Christmas markets in Denmark

Christmas markets in Denmark mostly open in the first half of November and close between 6 and 23 December. Seven markets, from Copenhagen to Jutland, two of them in a castle, come on top of two ticketed Christmas visits, Tivoli and the Den Gamle By museum in Aarhus. Prices are in Danish kroner (DKK), and the stalls everywhere serve gløgg and æbleskiver.

Copenhagen and Helsingør: the Christmas markets around the capital

The Copenhagen Christmas Market fills Nytorv and Gammeltorv, two squares along Strøget, from 6 November to 21 December 2026, every day from 11am (noon on Sunday), until 9pm on Friday and Saturday. Entry is free, and so is the ice rink, skates included. On Højbro Plads, a new market devoted to the traditions of Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands opens from 14 November to 20 December, and Kongens Nytorv hosts only an ice rink. Five hundred metres from the two squares, Tivoli dresses up for Christmas from 13 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, all rides open, ticketed entry.

The Kronborg Christmas Market, in Helsingør, takes place in Hamlet’s castle, a UNESCO World Heritage site, on the weekends of 5 and 6, 12 and 13, 19 and 20 December 2026. You book a time slot, 10am to 1pm or 1pm to 5pm, then stay as long as you like. An adult ticket costs 150 DKK, 135 DKK online, and also covers the castle. Children get in free, with a ticket. The stalls fill the courtyard and the halls, and the dancing around the tree takes place in the ballroom. Helsingør is 46 minutes by train from Copenhagen Central Station, and the castle is a short walk from the station.

Odense and Egeskov: the Christmas markets on Funen

The Odense Christmas Market, H.C. Andersen Julemarkedet, fills Sortebrødre Torv and the writer’s old quarter on three weekends, 28 and 29 November, 5 and 6, 12 and 13 December 2026, free entry. Its theme is 19th-century Denmark, with chalets dressed in fir branches and horse-drawn carriages, and it draws up to 50,000 visitors. The city has two shorter markets, Storms Julemarked on 14 and 15 then 21 and 22 November, and the Langesø estate on Saturdays and Sundays from 14 November to 20 December.

The Egeskov Christmas Market, at Kværndrup, opens and closes earlier: five weekends from 7 November to 6 December 2026, 10am to 4:30pm. Around a hundred stalls are set up in the exhibition halls of the Renaissance castle, among the vintage cars and old aircraft. Entry costs 130 DKK per adult online, 145 DKK at the gate. The castle itself stays closed on these weekends, the garden and the play forest stay open.

Tønder, Ribe, Aarhus and Aalborg: the Christmas markets of Jutland

The Tønder Christmas Market, Julebyen Tønder, takes over the whole town, 6 km from the German border, from 7 November to 23 December 2026. Sixteen chalets surround Kristkirken, open every day from noon to 5pm, free entry. On 7 November at 1pm, several hundred Father Christmases parade before the tree is lit, then a flying Father Christmas crosses the sky above Torvet four days a week until 20 December. Det Gamle Apotek opens its 46-room Julehuset, and the chalet hosts speak Danish, German and English.

Around forty kilometres to the north, the Ribe Christmas Market fills Torvet, in front of the cathedral of Denmark’s oldest town, on the four Advent weekends: 26 to 29 November, 3 to 6, 10 to 13 and 17 to 23 December 2026, free entry. Between highlights, a few gløgg and æbleskiver chalets stay open. Visitors wake Father Christmas on 28 November at 10am, the night watchman makes his rounds on Friday and Saturday at 4pm, and the cathedral gives its Christmas concert on 17 December at 7pm. Tønder and Ribe fit into the same weekend.

In Aarhus, Christmas at Den Gamle By is more museum visit than market: the open-air museum presents 400 years of Christmas traditions in its old houses, from 14 November to 31 December 2026, every day from 10am to 5pm. Eight Aftenjul evenings extend the visit until 9pm, on Fridays and Saturdays from 27 November to 19 December. An adult ticket costs 205 DKK, entry is free up to the age of 17, and going round the museum takes half a day.

Further north, the Aalborg Christmas Market fills Gammeltorv from 13 November to 23 December 2026, free entry, from 1pm except on Saturday (10am), until 8pm on Friday and Saturday. It is a city market, run by the traders’ association, that people visit first and foremost to eat.

Gløgg, æbleskiver and Danish crafts: what to eat and what to bring home

Danish gløgg is hot red wine with Christmas spices (cinnamon, orange, cloves, almonds and raisins), often served with a spoon. Tønder serves it classic, apple or alcohol-free, Aalborg with rum-soaked raisins, and Ribe and Copenhagen each have their Glühwein. Æbleskiver are eaten hot everywhere, with pancakes in the courtyard at Kronborg, “anno 1616” at Den Gamle By. Then come roasted almonds, Ribe’s klejner (Christmas doughnuts), waffles and Tønder’s Christmas hot dog with red cabbage, Aalborg’s half-metre hot dog. Den Gamle By has its own menu, from wild boar sausages to smørrebrød with a snaps. Facing Ribe Cathedral, a food market brings together beer, coffee, honey, cheese, chocolate and julespegepølse, the Christmas salami.

For gifts, Copenhagen puts Danish crafts and design to the fore. Tønder shows its bobbin lace, Aalborg sells ceramics and blown-glass baubles designed in Denmark, Den Gamle By hand-blown and hand-painted decorations, and Ribe keeps its small chalets for crafts and home knitting.

The Danish Christmas traditions you will come across at the markets

Juleøl, the Christmas beer, arrives on the first Friday of November, 6 November in 2026, the day the Copenhagen market opens. On 11 November at 11am, Hviids Vinstue, a Copenhagen bar open since 1723, launches its gløgg, a tradition going back to 1954.

Nisser, the Danish Christmas elves, populate Koglekjøbing, the children’s quarter at Den Gamle By, and roam the aisles at Egeskov, where a treasure hunt goes after “Den forvirrede nisse”, the confused elf. Kronborg holds a Christmas goat hunt on weekdays, and Den Gamle By displays the sets of “Den Store Julefortælling”, the DR television Advent calendar. Tønder holds its Saint Lucia procession on 12 December at 4pm, and Ribe has taken Peters Jul, a collection of Christmas verse from the 1850s, as its theme.

Getting to Denmark and travelling between the Christmas markets

Copenhagen is the gateway: the city can be reached by air from London, as well as from France, Belgium, Switzerland, Madrid and Rome, and by train via Hamburg. Compare the direct flights for winter 2026-2027, as some routes are seasonal. In the capital, everything is done on foot: Højbro Plads, Kongens Nytorv and Tivoli are less than a kilometre from Nytorv, five minutes from Gammel Strand metro station. For Kronborg, take the train, as the car park fills up fast on market days.

Odense and Egeskov Castle both lie on the island of Funen, Tønder, Ribe, Aarhus and Aalborg in Jutland. Check train times between these towns with DSB before booking.

When to go: the 2026 calendar of Christmas markets in Denmark

The weekend of 5 and 6 December 2026 is the only one when all seven markets are open at the same time: Kronborg starts that Saturday and Egeskov finishes on the Sunday. Egeskov and Odense close early, on 6 and 13 December, the other markets run up to the holidays and close between 20 and 23 December. For a stay that takes in Christmas itself, Den Gamle By opens until 31 December, 24 December included, and Tivoli keeps its decorations until 3 January 2027, with possible closing days around Christmas to check in the park’s calendar. Kronborg’s time slot is booked in advance.