After skipping a year due to Covid, Düsseldorf is currently making all preparations for the reopening of Christmas markets. The number will be expanded to eight in total to better spread the audience. In contrast to previous editions, every Christmas market has slightly fewer huts and stalls, and the mutual distance between the huts is also increased. Fairytale decors, hundreds of stalls, enchanting lighting, an ice skating rink, the Ferris wheel on Burgplatz and plenty of mulled wine transform the city center into a Christmas Eldorado.
The eight Christmas markets each have their own atmosphere and character and are all within walking distance of each other:the Altstad Market in the Marktstrasse and Flinger Strasse, the Craftsman Market in front of the town hall, the Schadow Market in the Schadowstrasse, the Kö-Bogen-Markt moves to Gustaf-Gründgens-Platz and the star-lit Sternchen Markt in the courtyard of the Wilhelm Marx House. The Engelchen Markt, recognizable by the many gold-coloured images of angels above the stalls, is located on the Heinrich-Heine-Platz, the Märchen Markt - with about 15,000 LED lamps rightly called Fairytale Market - is located on the Schadowplatz and for the first time appears There is a Christmas market on the famous Köningsallee shopping street:the Kö-Lichter-Markt. More information plus a map of the locations of the markets can be found here.
The tourism office calls on Dutch visitors to preferably travel by train, from the Hauptbahnhof you can walk straight into the center. To visit the markets - subject to possible later changes - you must be in possession of a Covid QR code, proof of recovery or negative test. Incidentally, checks are performed.
All Christmas markets are within walking distance of each other. They are open daily – with the exception of November 21 and December 25 – from 11am to 8pm, Friday evenings and Saturday evenings until 9pm. Fun for children are the ice skating rink on Corneliusplatz and the Ferris wheel with heated cabins on Burgplatz.
Especially for visitors from the Netherlands and Belgium, the VVV organizes Dutch-language guided tours along the Christmas markets with fun and informative facts. The price for the 2-hour tour is 17 euros per person (with the VVV Düsseldorf Card discount) and includes a cup of mulled wine or hot chocolate and a Christmas cake. Dates are November 20 and 27 and December 4, 11 and 18.
If you want to inhale a dose of culture in addition to a Christmas feeling, you can visit one of the 20 museums. Until January 9, 2022, the exhibition Captivate! to see, a photo exhibition about fashion in the 90s curated by Claudia Schiffer. In the same museum also the electronic music exhibition 'Electro. From Kraftwerk to Techno' from December 9, 2021 to May 15, 2022.
© Düsseldorf Tourismus – Photo:U. Otte
