The best Christmas markets

From Liège to Lille, here’s our pick of some of the best Christmas markets around

Christmas markets, you either love them or you hate them. Too twee, too saccharine, too crowded, say the scrooges. Great food, great drink, great atmosphere, say the merrymakers. For me, the Christmas market is the perfect antidote to winter’s long and dark evenings. Wooden huts filled with festive gifts, white lights hanging from the trees, and the smell of mulled wine and winter spices filling the air; it provides a convivial atmosphere in which to meet friends, an opportunity to buy a few stocking-fillers, and the chance to indulge in all those tasty seasonal cakes and biscuits.

Brussels will host its Winter Wonders Christmas market in the city centre from November 25 until January 1. While this is definitely worth a visit, why not venture a little further afield? To help you decide where, here’s a selection of some other Christmas markets – all within two hours of Brussels – worth visiting to get you into the festive mood.

Liège

Liège claims to be Belgium’s biggest and oldest Christmas market, or ‘le Village de Noël’. One of the aims of the Christmas Village, which takes place on the Place du Marché and Place St Lambert, is to encourage local traditions and folklore. You’ll see Liègois puppets, hear the Walloon dialect being spoken and be able to taste regional products such as marzipan treats and wash it all down with the locals’ favourite, a short or two of pèket (genever).

Dates: November 25 – December 30

Getting there: a direct train from Brussels Central to Liege-Guillemins takes about an hour. From there you can either walk across town to the Christmas market or take the 5-minute train journey from Liege-Guillemins to Liege-Palais right in the centre of town.

Website: www.villagedenoel.be

Durbuy

The Christmas market in the self-proclaimed smallest town in the world gets going during the four weekends leading up to Christmas Day as lights go on in the old district and the stall holders sell their handicrafts, gifts, food and drink. On December 17 a special evening of festivities is planned, and on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve at 5.30pm, 1,000 outdoor candles are lit to welcome visitors. Another highlight of Durbuy’s festive offerings is the covered ice rink.

Dates: November 26 – January 8 (only weekends until the school holidays)

Getting there: If you are planning on doing a bit of shopping it is easier to travel by car as there are no direct trains to Durbuy and there are lots of car parks on the edge of town – just make sure you get there early.

Website: www.durbuyinfo.be

Bruges

Chocolate-box Bruges is almost made for Christmas markets, with its cobbled winding streets, gabled guildhouses and horse-drawn carriages. An ice rink is set up in the central Markt square and Christmas stalls pop up all around selling yuletide treats. The wooden huts also extend to the nearby Simon Stevinplein. An added attraction in Bruges is its annual Snow and Ice Sculpture Festival, where this year’s sculptors have Disneyland as their theme.

Dates: November 25 – January 3

Getting there: Reaching Bruges takes about an hour from Brussels, whether by car or by train.  Trains leave every 30 minutes from Gare du Midi.  The station lies just outside the old town and is probably also the best place to park as the Christmas market is about a 15 minute walk from Bruges train station.

Website: http://foto.brugge.be/events_brugge/winter_en.html

Ghent

Ghent may not have the largest Christmas market, but it has one of the best locations. The Christmas stalls stretch out over Sint Baafsplein (Saint Bavo’s square) in the medieval city centre, with the cathedral at one end and the 14th-century belfry at the other. Ghent also prides itself on its musical offering, with a choir singing Christmas carols and live jazz, folk and rock performances taking place around the open-air ice rink.

Dates: December 9 – 30

Getting there: It takes 30 minutes to reach Ghent by train from Brussels Midi, but only if you get the fast train, of which there are two every hour. The stop-train takes double the time although they are more frequent. From Gent-Sint-Pieters take Tram 1 to Korenmarkt. Parking can be difficult but there are several car parks near the Vrijdagmarkt square which is close to Korenmarkt.

Website: www.gent.be/kerstmarkt

Aachen

For the nearest and one of the most famous German Christmas markets, head just over the border to Aachen. The whole of the historic city centre comes to life, with the Christmas market on the main square next to the cathedral and the town hall, and a couple of smaller Advent markets nearby. If there’s one local specialty to try out, it has to be Aachener Printen, a type of hard gingerbread biscuit.

Dates: November 18 - December 23

Getting there: The ICE train to Aachen takes just over an hour from Brussels and there’s one an hour during most of the day. It is then a 15-minute walk to the market.

Website: www.aachenweihnachtsmarkt.de

Cologne

Christmas markets spring up all over Cologne, so don’t just stick to the crowded one in front of the cathedral. A favourite with locals is the one on Rudolfplatz, but there’s also a floating market, a new maritime-themed market and many more. For traditional wooden handicrafts, the market on the Alter Markt is a good bet. Children will be fascinated not only with the toy stalls, but also the old-fashioned roundabout and puppet theatre there.

Dates: November 21 – December 23 (slight variations for some of the markets)

Getting there: The ICE train to Cologne takes 1 hour 50 minutes from Brussels and there’s one an hour during most of the day. The markets are within walking distance from Cologne train station, with the cathedral one literally in front of the station.

Website: www.koeln.de/cologne_tourist_information/events/christmas_markets

Lille

For a taste of how the French put on a Christmas market, Lille is a lovely nearby option. The central square of Place Rihour is filled with more than 80 chalets selling Christmas decorations and handicrafts, gauffres (waffles), pain d’épices (gingerbread) and mulled wine. Just a stone’s throw away on the Grand’Place, the town puts up an 18-metre high Christmas tree and a Big Wheel from where you can look out over the historic centre and beyond.

Dates: November 19 – December 30 (closed December 25)

Getting there: Lille is just 35 minutes from Brussels by Eurostar or just over an hour by car.

Website: www.noel-a-lille.com

London’s South Bank

At the start of the festive period, a German-style Christmas market springs up along the River Thames, between the Southbank Centre and the London Eye.  The riverbanks are packed with illuminated chalets selling everything from Glühwein and bratwurst sausages to hand-crafted toys and Christmas tree decorations. In the centre there’s a carousel to keep the children happy.

Dates: November 18 – December 24

Getting there: You can get to London Kings Cross St Pancras in just under two hours from Brussels via the Eurostar. The nearest Underground and British Rail station is London Waterloo which you can reach directly on the underground by taking the Northern Line to Euston and then taking a southbound train to Waterloo.

Website: www.xmas-markets.com/en/