Salzburg Christkindlmarkt
Salzburger Christkindlmarkt47°48′ N 13°03′ ESalzburgfrom Nov 19Seasonal
This is the market to build a Salzburg trip around if you want baroque squares, carols and brass at dusk, and it runs right through to New Year's Day. The trade-off is the weekend crush on the Domplatz, so plan your browsing for a weekday morning.
Photo Salzburger Nockerl · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 and others, credited in the gallery
Salzburg Christkindlmarkt runs November 19, 2026 to January 1, 2027 · confirmed by the organizer (source)
Advent SundaysGaudete, 13 DecemberChristmas Eve
Dates and hours
- November 19, 2026 to January 1, 2027Confirmedsourcechecked Oct 10, 2026
Hours · Mon–Thu 10:00–20:30; Fri 10:00–21:00; Sat 09:00–21:00; Sun 09:00–20:30
- Dec 7, 2026 · 10:00–21:00 (The eve of the holiday runs late. It opens at 10:00 because 7 December falls on a Monday in 2026.)
- Dec 8, 2026 · 09:00–20:30 (Immaculate Conception is a public holiday in Austria and the market keeps Sunday hours.)
- Dec 24, 2026 · 09:00–15:00
- Dec 25, 2026 · 11:00–18:00
- Dec 26, 2026 · 11:00–18:00
- Dec 31, 2026 · 10:00–01:00 (Craft stalls stay open until at least 18:00 and selected food and drink stands carry on until 01:00 for the old-town New Year's Eve party on the Kapitelplatz.)
- Jan 1, 2027 · 11:00–18:00
Access and crowds
- Step-free
- Yes, Salzburg Christkindlmarkt has a step-free route
- Toilets
- There are four public toilet blocks around the market. The one on the Kapitelplatz behind the cathedral arches has a step-free entrance and a changing table, and the toilet in the Wiener-Philharmoniker-Gasse is a Euro-key accessible toilet with a changing table.
- Getting around
- The organizer describes the market as fully barrier-free. Both squares are paved and level, and the Domplatz crowd is the thing that slows a wheelchair or a pram at the weekend.
- Busiest
- Saturday and Sunday afternoons and evenings fill the Domplatz shoulder to shoulder, and the organizer puts the season's footfall at close to a million visitors.
- Quieter
- Weekday mornings after the 10:00 opening are calmer. Go between 27 and 30 December if you want the stalls with the pressure gone.
The stalls fill the Domplatz in front of the cathedral and spill round onto the Residenzplatz, with a strip on the Kapitelplatz behind. The 1974 revival gave the market its rows of wooden huts and a canopy of lights the organizer calls the starry sky. Most of what's sold leans to Salzburg crafts and Christmas decorations, with food and punch stands woven between them.
Time your visit around the music. Choirs stand on the cathedral steps at 17:00 on weekdays and at 15:00 and 17:00 on Saturdays and Sundays. On Thursday and Saturday evenings at 18:30 the Turmblasen brass plays down onto the Residenzplatz from the towers, a custom Tobi Reiser started in 1952.
The market carries on past Christmas. It closes at 15:00 on Christmas Eve, runs short days on 25 and 26 December and then keeps normal hours to 30 December. On New Year's Eve some food stands stay open until 01:00 for the party on the Kapitelplatz, and the last day is 1 January.
Worth knowing
- Turn up at 16:00 on an Advent Sunday if you travel with children. The Christkind and four angels walk onto the Domplatz and then go round the stalls.
- Stand on the Residenzplatz for the Turmblasen and face the towers. The brass plays from above, so you hear it better with the fountain behind you.
- Wednesday at 16:00 brings a children's reading with the Christkind at the information stand by the Christmas tree.
Quick answers about Salzburg Christkindlmarkt
When is the Salzburg Christkindlmarkt open in 2026?
The organizer gives 19 November 2026 to 1 January 2027. It opens at 10:00 on weekdays and 09:00 on weekends, and closes between 20:30 and 21:00.
Is the Salzburg Christkindlmarkt open on Christmas Eve and after Christmas?
Yes. It opens 09:00 to 15:00 on 24 December and 11:00 to 18:00 on 25 and 26 December, then keeps normal hours until 30 December.
In the journal and guides
Read more about Salzburg Christkindlmarkt
Guide · 12 min read
What's open in Europe on Christmas Eve?
Seventy-nine markets open on 24 December 2026, and most of them close by 18:30, so do your last shopping before dark.
Dates guide · 7 min read
When are the Krampus runs in Austria in 2026?
The first runs start on 21 November 2026 and the last Perchten come out on 21 December, and most of them gather around St Nicholas's Eve on 5 December.
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.
Guide · 12 min read
Which Christmas markets are open after Christmas?
Prague, Salzburg, Dresden and Cologne keep their markets going through the week after Christmas, and Colmar runs to 29 December.