The Hague Christmas Market

On the Lange Voorhout, the tree-lined avenue of the historic centre of The Hague (Den Haag), The Hague Christmas market goes by an English name: the Royal Christmas Fair. Its eleventh edition opens from 3 to 23 December 2026, every day from 12pm to 9pm, with free entry. Three weeks of wooden chalets, fire pits and thousands of LED lights in the seat of the Dutch government, 2h37 from Paris by Eurostar to Rotterdam, then an NS train. According to the organiser, the eighth edition, in 2023, passed 400,000 Dutch and foreign visitors.

The Lange Voorhout, heart of The Hague Christmas market

The market occupies the Lange Voorhout between the Kloosterkerk and the Hotel Des Indes, on the historic shell paths of this promenade. Several dozen Christmas chalets according to the organiser, close to a hundred according to the municipality, are spread out under the trees, with thousands of LED lights overhead and fire pits to warm your hands between two stalls. A stage carries the musical programme, the Christmas choirs and the storytellers; children have their own activities, and Father Christmas is part of the programme. In the middle of the avenue, a London double-decker bus serves as the information point, and the Royal Christmas House completes the scene.

Three entrances lead into the market: on the Kloosterkerk side, on the Hotel Des Indes side and on the Korte Voorhout side, near the former American embassy. The official name really is Royal Christmas Fair, in English, and that is how the city and the organiser present it, with the municipality of The Hague, DB Evenementen and Walbroek Media named as partners.

Bar Berlin, Bar Düsseldorf, Bar München: the German feel

The Royal Christmas Fair looks towards Germany. Its themed bars are called Bar Berlin, Bar Düsseldorf and Bar München, a nod to the great Weihnachtsmärkte across the Rhine, and glühwein plays the leading role there. The organiser mentions mulled wine and food without detailing any Dutch speciality, so expect a classic Christmas market menu, served under the fairy lights. The differences between this glühwein and Alsatian mulled wine are set out in mulled wine and its variants.

Dates, opening hours and accessibility

• 2026 dates: from Thursday 3 to Wednesday 23 December 2026, eleventh edition of the Royal Christmas Fair.
• Opening hours: every day from 12pm to 9pm, according to the official website.
• Entry: free along the whole avenue.
• Accessibility: the shell paths are hard going in a wheelchair or with a pushchair, the organiser warns; two accessible toilets, high-contrast signage and disabled parking spaces marked on the municipal map.
• Previous edition: in 2024, the market ran from 5 to 23 December.

Getting to The Hague from France

The train remains the simplest option. The Eurostar links Paris-Nord to Rotterdam Centraal in about 2h37, with up to 13 departures a day and tickets from €35 in Standard (fares noted in September 2026). From Rotterdam Centraal, an NS train takes you to Den Haag Centraal. Den Haag Centraal is about 800 m from the Lange Voorhout, around ten minutes on foot. Trams 1, 9 and 11 link the fair to Scheveningen beach in a quarter of an hour.

By car, The Hague is 470 km from Paris, a little under 5h30 without traffic, and 252 km from Lille, around 3 hours. Parking spaces reserved for disabled visitors are shown on the municipal map.

The Hague, Delft and Leiden: a weekend of markets

Delft is about ten kilometres from the Lange Voorhout, and the Delft Christmas lights can be seen the same weekend. The Leiden Christmas market, with its floating ice rink, is on the same railway line. On the Eurostar route, the Brussels Christmas market can serve as a stop on the way there or back. With its three weeks of opening and free entry, the Royal Christmas Fair is enough on its own to justify the weekend from Paris or Lille.