous markets with small wooden stalls decorated with festive decorations, lights and garlands, where local crafts, Christmas decorations and traditional toys. Each market has its own particularity. Some have a historical atmosphere, such as Gendarmenmarkt, and others are more modern and family-style, such as Alexanderplatz and its great ice rink. A walk through them is a must that you should cross off your list during your stay in Berlin . 

Typical cuisine and sweets: What to eat and drink? 

Every visit to the Christmas markets should always be accompanied by a tasting of all the varied cuisine on offer. Stop along the way and recharge your batteries after a winter day touring Berlin. Prepare your taste buds and try some of the most popular dishes on the Christmas markets:

• Bratwurst sausages: The typical German sausage, usually made with minced pork in a natural casing. If they are freshly made, they are absolutely delicious.
• Pretzels: They are a type of cookie or bun in the shape of a bow and with a savory flavor made of flour, salt and cumin seeds.
• Sauerprat: A delicious dish of salt-fermented cabbage with a sour flavor and crunchy texture, ideal for combatting the cold winter nights!

If sugar is not your thing, don’t leave without trying:

• Lebkuchen: The typical gingerbread cookies are a delight. Based on wheat or rye flour, honey, nuts and a spicy flavor with cloves, ginger, cumin, cinnamon...
• Caramelised almonds: A crunchy-sweet snack consisting of caramelised almonds in which sugar surrounds the nuts.
• Christstollen: This dessert is a kind of sweet bread stuffed with fruit and marzipan and covered with powdered sugar, an essential part of the German Christmas table.
• Glühwein: The popular mulled wine served in cups is the best ally for warming up during the Advent and Christmas periods. It is made from red wine, cinnamon, cloves, vanilla, sugar and orange peel.
• Kinderpunsch: Similar to the champagne you used to drink as a child to toast adults, this is a children's version of glühwein, a non-alcoholic mulled wine. Designed to allow the little ones to warm up with a drink depending on their age.

Like all festive events, sharing these delicious dishes with other visitors and local residents is a unique cultural immersion experience that will help you connect with German traditions from the moment you arrive.

The magical atmosphere of Christmas markets

If you wonder what makes the Berlin Christmas markets so special, it’s the atmosphere that fills all of them. As the sun goes down, the lights begin to illuminate each area, creating a magical family atmosphere that envelops you and invites you to explore the stalls at your leisure. The piped music is also an incentive, with live Christmas carols and choirs that increase the feeling of being in a Christmas movie set.

There are bonfires to help you get warm, chats with groups of friends, families or your partner, or stroll around the heated marquees. If you are traveling with children to Berlin, the kids will enjoy trains, roundabouts and the chance to leave a letter for Father Christmas while the adults relax and savor a glass of spicy wine. If you’re lucky and it snows during your visit, you will see an authentic Christmas image as you see the snow covering the landscape. A unique atmosphere that makes a visit to the Berlin Christmas markets a place where you can experience the true magic of Christmas. 

One of the earliest Christmas markets is the one in Potsdamer Platz in the square of the same name near the central Tiergarten Park. This is a favorite market with Berliners as it also offers the Winterwelt, making the square an authentic Christmas theme park. 

In addition to Christmas gifts and delicacies on offer at the wooden stalls, you can also enjoy family or friends with the ice rink and a spectacular 12-metre high and 70-metre long slope for you to glide over the sled. A really festive atmosphere, accompanied by music from a DJ that helps take the party into the night.

What makes it unique:

Get ready to slide down the huge ice rink and get ready for speed on the sled slope. Fun and action all in one place! 

Dates and times :

📆From October 31 to December 31, 2025.
Every day from 10am to 10pm (December 24 until 4pm).

Location and how to get here:

Address: Potsdamer Platz 
📍 See on map 

🚏The best way to get here is by public transport, but private transport can park in the underground garage at Potsdamer Arkarden or at the Sony Center APCOA.
•    Local (S-Bahn): S1, S2, S25, S26, S+U Potsdamer Platz Bhf.
•    Bus: 200, M41, M48, M85, N2, S+U Potsdamer Platz Bhf.

One of the most traditional and beautiful markets in Berlin is the Gendarmenmarkt, surrounded by iconic buildings such as the Deutscher Dom Cathedral, the Konzerthaus auditorium and Französische Friedrichstadtkirche church. A classic Christmas market in Gendarmenmarkt square, with dozens of marquees offering sophisticated gourmet cuisine and traditional dishes. 

You can buy handicrafts and see artisans at work, including wood carvers and glassblowers. The market hosts circus performances on street level with jugglers, fire eaters and acrobats, as well as live music from gospel choirs and jazz.

What makes it unique

A wide range of handicrafts and a festive atmosphere. Ideal for Christmas gifts. And with free entry if you visit at midday! 

Dates and times:

📆From November 24 to December 31, 2025.
Open from Sunday to Thursday from 12 midday to 10pm; Friday and Saturday from 12 midday to 11pm; December 24, from 12 midday to 6pm; New Year's Eve, from 12 midday to 12 midnight.

Entrance price: 2 euros Free entrance for children aged under 12 and free entrance for everyone from Monday to Friday from 12 midday to 2pm (except on December 24, 25, 26 and 31). Dogs not allowed.

Location and how to get here:

Gendarmenmarkt 10117
📍 See on map 

🚏The best way to get here is by public transport, but if you are going by private transport there is a paid car park at: CONTIPARK Friedrichstadt-Passagen underground car park, VINCI Park Friedrichstraße and APCOA Parking Leipzigerstraße.

• Local (S-Bahn): S1, S2, S3, S5, S7, S9, S25, S26, S75 Friedrichstraße, S1, S2, S25, S26 Potsdamer Platz.
• Metro: U5 Museumsinsel, U2 Hausvogteiplatz o Stadtmitte, U6 Französische Straße.
• Bus: 100, 300 Staatsoper.

Enjoy the unique winter atmosphere in this huge Christmas market in Alexanderplatz. Next to the famous Television Tower and World Clock, the location hosts a special Christmas market with a huge wooden pyramid with thousands of lights. A perfect place to get away from the cold with a glass of glühwein, the popular mulled wine, or savor a delicious Thuringian sausage. 
It has more than one hundred wooden stalls with original Christmas gifts such as traditional handicrafts made by glassblowers, potters and blacksmiths. 

What makes it unique

Its imminent wheel allows views of the city, its festivals and an extensive program of family experiences.

Dates and times:

📆From November 24 to December 26.
Open from Monday to Sunday from 11am to 10pm The Party Treff pyramid from 11am to midnight. Father Christmas at home from 12 midday.
Free entrance.

Location and how to get here:

Alexanderplatz, 10178 Berlin
📍 See on map

🚏The best way to get here is by public transport: 
•    Local (S-Bahn): (S3, S5, S7, S9 S + U Alexanderplatz); U-Bahn (U5, U8 S + U Alexanderplatz)
•    Bus: M48, 100 Alexanderplatz/Memhardstraße
•    Tram: M2, M4, M5, M6 U Alexanderplatz/Memhardstraße

Once again this year, the Berliner Weihnachtszeit is held between the Berlin City Hall (Rotes Rathaus) and the St. Marienkirche. A relatively recent market, but one that takes visitors in on the Berlin of 1900, with vendors and artisans selling their products in the street. A journey to the past, with façades reminiscent of the original Berlin houses from the turn of the century, freshly baked bread, the innkeeper serving mead in clay jugs and even a full-size Nativity scene. A particular highlight in this nostalgic location is the panoramic view of Berlin, which reaches a height of 20 metres, making it an ideal place to enjoy all the Christmas bustle and bustle in the German capital. You should also not miss the skating rink around the Neptune fountain, which offers an ice show at certain times. Father Christmas also takes you through the sky in Berlin up to 3 times a day, surprising all the attendees.

What makes it unique?

A nostalgic atmosphere representing the city in 1900, with a huge ice rink and a colossal 50-metre high panoramic wheel. Father Christmas on a sleigh flys over the market at 4:30pm, 6:30pm and 8:30pm

Dates and times:

📆From November 24 to December 30, 2025. From Monday to Friday, from 12 midday to 10pm, Saturday and Sunday from 11am to 10pm; Closed Christmas Eve and December 30 from 12 midday to 9pm.

Free entrance.

Location and how to get here:

Spandauer Straße 10178 Berlin (At the foot of the TV Tower, between the Rotes Rathaus and St. Marienkirche church.
📍 See on map

🚏At the foot of the TV tower in Berlin-Mitte, between the Rotes Rathaus and St. Marienkirche church.

•    Local (S-Bahn): S3, S5, S7, S9, S75 Alexanderplatz
•    Metro (U-Bahn): U2, U5, U8 Alexanderplatz
•    Tram: M4, M5, M6, M10 Spandauer Strasse/Marienkirche
•    Bus: 100, 200, M4, M48, TXL Spandauer Straße/Marienkirche, 248, M48 Berliner Rathaus

This is one of the most romantic Christmas markets in Berlin and is held around the palace where Queen Sofía Carlota once lived. Follow in the footsteps of royalty in a market with the castle lit up by multi-coloured lights and surrounded by decorated wooden cabins and marquees. 

The aroma of traditional dishes fills the air, accompanied by the smell of fresh bread, caramelised apples and mulled wine. There are also bands that create a very festive atmosphere and a small Ferris wheel and merry-go-rounds that the little ones will love. With more than one hundred stalls offering handicrafts such as candles, jewellery, advent stars, ceramics or silk and leather items. There is also exquisite dining on offer with two restaurants in air-conditioned pagoda tents. Special tours are available at the Charlottenburg Palace and in the adjacent park about the Christmas traditions of the Hohenzollerns, former palace residents. This market is a journey into the past, allowing you to stroll around like you were royalty. 

What makes it unique?

The romanticism of a royal palace surrounded by more than 100 stalls with thousands of lights, handicrafts and delights in air-conditioned marquees. 

Dates and times:

📆From November 24 to December 28, 2025 (closed on December 24).
Opening hours: Monday to Thursday, from 1pm to 10pm; Friday to Sunday from 12 midday to 10pm The first and second day of Christmas, from 12 midday to 10pm.

Free entrance.

Location and how to get here:

Address: Spandauer Damm 2214059 Berlin
📍 See on map

🚏
•    Local (S-Bahn): S41, S42, S46 Westend.
•    Metro (U-Bahn): U2 Sophie-Charlotte-Platz.
•    Bus: 109, M45 Luisenplatz/Schloss Charlottenburg, 309 Klausenerplatz.

The temperature in Berlin in November and December usually ranges from a minimum to 4ºC and a maximum of 4-8ºC. Yes, it will get cold and it may even snow around to make the Christmas markets even more idyllic. 

Start with a base layer, such as a thermal T-shirt that adapts to your body. It is essential for insulating the body and retaining body heat. Then add a layer such as a shirt, wool jumper or fleece. And, above all, an outer layer in which you must have a thick winter coat to avoid the intense Berlin cold. Other accessories to protect you from the cold that you must have in your suitcase include a hat to keep your head and ears warm, and scarves, stockings and gloves to protect extremities that are most sensitive to the cold. There’s a bit of a walk in the area if you don’t want to miss anything about the city, so you have a great pair of warm and waterproof shoes that keep your feet dry, especially when it rains or snows.