Vienna - festive markets, cafes and music
One of the most well-known and most-visited Christmas markets is the Vienna’s Christkindlmarkt which is held on the square in front of the impressive Gothic City Hall. It is one of the oldest European Christmas markets, dating back over seven hundred years. Starting in mid-November, this market is made especially beautiful by the fact that that the area where it is held is surrounded by a park, and at Christmas time the trees of the park are decorated with pretty lights in the shapes of hearts, snowmen, gingerbread men, and other festive images.
If you prefer to decorate your home with traditional Christmas decorations, as opposed to the mass-produced type, then here you can buy some gorgeous hand crafted Christmas decorations, of painted wood, colourful paper and even painted clay. There are loads of artistic and hand crafted products for sale, including some beautiful candles, including natural beeswax candles, which, not surprisingly even smell of honey.
There are numerous other Christmas markets dotted about the city of Vienna, and you will even find one on the university campus. There is also a market at the Schoebrunn Palace - once the lavish summer residence of the Austrian Emperors, now it makes a stunning place to visit at Christmas with its festive decorations.
With Vienna’s superb artistic heritage, it is not surprising that throughout December choirs from all around the world give performances in the Festival Hall at the weekends, which provides you with yet another good reason to visit.
Vienna is also renowned for its cafe society, and the delightful cafes are the perfect place to relax in between all the Christmas shopping.
Overall, Vienna is an excellent place to visit at any time of the year, but the Christmas markets make it an especially attractive place to go for a city break in the run up to the festive season.
Filed under: Christmas markets, Austria
