Aachen Christmas Market
Aachener Weihnachtsmarkt50°47′ N 6°05′ EAachenfrom Nov 20Seasonal
The Aachen Christmas Market runs from 20 November to 23 December 2026 (confirmed), daily from 11:00 to 21:00, and suits rail travellers on the Brussels to Cologne line who want a compact old-town market with real food interest. Saturdays get crowded with day-trippers from across the Dutch and Belgian borders.
Photo ArthurMcGill · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 and others, credited in the gallery
Aachen Christmas Market runs November 20, 2026 to December 23, 2026 · confirmed by the organizer (source)
Advent SundaysGaudete, 13 DecemberChristmas Eve
Dates and hours
- November 20, 2026 to December 23, 2026Confirmedsourcechecked Oct 10, 2026
Hours · Mon–Sun 11:00–21:00
- Nov 22, 2026 · 18:00–21:00 (Totensonntag)
- Dec 12, 2026 · 11:00–22:00 (Late-night market)
- Dec 23, 2026 · 11:00–20:00 (Last day)
Access and crowds
- Busiest
- Saturdays, when day-trippers and coach groups arrive.
- Quieter
- Weekday afternoons.
Aachen's market spreads through the old town between the cathedral and the town hall, so the stalls frame two of the most important buildings in German history. Charlemagne was buried in the cathedral, and the chapter counts 30 kings and 12 queens crowned there up to 1531. The market is compact enough to walk end to end in a few minutes, which makes it a good half-day stop on the train between Brussels and Cologne.
Aachener Printen, the city's spiced gingerbread, carries EU protection, and the bakeries that make it sell it across the old town. On Totensonntag the market opens only in the evening, from 18:00, and it stays open an hour later on Saturday 12 December.
Worth knowing
- Buy Printen from an Aachen bakery that makes them, such as Nobis, rather than at a generic stall.
- Aachen Hbf has direct trains from Cologne, Liège and Brussels, so it works as a day trip from any of them.
Quick answers about Aachen Christmas Market
When is the Aachen Christmas market 2026?
The Aachen Christmas market runs from Friday 20 November to Wednesday 23 December 2026, daily from 11:00 to 21:00. On Totensonntag, 22 November, it opens only from 18:00 to 21:00, and on 23 December it closes at 20:00.
Is the Aachen Christmas market open on Sunday?
Yes. It opens every Sunday from 11:00 to 21:00, except Totensonntag on 22 November 2026, when it opens at 18:00.
In the journal and guides
Read more about Aachen Christmas Market
Guide · 9 min read
Are German Christmas markets open on Sunday?
Every Advent Sunday is a market day in Germany. The two Sundays before Advent are different, and on 22 November 2026 most markets that have already opened stay shut.
Guide · 10 min read
When do Christmas markets open in Germany in 2026?
Totensonntag falls on 22 November in 2026. Most German markets open in the week after it, and the date of a city's market comes from a rule you can read ahead.
Guide · 23 min read
When do Europe's Christmas markets open and close in 2026?
Vienna and Copenhagen open first, on 6 November 2026, and Cologne's Heumarkt keeps its stalls up until 10 January 2027. Every row below names who published the date.