Aachen Christmas Market

About the market

The Aachener Weihnachtsmarkt is held every Advent, from late November until 23 December, in the old town of Aachen. It began in the 1970s as the 'Printenmarkt', a smaller market around the Elisenbrunnen fountain named after the city's famous spiced biscuit. Today it is centred on the Markt and the Katschhof, the square between Aachen Cathedral and the town hall, so the stalls stand against two of the city's main historic buildings. In 2024 the market space was extended to the newly created Platz der Demokratie nearby, on the site of a former multi-storey car park. With about 120 stalls and roughly 1.3 million visitors a year since the pandemic (more than 1.5 million before it), it is one of the larger markets in Germany. Many visitors come from the neighbouring Netherlands and Belgium. Food, especially Aachener Printen, plays a large part in its identity. The official site gives the 2026 opening period as 20 November to 23 December, daily 11:00–21:00, closed on Sunday 22 November (Totensonntag).

Sources: Wikipedia. Some wording is drawn from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).