When are Vienna's Christmas markets open in 2026?

The Wiener Christkindlmarkt on Rathausplatz runs from Friday 13 November to Saturday 26 December 2026, and its organizer has confirmed those dates on christkindlmarkt.at. Eight more Vienna markets have confirmed their 2026 runs as well. Art Advent on Karlsplatz has published nothing yet, and the Christmas village at the Belvedere has neither dates nor an operator.

We read every organizer's page on 10 October 2026. Beside each date we print its status: confirmed means the organizer's own page states it, announced means a tourism board or news page does, and projected means nobody has published it, so we worked it out from the pattern the market follows year to year. A projected date is a planning guess until the organizer posts the real one. Entry to every market below is free, and the deposit column shows what you leave on a mug of punch.

Market	2026 dates	Status	24 December	Mug deposit	Catch
Rathausplatz	13 Nov–26 Dec	Confirmed	10:00–18:30	€5 (2024 price check)	Weekend evenings get so packed that a stroller barely moves
Schönbrunn Palace	6 Nov–6 Jan 2027	Confirmed	10:00–16:00	€5 (2024 price check)	It sits out in Hietzing, about 600 metres from the nearest U4 stops
Stephansplatz	6 Nov–26 Dec	Confirmed	11:00–16:00	€5 (2026, MAGMAG)	It is small and stands in the city's busiest pedestrian crossroads
Spittelberg	13 Nov–23 Dec	Confirmed	Closed for the season	€3 (2024 price check)	Weekday stalls open only at 14:00, and the lanes are tight for wheelchairs
Am Hof	13 Nov–23 Dec	Confirmed	Closed for the season	€5 (2024 price check)	The season ends on 23 December
Freyung	14 Nov–23 Dec	Confirmed	Closed for the season	Not published	The organizer publishes no access details
University Campus (Altes AKH)	13 Nov–23 Dec	Confirmed	Closed for the season	€5 (2026, MAGMAG)	Nothing opens before 14:00 on weekdays
Maria-Theresien-Platz	20 Nov–26 Dec	Confirmed	11:00–16:00	€5 (2026, MAGMAG)	It opens a week after Rathausplatz
Schwarzenbergplatz	13 Nov–26 Dec	Confirmed	11:00–16:00	€5 (2026, MAGMAG)	2026 is its first year, so nobody has a track record to go on
Art Advent, Karlsplatz	20 Nov–23 Dec	Projected	Closed for the season (projected)	€4 (2024 price check)	divina art had posted no 2026 dates by 10 October
Belvedere	No dates	Unconfirmed	Not published	Not published	The village is moving to the Teichhof, and no operator has signed

The 2024 deposits come from vienna.at's price check of 6 December 2024. MAGMAG Events publishes its own 2026 deposit of €5 on every punch and hot drink. Its red boot mug is made of glass for the first time this year.

Which Vienna Christmas markets open first in 2026?

Schönbrunn and Stephansplatz open first on Friday 6 November 2026. Five more open a week later on Friday 13 November: Rathausplatz, Spittelberg, Am Hof, the University Campus village and the new Weihnachtszauber on Schwarzenbergplatz. Spittelberg's stalls open at 14:00 on that Friday.

The Old Viennese market on the Freyung waits until Saturday 14 November, when an opening ceremony at 17:00 raises money for the Stiftung Kindertraum. Maria-Theresien-Platz follows on Friday 20 November and comes back after skipping 2025, because the Burghauptmannschaft now lets the square between the two big museums one winter at a time. Art Advent on Karlsplatz opened on the Friday before Totensonntag in both 2021 and 2025, which projects 20 November 2026. Check divinaart.at in November before you build a day around it.

Skating starts with the Rathausplatz market. Eistraum am Christkindlmarkt opens on 13 November 2026 and runs to 6 January 2027, daily from 10:00 to 22:00, and its organizer has confirmed the run. The rink shuts all day on 31 December. Vienna's Christmas lights go up over 32 shopping streets from early November, and Vienna Tourist Board has not given a 2026 switch-on date.

Which Vienna markets are open on Christmas Eve?

Five markets open on 24 December 2026, and Rathausplatz stays open longest because it closes at 18:30. Schönbrunn closes at 16:00 that day. MAGMAG's three markets at Stephansplatz, Maria-Theresien-Platz and Schwarzenbergplatz all open from 11:00 to 16:00.

Plan your shopping before the 24th if you want the craft markets. Spittelberg, Am Hof, the Freyung and the University Campus village all close for the season on 23 December, and the campus village shuts early that day at 20:00. The Freyung runs a free gift-wrapping service from 13:00 to 16:00 on 21, 22 and 23 December, which suits anyone carrying presents home on a plane.

Which markets stay open after Christmas?

Schönbrunn is the one to plan around between Christmas and Epiphany. Its stalls open from 10:00 to 19:00 every day from 25 December 2026 to 6 January 2027, with skating and curling lanes in the palace courtyard. Book a curling lane online before you go, since the operator says bookings can't be cancelled.

On 25 and 26 December you still have four markets in the centre. Rathausplatz keeps its usual 10:00 to 22:00, because its organizer names no exception for those days. Stephansplatz opens 11:00 to 19:00, and Maria-Theresien-Platz and Schwarzenbergplatz open 11:00 to 16:00. All four end their season on 26 December. The rink on Rathausplatz carries on until 6 January after the stalls go, and the bigger Wiener Eistraum takes the square over from 22 January to 7 March 2027.

What is happening at the Belvedere and Karlsplatz this year?

The Belvedere Christmas village has no 2026 dates, and we list it as unconfirmed. In June 2026 the Burghauptmannschaft said the market would leave the space in front of the palace for the Teichhof area at the upper end of the big pond, as 5min.at reported. Contracts were still being negotiated then. MAGMAG ran the village in 2025 and leaves it off its list of 2026 markets. If you want a palace behind your mulled wine, Schönbrunn has confirmed its dates.

Art Advent on Karlsplatz has a projected run of 20 November to 23 December 2026. divina art runs the market and picks its makers through a jury, and in 2025 every food stall there was certified organic. The projection comes from the market's own pattern, and divina art had posted nothing for 2026 when we checked on 10 October.

When are Midnight Mass and the Christmas services at St. Stephen's Cathedral?

Midnight Mass at St. Stephen's Cathedral begins at midnight on the night of 24 December, as it does every year. The cathedral parish had not published its 2026 Christmas timetable on 10 October 2026, so we mark the 2026 times as projected from the feast and from the 2025 timetable. In 2025 Vespers came first at 16:30 with Mozart's Vesperae solennes de Confessore. Cathedral parish priest Toni Faber celebrated the Mass at midnight, and a high Mass (Hochamt) followed at 10:15 on Christmas Day.

Midnight Mass is a Catholic Mass and worship first. Anyone can come and take part quietly, and the service is in German. The cathedral chapter asks every visitor to dress in keeping with the dignity of the church and asks men to take off their hats. Put the phone away for the whole Mass. You need to be inside well before midnight to find a seat. The main west door facing the U-Bahn exit (the Riesentor) is step-free, and after services a ramp leads out through the Primtor. The Stephansplatz market outside closes at 16:00 on 24 December, so eat somewhere else before you come.

The cathedral itself costs nothing to enter, and a Mass in English is said every Saturday at 19:00. We found no published Advent concert programme for the cathedral in 2026.

Where can you hear Christmas concerts in Vienna in 2026?

The Vienna Boys Choir gives its Christmas concert GUTE HIRTEN five times at MuTh, which is the choir's own hall at the Augartenspitz, and MuTh has confirmed every date. The concerts play on Friday 4 December at 19:00, Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 December at 16:00, and Monday 21 and Tuesday 22 December at 19:00. Seats cost €61 to €74 and VIP seats €82 (2026 prices, published by MuTh), and anyone under 26 pays €14 to €25. MuTh recommends the concert for children from age 4, and the weekend matinees suit them best.

To hear the choir at a service, go to the Hofburg Chapel on Christmas Day. At the 09:15 Mass on 25 December 2026 the boys sing Haydn's Missa Sancti Nicolai with members of the Vienna State Opera orchestra and men's chorus, and the Hofmusikkapelle has confirmed it. This is worship first as well. Seats cost €14 to €52 (2026, published) and many have little or no view. Free standing places at the back go to whoever turns up from 08:30. Photography, recording and phones are all banned during Mass. The choir sings Sunday Mass there on 13 and 20 December too, and on 27 December the setting is Mozart's Coronation Mass.

The free choice is the International Advent Singing in the Festsaal of Vienna City Hall. Choirs sing from 15:30 to 19:00 every Friday, Saturday and Sunday of Advent, with doors at 15:00 and no tickets. The organizer confirms the 44th edition on the four Advent weekends, and the Advent calendar projects those weekends to 27 November to 20 December 2026. Use the step-free entrance at Lichtenfelsgasse 2 on the far side of the building from the market.

Quick answers

When does the Vienna Christmas market at Rathausplatz open in 2026?

The Wiener Christkindlmarkt on Rathausplatz opens on Friday 13 November 2026 and runs to Saturday 26 December, daily from 10:00 to 22:00. stadt wien marketing organizes the market and has confirmed these dates.

Which Vienna Christmas market opens first in 2026?

Schönbrunn Palace and Stephansplatz open first in Vienna on Friday 6 November 2026. Both organizers have confirmed the date.

Is any Vienna Christmas market open on Christmas Eve 2026?

Yes. Five Vienna markets open on 24 December 2026, and Rathausplatz closes latest at 18:30. Schönbrunn, Stephansplatz, Maria-Theresien-Platz and Schwarzenbergplatz close at 16:00 that day.

Which Vienna Christmas market is open in January 2027?

The Schönbrunn Palace Christmas market stays open until 6 January 2027, daily from 10:00 to 19:00 after Christmas. Its organizer has confirmed the run.

Is there a Christmas market at the Belvedere in 2026?

The Belvedere Christmas village is unconfirmed for 2026. It is due to move to the Teichhof area by the pond, and no operator had published dates by 10 October 2026.

What time is Midnight Mass at St. Stephen's Cathedral in 2026?

Midnight Mass at St. Stephen's Cathedral starts at midnight on 24 December. The parish had not published its 2026 timetable by 10 October 2026; in 2025 Vespers came first at 16:30.