The Christmas Markets in Prague are open every day in Old Town Square, Wenceslas Square, and Republic Square. It's customary for the Christmas markets in Prague to start on the first Saturday of Advent, which often falls in late November or early December and end on Christmas Day.
The Prague Christmas markets in the Czech Republic are known for their magical atmosphere, local Christmas traditions, great shopping, and delicious food. These are just a few of the reasons why it’s one of the best Christmas markets in Europe.
Christmas markets (Vánoční trhy) are a key ingredient of the festive magic in the Czech Republic, and the Prague markets are the most impressive in the country. They light up the city, bringing locals and tourists together in a true 'winter wonderland' setting.
The Prague Christmas Markets consist of brightly decorated wooden huts, stocked with local handicrafts and traditional Christmas treats.
Among the wares on display are ceramics, jewellery, glassware, embroidered lace, wooden toys, candles, Christmas tree ornaments, winter hats and gloves, and puppets and dolls dressed in traditional costume. Christmas Market stall at the Old Town Square
While you can buy nice souvenirs from the stalls, to take home to decorate your house with or to use as Christmas gifts, the markets are about more than shopping. There is all manner of local food and drink to sample, much of it prepared at the stalls in front of you.
Popular food on offer includes: large hams roasted on spits (Pražská Šunka); terribly unhealthy but wonderfully tasty barbequed sausages (klobása); flatbread topped with garlic, cheese and ketchup (langoš); smoked meat dumplings (knedlíky plněné uzeným masem); sweet dumplings (sladké knedlíky); and pancakes (palačinky).
A traditional Czech Christmas fish soup (rybí polévka) is cooked by the cauldron load. The soup is made from carp, vegetables, cream and brandy, using over 1,500 kilograms of ingredients every year.
There are various cakes and sweets to choose from too, such as spicy gingerbread (perníčky) and hot sweet pastry (trdelník).
Trdelník is made from rolled dough that is wrapped around a stick, baked on an open fire, then topped with a sugar and walnut mix. It is delicious on its own, but can also have chocolate sauce spread inside it and/or be filled ice-cream.
A word of warning to parents: once a child has tasted trdelník, there is no going back - its addictive nature means you will be pestered endlessly for another hit!
For drinks, visitors can sample famous Czech beers such as Pilsner Urquell, Staropramen and Budvar.
Alternatively, opt for a hot drink: mulled wine (svařák); hot chocolate (horká čokoláda); honey wine (Medovina); or grog, a mixture of rum, water, lemon and sugar.
Outdoor Christmas shopping is so much nicer with a cold beer or hot mulled wine in your hand!
Food and drink at the markets is served with 100% biodegradable plates, cutlery and cups.
Where possible, ingredients are sourced locally: Christmas fish soup is made with carp from Czech rivers and lakes, and vegetables from local farms; Czech meat is used for the sausages and hamburgers; the hams on spits are from Czech pigs; the beer is exclusively Czech (naturally!); and the wine hails from Moravia, including the wine used to make svařák.
The most impressive sight at the Prague Christmas Markets is the mighty 25m Christmas tree erected at the Old Town Square, which is brought from the Ústí nad Labem region of North Bohemia in the Czech Republic.
The tree is dressed with red and gold baubles, and draped in a blaze of lights. It is a spectacular sight set against the dark Gothic skyline.
The tree lights are switched on at 16:30 every day, accompanied by rousing music.
The tree lighting ceremony is then repeated every hour at: 17:30, 18:30, 19:30, 20:30 and 21:30.
The music for the ceremony alternates between Elizabethan Serenade by Karel Gott and All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey.
Wenceslas Square has its own Christmas tree too. In fact it has two, because the Christmas markets are spread across both the top and bottom of the square.
The tree lights at Wenceslas Square are switched on around 17:00 every evening.
