One of my fondest festive memories was touring the Christmas market at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna. Hungover from excessive partying the night before, I woke up early on Christmas morning to tour the castle and enjoy one final Christmas market before heading home. Tired, unsure how I was even managing to walk, there I was strolling through a palace courtyard drinking a steaming cup of mulled wine (because of the hair of the dog!)
While the inside of the palace was beautiful as expected, it wasn’t that interesting for me. On the other hand, wandering the outdoor area surrounding the castle, looking at the exquisite details of the castle’s exterior, watching the snowfall, and perusing the stalls at the small Christmas market was way more fun.
Schönbrunn Christmas Market In Vienna, Austria
Christmas Markets in Vienna, Weihnachtsmarkt in German, are especially beautiful. The fact that the Schönbrunn Christmas Market is situated directly beside a historic Baroque castle blows this Canadian girl’s mind! That it was snowing the day I visited and there weren’t too many people there as it was Christmas Day, only made this market more appealing.
Little did I know that six months after this trip, I’d move to Berlin and visit beautiful Christmas markets every year. So far my favorites are WeihnachtsZauber Gendarmenmarkt and Weihnachtsmarkt Schloss Charlottenburg – which is also located beside a castle (be still my beating heart, seriously!).
Aside from the beautiful and historic setting I could barely wrap my mind around, there were loads of stalls with hand-crafted Christmas decorations, candles, ceramics, and more.
The snowy weather that day made the experience at the Christmas market very memorable.
There I am, one happy (and hung-over) tourist visiting Vienna.
What do you think about the Schönbrunn Christmas Market? Have you visited any other notable sites around Vienna? Give us your best city tips in the comments below.
Location
Schönbrunn Palace
Schönbrunner Schloßstraße 47, 1130 Wien, Austria
https://www.schoenbrunn.at/
Good To Know
1) One unique thing about this market is that it was open on Christmas Day! Most of them are usually closed by this time, so if you are a tourist, this is one fine place to spend your day. So to know if the market will be open and the related hours of operation, check Visiting Vienna’s website.
Need a place to stay while you’re in Vienna, book a hotel, private apartment, or even a hostel through booking.com.
Booking.com
2) Make your time in Vienna special by going on a guided tour experience with Get Your Guide.
3) Looking for even more European travel content, give some of our other posts a read.
- A Tour of District 7 Through Budapest Street Art – Tour through District 7 to see Budapest street art, from murals to other smaller, but no less meaningful, works around the Hungarian capital.
- Pictures From A Potsdam Bike Tour – Escape Berlin for the day and go on a Potsdam bike tour adventure. View our photos for a preview of the day’s highlights.
- The Stunning Architecture of Liège-Guillemins Railway Station – Liège-Guillemins Railway Station isn’t just a busy train station plugged into Europe’s high-speed rail network. It’s an attraction in itself.
4) If you’re visiting Vienna and are looking for ways to minimize your holiday expenses, check out these Vienna budget travel tips.
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Oh this looks so beautiful!!! Ahh Christmas is such a beautiful time of the year, but I’m glad it’s behind us… now looks get ready for a new year!
@Jaime – It was a nice way to spend spend the morning. I’m done with Christmas now too! Looking forward to celebrating NYE in Berlin. It’s going to be ammmazzzzinnnnggg. 🙂
Looks amazing, as do the other markets. We both did Christmas market tours this year. We should compare notes 😉
I saw a symphony there. My first ever!
@Andrea – maybe we hit up some of the same ones! The ones in Vienna were the nicest of all the markets I visited but my favorite is still the cute little one in Bratislava.
@Stephanie – Wow, that’s amazing! I’d love to do that at the palace.
I have seen lots of posts about Christmas markets lately, but this was definitely the prettiest
@Jade – so nice of you to say! Thank you.
@Laurel – I still can’t believe you made it to that many markets. Amazing! 🙂 Vienna is lovely … and has in my opinion, the most beautiful markets.
Beautiful! I made it to 16 Christmas markets this year, but not to Vienna. It’s already on my list for next year.