Christmas Markets Amsterdam 2026
December 3 @ 12:00 pm – December 27 @ 6:00 pm
In December Amsterdam grows a second layer: wooden stalls, mulled wine and strings of light, from the big market on the Museumplein to a handful of smaller ones tucked into the canal district. Most of them cost nothing to walk into.
Christmas Village on the Museumplein
The largest of them sits on the Museumplein, with the Rijksmuseum behind it. More than fifty stalls, food and drink, gifts, and a winter landscape built for the month.
| Dates | 3 to 27 December 2026 |
| Where | Museumplein, behind the Rijksmuseum |
| Entry | Free, for the whole period |
| Stalls | More than fifty |
| 3–24 December | 12:00 to 21:00 |
| 25–26 December | 12:00 to 19:00 |
| 27 December | 12:00 to 18:00 |
The same square holds Ice Amsterdam, the outdoor skating rink, which opens in November and runs past the market into the new year. The two together are why the Museumplein is worth a winter evening rather than a quick stop.
The other markets
- Westergas Winter Market — design, vintage and food trucks in the old gasworks, west of the centre.
- Neighbourhood markets in the canal district — smaller, shorter, usually one weekend only.
- The Jordaan — the Noordermarkt and Lindengracht markets run all year and take on a December character of their own.
A full overview of every winter market and event in the city is kept on Winter Festival Amsterdam.
What to do around it
The markets are free, which makes them the cheap half of a December day. The rest of it is on the water and under the lights.
- A heated evening cruise — it is dark by five in December, and the boats are warm.
- A dinner cruise — longer on the water, and dinner solved.
- The Amsterdam Light Festival runs at the same time, from 26 November to 17 January.
Practical
- Most markets are free to enter.
- Weekends are busiest. A weekday afternoon is a different experience entirely.
- December is peak season for hotels — book early.
- Dress for standing still outdoors, not for walking.
