Christmas Markets in Bucharest

 

Christmas is just a couple days away, but until we look under our Christmas trees for gifts, we could look around the city for them and for other Christmas gems! 

Christmas Markets are pretty famous in Bucharest and we are all waiting for them every end-of-November. They usually last until December 26 and they can be super crowded, even during weekdays. But, we promise it is all worth it!

Here are two Christmas Markets I’ve visited and some others around the city and more information about them! 

 

  1. The Christmas Market in Constitution Square (in front of the Palace of the Parliament)

The city hall of Bucharest is usually the organizer of it, just like this year. This market takes place between November 20 and December 26. Here you can see lots of little wooden houses with sweets, traditional food, hand-made goodies and decorations, mulled wine, toys and others. You have to prepare some money for that, because so many things are incredibly beautiful (or look super tasty) and there are 70 stalls to visit and choose from!

(sweets, hand-made Christmas decorations and traditional Romanian decorations)

Did I mention that the entry is also free? There were years when we paid for this market!

If you go around Christmas markets to eat some food (like I do), you need to try the food trucks. You can find burgers, pancakes, waffles, and even French raclette (that I personally adored, considering that I’d never eaten it before). 

(waiting for our raclette, made by these two lovely girls; one Romanian, one French)

Considering that, among our readers, there are lovers of football, this Christmas market prepared huge screens to play the football matches from the World Cup! The screens are on a big stage that is used for other performances to take place on, because some singers and performers will take over it during this period. 

The market also has carousels (yes, those ones only kids can hop on, unfortunately), cute picture spots and a big ferris wheel. The price for a ride is 25 RON and I advise you to have cash money on you. From the ferris wheel, you can see Unirii Square and the Palace of the Parliament from 36m above the ground, being the biggest in Romania. 

(the ferris wheel, the carousel and the view from the ferris wheel, when we were at the top)

And, last but not least, if you like to ice skate, you can do it here! Personally, I don’t know if ice skating here is free or not, because I have two left hands instead of legs and ice skating is really not for me. But I bet you, dear reader, are way better at it than I am, so go there and show your moves! 

This Christmas market is open every day between 12:00 and 23:00 and, on Saturdays and Sundays, between 10:00 and 23:00.

 

  1. West Side Christmas Market (in Moghioros/Drumul Taberei Park)

 

I think we’ve all heard of UNTOLD, right? That huge music festival in Romania, that takes place in Cluj every year. Well, this year they chose to create a Christmas Market in Bucharest! The organizers of UNTOLD, together with the city hall of District 6, filled the park with Christmas magic and created a fairytale market. Personally, I liked this one more than the first one I described, especially because it is closer to my house and I’ve been living in this district ever since I moved to Bucharest. I am not subjective at all!

West Side Christmas Market takes place between November 25 and December 27. It is open daily, between 12:00 and 23:00, with the exception of the rink that is open starting 10:00 AM everyday.

This market also has 60 little houses where you can find sweets, decorations, hand-made products, mulled wine and others. Food trucks are a part of this market, too, but there are a few aspects that are different from the first Christmas market I told you about.

(Ice Fairy and Avon World corners and a picture from a little wood house with handmade Christmas decorations)

The ferris wheel here (because yes, there is also a ferris wheel) has uncovered compartments this time, so you can see more clearly the view and more people can get in one compartment. Also, there is the biggest curtain of lights in Romania on the park’s bridge that looks like something out of a fairy tale.