4 Must See UK Christmas Markets: Ranking Best to Worst

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This post is about UK Christmas Markets.

This past holiday season I got the chance to spend the whole month of December abroad! There were plenty of sites seen and foods eaten, but by far my favorite part of it all was the Christmas markets.

I was lucky enough to visit England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, so I explored four different Christmas markets between the three UK countries. Without further ado, let’s get into which Christmas market is the best of the UK!

Newcastle upon Tyne, England

Visiting my cousin at university, I had the chance to spend two days in this beautiful city. Just a four-hour train ride from London, Newcastle hosts plenty of sightseeing. Of course, don’t forget about the great nightlife making it the perfect city for young adults.

Newcastle’s Christmas market was small yet stunning. As my first ever Christmas market, I would say it did a fair job at exposing me to the staples of what I would find for the next ones to come. All of the UK Christmas markets I visited included mulled wine, Cadbury hot chocolate with Bailey’s, and a plethora of food (my favorite being the crepes).

Unfortunately, Newcastle did not have very many vegetarian options, so my choices were pretty limited when it came to relying on the market for food. But there are plenty of places in Newcastle that have amazing food! Check out those places in my next blog post all about Newcastle.

Edinburgh, Scotland

Picking up my best friend from her final days of study abroad was bittersweet. Thankfully we had plenty of Christmas cheer to take our minds off saying goodbye to the beautiful city.

Having recently visited in September (read about that adventure here), seeing the entire city transform for Christmas time really did feel like magic. Edinburgh’s market was unique from the others because it had tons of amusement rides! This is definitely the most kid friendly of the four markets on this list.

However, the market felt very repetitive. So, although it was the largest market I visited, many of the booths were selling the same food and same souvenirs. On top of that, the market was always crowded making the lines extremely long. If I had known this before going, I think I would’ve been better prepared mentally, but having just come from a smaller market in Newcastle, this was a very different experience.

In the end though, I really enjoyed this market as Edinburgh is one of my new favorite cities, and I am so happy I got to share the Christmas magic with my best friend.

Glasgow, Scotland

This market was an absolute game changer.  It may not have had amusement rides like Edinburgh but the food! Guys the food here was unbelievable! As a vegetarian, I had plenty of booths to choose from. So many in fact, that I didn’t even get to try them all before we had to leave.

The food ranged from German to Mexican to Greek to Asian. And of course, don’t forget about the dessert! Belgian waffles, French crepes, toasted marshmallows. We had most of our meals in the two days spent in the city right in the Christmas market.

Although it was smaller than both Edinburgh and Newcastle, it was packed with plenty of booths to browse and buy from. Glasgow would be tough to beat.

Belfast, Northern Ireland

I had the chance to stay with my family for Christmas while in Belfast. And funny enough, they talked down on their Christmas market saying it wouldn’t be as grand as the other ones I had visited. But they were so wrong!

Although Belfast’s market didn’t have anything new to bring to what I had seen, it perfectly incorporated everything I loved from the other Christmas markets and put them into one! The market had the small, personal atmosphere of Newcastle, the souvenir shopping from Edinburgh, and the wide range of food from Glasgow. 

What a perfect market to end on!

In Review

I would say there wasn’t a single Christmas market I would suggest you skip. Even though all of them had their similarities, the differences made them very special in their own ways. But in the end if I had to choose just one to return to, I think it would have to be Belfast. Having all of the food options, shopping, and atmosphere of the other markets, Belfast wins the grand prize of best market in the UK.

But there are still so many more to discover in the future!