Vienna Christmas Markets 2026: Dates and Where to Stay

Most of Vienna’s Christmas markets open in mid-November, but several of them close on 23 December. If your trip is built around Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, that decides which ones you can visit. The big market at the Rathaus runs until 26 December, and the palace markets at Schönbrunn and Belvedere go on longer. Here’s what’s open when, and then where to stay for it.

What’s open, and when

Dates and hours come from the Vienna Tourist Board’s Christmas markets page and the markets’ own sites, checked on 1 November 2026. A few pages disagree on hours, and we point those out.

Here is each market with its dates and a Google Maps pin:

• Rathaus Christkindlmarkt: 13 November to 26 December, daily 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., closing at 6:30 p.m. on 24 December.
• Stephansplatz: 6 November to 26 December, daily 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., closing at 4 p.m. on 24 December and 7 p.m. on 25 and 26 December.
• Am Hof: 13 November to 23 December, from 11 a.m. Monday to Thursday and 10 a.m. Friday to Sunday, until 9 p.m.
• Freyung: 14 November to 23 December, daily 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• Spittelberg: 13 November to 23 December, from 2 p.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m. at weekends and public holidays, until 9:30 p.m.
• Karlsplatz: 13 November to 23 December, with hours that differ between pages (noon to 8 p.m. or 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.).
• Maria-Theresien-Platz: 20 November to 26 December, closing at 4 p.m. on 24 December and 7 p.m. on 25 and 26 December. Other days’ hours differ between pages.
• Schönbrunn: 6 November to 6 January, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. until 23 December, to 4 p.m. on 24 December and to 7 p.m. from 25 December.
• Belvedere: 20 November to 31 December, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on 24 and 31 December. Other days’ hours differ between pages.

In the city center

Christkindlmarkt at the Rathaus, 13 November to 26 December

The biggest and best known, in front of the City Hall. The market’s site lists it as open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., with Christmas Eve closing at 6:30 p.m. The Tourist Board’s event page shows it open on 25 December. A skating rink, Ice Dream, shares the square and runs longer, from 13 November to 6 January, on the same hours and closed on 31 December. We couldn’t find ticket prices on the pages we loaded, so check the rink’s site before you go.

Stephansplatz, 6 November to 26 December

A smaller village around the cathedral, open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., closing at 4 p.m. on Christmas Eve and 7 p.m. on 25 and 26 December, according to the operator’s page.

Am Hof and the Freyung, 13 and 14 November to 23 December

Two old-fashioned markets a few minutes apart in the Innere Stadt. Am Hof is open Monday to Thursday from 11 a.m. and Friday to Sunday from 10 a.m., until 9 p.m., with food stalls going later. The Freyung market is open daily from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Both are closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Spittelberg, 13 November to 23 December

Set among the old houses of the Spittelberg quarter in the 7th district. Its own site says it opens at 2 p.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m. at weekends and on public holidays, and closes at 9:30 p.m. It’s closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Karlsplatz, 13 November to 23 December

An arts-and-crafts market by the Karlskirche. If you’re bringing children, the Tourist Board’s children’s page lists a straw landscape, a carousel, a crafts yurt and storytelling. Its pages disagree on hours, one saying noon to 8 p.m. and another 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., so check before you plan around it. Closed on 24 and 25 December.

Maria-Theresien-Platz, 20 November to 26 December

Between the two big museums, back this year after a year off with a new look, according to the organizer. The punch comes in red glass boot mugs this winter, which you can keep or return. We couldn’t find an official deposit amount, so ask at the stall. It’s open on Christmas Eve until 4 p.m. and on 25 and 26 December until 7 p.m., but hours differ slightly between the organizer’s page and the Tourist Board’s.

We left out a few smaller ones, but two are worth knowing about: Schwarzenbergplatz’s “Christmas Magic” is new this year and runs 13 November to 26 December, and the winter market at the Riesenradplatz in the Prater runs 20 November to 6 January.

The palace markets

Schönbrunn, 6 November to 6 January

Set in the palace’s front courtyard, and free to enter. Hours on the Tourist Board’s event page are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. until 23 December, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Christmas Eve, and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. from 25 December onward. The market’s own site still shows last year’s dates, so we haven’t relied on it.

Belvedere, 20 November to 31 December

The K&K Christmas market at the Upper Belvedere. The Tourist Board’s event page gives the dates and shows 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. Other days’ hours vary between the Tourist Board’s pages and Austria’s national tourist site, and we couldn’t confirm whether entry costs anything, so check the market’s site.

What to do on 24, 25 and 26 December

Christmas Eve is a half day in Vienna, Christmas Day is quiet, and the 26th is a public holiday too. Plenty is still open, and a few things you’d expect aren’t.

Markets and skating

The Rathaus market and the Ice Dream rink are open on all three days: until 6:30 p.m. on the 24th, then 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on the 25th and 26th, according to the Tourist Board’s market listing. Stephansplatz, Maria-Theresien-Platz and Schönbrunn are open too, with shorter hours on the 24th, and the Belvedere is open on the 24th from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Spittelberg, Am Hof, the Freyung and Karlsplatz are closed on both days, because they end on 23 December.

Museums and palaces

These are the 2026 hours we could find on the museums’ own pages. The Kunsthistorisches Museum is open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the 24th and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the 25th and 26th, according to its visit page. The Albertina lists 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the 24th, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on the 25th and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the 26th, though its page doesn’t print the year. The Leopold Museum is closed on the 24th and open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the 25th and 26th. The Natural History Museum is open 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the 24th and closed on the 25th. It says it’s open on other public holidays, but we didn’t find hours for the 26th.

Schönbrunn Palace says it’s open daily, including public holidays, though its page doesn’t make clear whether it closes at 5 p.m. or 5:30 p.m. on a given day. The zoo is open every day of the year, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at this time of year. The Hofburg’s Imperial Apartments are listed as open daily and on public holidays, but the page doesn’t mention Christmas specifically, and we found no holiday hours for the Belvedere’s museums.

Opera, music and church

There’s no performance at the State Opera on the 24th. Its calendar lists Les Pêcheurs de perles on the 25th at 4 p.m. and shows more performances on the 26th, so check it before you book. The Volksoper has Hänsel und Gretel on the 25th at 6 p.m. and Max und Moritz on the 26th at 5 p.m. The Vienna Boys’ Choir sings at the Hofburg chapel Mass at 9:15 a.m. on the 25th. We couldn’t find Christmas Eve or Christmas Day service times for Stephansdom, or concert listings for the Musikverein and Konzerthaus on those dates.

Shops, cafés and getting around

On the 24th, shops close at 1 p.m., or 2 p.m. if they have no employees, according to WKO Wien. Sweets and flowers go until 6 p.m. and Christmas trees until 8 p.m. On the 25th and 26th shops are closed, apart from the big railway stations, the airport and museum shops, so buy what you need by the afternoon of the 24th. Café Central is closed for renovation, with a reopening planned for winter 2026, though its nearby DECENTRAL pop-up is open daily. We couldn’t confirm Café Sacher’s or Demel’s hours, so call ahead. Wiener Linien hadn’t published its 2026 holiday timetable when we looked, and the only notice online is last year’s, so check its site before you plan a late night.

Music, and New Year’s Eve

The Vienna Boys’ Choir sings at the Mass in the Hofburg chapel at 9:15 a.m. on 25 and 27 December, according to the Tourist Board’s listing. On 16 and 17 December at 7:30 p.m. it joins the “Christmas in Vienna” concert at the Konzerthaus.

On 31 December, the Silvesterpfad, a free trail of stages across the old city, runs from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m., with eight locations, according to the Tourist Board.

Where to stay for it

Vienna’s markets are spread out, so we picked one hotel for each area. All six rate 8.6 or higher on Booking.com from more than 1,800 reviews, and the cards below include the complaints that came up in recent reviews. Prices jump around the weekends before Christmas, so the figures on the cards are a snapshot of what Booking showed on 1 November for Sunday 13 December.

• For the Rathaus market and the rink, Hotel Rathauspark Wien is about 300 m from the City Hall.
• For Stephansplatz and the old city, Hotel Palais Mailberger Hof is about 600 m from Stephansplatz station and the priciest of the six.
• For Maria-Theresien-Platz and the Spittelberg side, Theaterhotel & Suites Wien is in Josefstadt, about 750 m from Volkstheater station. It’s a bit of a walk, so it suits people who don’t mind a short U-Bahn ride.
• For Karlsplatz, Hotel Erzherzog Rainer is about 700 m from Karlsplatz station.
• For the Belvedere, Austria Trend Hotel Savoyen is about 750 m from the palace, though the nearest U-Bahn is 1.2 km away and you’ll rely on the tram or S-Bahn.
• For Schönbrunn, Ibercity Wien Schönbrunn is the cheapest on the list, but its recent reviews are the weakest of the six, and it’s about 5 km from the center.

If your dates fall on 24 to 26 December, pick by which markets are still open: the Rathaus, Stephansplatz, Maria-Theresien-Platz, Schönbrunn and the Belvedere are, and Karlsplatz and Spittelberg are not. We also don’t have a hotel right at Am Hof or the Freyung, because the ones closest to them were over our price range.