The Best Christmas Markets in the Netherlands and Belgium to Visit in 2022 (Part 1)
As Christmas creeps closer day by day one of the most fun things to do in any city is to visit a Christmas market. And there plenty of beautiful Christmas markets to be found in the Netherlands and Belgium. In this first edition of this blog we’ll mention some of the best in the Netherlands. For those in Belgium check-out part two.
Netherlands
1. Christmas Town Valkenburg, November 18thth – January 8th
This is one of the largest and most popular Christmas markets in the Netherlands. Next to having gorgeous gift and food stalls, it also has plenty of special activities like street theatre, culinary walking routes and an underground Winter Wonderland. All in all, this is one you cannot miss.
Link:
https://www.christmastownvalkenburg.com/
2. Ice Village Amsterdam, December 14th – December 26th
This is the Christmas market I’ve been to most in my life. What is special about this market is that it is the ice-skating rink that is the real attraction here. Every year they set up a beautiful rink with a little bridge you can walk over and look at the people who are skating. Every Thursday and Saturday they also have a Silent Disco on Ice between 07:00 pm and 22:00 pm. The market itself has a selection of wooden stalls with mostly Christmas decorations, warm food delicacies and drinks.
Link: https://iceamsterdam.nl/en/what-is-there-to-do/icevillage/
3. Amsterdamse Winterparadijs, December 15th – January 1st
Every year the Amsterdam RAI is turned into an inside and outside winter paradise. Absolutely everything that represents winter and Christmas can be found here. It is a huge complex with snow, theatre, music performance, Christmas market stalls, an inside skating rink and an outside skating rink. You can watch an after movie from one of the previous years to see if you might want to visit.
Link: https://www.hetamsterdamsewinterparadijs.nl/en/
4.
Royal Christmas Fair the Hague, December 8th – December 23rd
This festive Christmas market is smack bang in the middle of the old center in The Hague. It’s packed with traditional wooden stalls and lights to create the most magical atmosphere. At the market you can find unique handmade products, cozy drinks, ‘stroopwafels’ and a distinct cultural program.
5. Magical Maastricht, December 1st – December 30th
In the month of December, the old Vrijthof square in the middle of Maastricht is turned into a magical Christmas market. There is an enormous Ferris wheel looking out on the entire lights filled city, there are traditional chalets with little shops in it and there is an ‘indoor’ ice rink. As an extra festive touch, the city has organized a Light Route with Christmas music throughout the city.
Link: https://www.visitmaastricht.com/magical-maastricht
-
I
hope you loved this list AND that it has inspired you to visit one of the
Christmas markets in the Netherlands. I’m going to the Christmas Village and Iceskating Rink in
Amsterdam this week. Let us know your Christmas market plans and pictures in
the forums here: https://academy.europa.eu/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=8107#p17300
Check out part two of this blog about Christmas markets in Belgium here: https://academy.europa.eu/mod/page/view.php?id=14028