Top Christmas Markets in Copenhagen You Need to Visit!

Visiting Christmas markets in Copenhagen was at the top of my bucket list for a while (plus, I’ll take any excuse to visit Copenhagen because it’s my favorite city!), and the fun pandemic delayed my plans a few times but I finally got to go! I spent almost a week exploring the Christmas markets and experiencing other fun Danish Christmas festivities. If you also want to experience some Danish Christmas markets, here’s a guide to the top markets!

How to plan your visit to the Christmas markets in Copenhagen

Copenhagen has a few Christmas markets that are open throughout the holiday season, and there are some Christmas markets that are just open for a weekend or two. I just missed the Christmas market at Kronborg, and I was disappointed about that because experiencing a market in Hamlet’s castle sounds so cool! There was also a Viking Christmas market that I wasn’t able to go to (but again, I’ll take any excuse to go back to Copenhagen).

So I recommend checking the Christmas market schedule before you plan your trip so you can see if there are any of these unique Christmas markets you want to make sure you see.

If you are just planning on seeing the main markets, you can hit them all in one day. But if you stay longer, you can visit them all more than once like I did! They’re not too big and Copenhagen is small enough so you can walk or take public transportation to them all. Most don’t open until late morning, so make sure you check what time they open so you do have enough time to see them all. And while I loved visiting the markets during the day, I also recommend seeing them at night with all the Christmas lights up!

Here are some great resources with information about the Christmas markets:

MigogKBH (this is in Danish so you’ll need to translate to English, but my Danish friend sent it to me and it was my favorite resource for getting info on the markets)
Christmas Markets in Europe
Visit Copenhagen

HC Andersen’s Christmas Market at Nytorv

HC Andersen’s Christmas Market is centrally located, and it was always the least busy Christmas market every time I went! It is on the smaller side, but they do have some unique stands. Since I’m obsessed with Viking history, I was especially excited for the Viking themed and mead stands! (The mead stand is great and will let you sample different flavors if you’re interested in getting some but haven’t tried mead before)

If you have kids, Santa Claus and HC Andersen do make appearances at times during the market, so you can plan your visits around them!

Højbro Plads

My favorite Christmas market in Copenhagen was probably Højbro Plads! It was spacious with a good layout for easily walking around and seeing all the stands, and it was in a centrally located and scenic spot. I think I bought the most items at this market, and one of my favorite stands sold beautifully decorated rolling pins. They had a ton to choose from, and I may have gone a little crazy with how many I bought for gifts! (And for myself, of course)

Nyhavn

You need to visit Nyhavn when you visit Copenhagen anyway, and it’s fun to visit their Christmas market, too! I will say that the layout of this one was my least favorite because the stands were just in a single file line along the canal, and there isn’t a lot of space so it can get pretty crowded.

Kongens Nytorv

I think the Christmas market at Kongens Nytorv was my second favorite! It had a lot of food options and fun Christmas light installations (so definitely go at night to see the lights). It was pretty spacious and easy to get around, and they had little huts where so you could eat or drink inside, which was great since it rained a lot while I was there.

Danish hotdogs are a must when you’re in Copenhagen, and æbleskiver (Danish pancake balls with apples) and gløgg (similar to mulled wine) are musts when you’re at a Christmas market.

Den Grå Hal in Christiana

The Christmas market at Den Grå Hal is inside, which is great when the weather isn’t nice. This is definitely the most unique Christmas market with lots of stands with handmade goods and international food stalls (it smelled really good in the hall!). Since it is indoors, it got pretty crowded and wasn’t the most easy to get around, so I recommend going to this market on a weekday or during off-hours.

Bonus Christmas markets in Copenhagen

So all of the Christmas markets we’ve covered so far are free to enter and are open the entire holiday season, and I have some recommendations if you want some other markets in the area to visit!

Tivoli

Tivoli isn’t free to enter (but totally worth the fee), and it isn’t the traditional Christmas market that you would think of but it’s a great spot to visit during the holidays. It’s all decked out with Christmas lights and decorations, and there are small stores that you can visit to do some Christmas shopping. And while you’re at it, you can go on the rides or play some games.

Since you have to pay to enter Tivoli, I recommend planning your visit for when the weather is nice so you don’t have super dreary weather like I did!

Kronborg and Helsingor

While I did miss seeing the Christmas market at Kronborg, it’s still worth visiting at Christmastime if you’re able to! The courtyard was decked out with Christmas decorations, and you can also walk around the town of Helsingør for some pretty Christmas lights and shopping.

Malmö, Sweden

Malmö, Sweden is just a quick train ride from Copenhagen, so you can easily visit that Christmas market, too! The market was a little smaller than the ones in Copenhagen, but it was a fun market with music and lots of Christmas lights set up so I recommend going at night.

So those are all some of the amazing Christmas markets in Copenhagen that you need to visit! If you want to visit some more markets, here are some of the markets in and around Copenhagen that are open for shorter periods of time during the holiday season:

Værnedamsvej
Fasangården
Grantoftegaard
Parken in Østerbro (check out my guide to Østerbro)
Dragør (check out my guide to Dragør)
Sundby Væksthus
Greenlandic market at Det Grønlandske Hus
Amager Museum
Job, Activity and Competence Center (JAC)