What is the start date for the Christmas Markets in Krakow?
Krakow Christmas Markets 2026, from 27 Nov to 6 Jan
The 2026 season of the Krakow Christmas Markets on the map begins on Friday 27 November, when the Christmas Fair in the Main Market Square (number 1) opens. The Christmas Fair of Unique Items in Podgórze (3) follows on Saturday 28 November, and the two IMAGO fairs, the Christmas Fair on the Small Market Square (2) and the Christmas Fair on St Mary Magdalene Square (4), start on Monday 30 November 2026.
All four opening dates fall within four days. The Main Market Square fair has a head start of three days on the two IMAGO fairs, and the Podgórze makers' fair takes the Saturday and Sunday in between, closing again on Sunday 29 November 2026. The Small Market Square fair is in its second edition this winter, while the fair on St Mary Magdalene Square is a first edition in 2026.
From Monday 30 November 2026 the three Old Town fairs, markets 1, 2 and 4, run side by side, and their seasons end between 3 and 6 January 2027. What each fair sells and serves, square by square, is covered with the Christmas Markets across Krakow.
Krakow Christmas Market calendar 2026
The Christmas Market Krakow calendar for the 2026 season, numbered as on the map:
| # | 1 |
|---|---|
| Christmas Market | Christmas Fair in the Main Market Square |
| Opens | Fri 27 Nov 2026 |
| Closes | Sun 3 or Wed 6 Jan 2027 |
| Closed on |
| # | 2 |
|---|---|
| Christmas Market | Christmas Fair on the Small Market Square |
| Opens | Mon 30 Nov 2026 |
| Closes | Wed 6 Jan 2027 |
| Closed on |
| # | 3 |
|---|---|
| Christmas Market | Christmas Fair of Unique Items in Podgórze |
| Opens | Sat 28 Nov 2026 |
| Closes | Sun 29 Nov 2026 |
| Closed on |
| # | 4 |
|---|---|
| Christmas Market | Christmas Fair on St Mary Magdalene Square |
| Opens | Mon 30 Nov 2026 |
| Closes | Sun 3 Jan 2027 |
| Closed on |
No closed day within the run has been announced at any of the four fairs. The planned 2026 run of market 1, with its two possible closing days, is set out on the Main Market Square fair organiser's site (in Polish). IMAGO's announcement of the 2026/27 Small Market Square fair gives its run from 30 November 2026 to 6 January 2027 (in Polish).
When do the Christmas Markets in Krakow end?
The Podgórze fair is over before December begins: Sunday 29 November 2026 is its second and closing day.
The three Old Town fairs run beyond New Year and close in January 2027. Market 4, on St Mary Magdalene Square, has its last day on Sunday 3 January. The Small Market Square fair stays three days longer, until Wednesday 6 January 2027. For the Main Market Square fair, the plan for 2026 names two possible closing days, Sunday 3 January and Wednesday 6 January 2027, without settling on one of them. So 6 January 2027 is a closing day at the Small Market Square for certain, and possibly at the Main Market Square too.
IMAGO's notice of the new fair on St Mary Magdalene Square gives its run from 30 November 2026 to 3 January 2027 and places the square between the Main Market Square and Wawel (in Polish).
When do the Krakow Christmas Markets usually start each year?
Earlier seasons of three of the markets, with the year of each run:
| # | 1 |
|---|---|
| Christmas Market | Christmas Fair in the Main Market Square |
| Year | 2025 |
| Dates | Fri 28 Nov 2025 to Thu 1 Jan 2026 |
| # | 1 |
|---|---|
| Christmas Market | Christmas Fair in the Main Market Square |
| Year | 2024 |
| Dates | Fri 29 Nov 2024 to Wed 1 Jan 2025 |
| # | 2 |
|---|---|
| Christmas Market | Christmas Fair on the Small Market Square |
| Year | 2025 |
| Dates | Mon 1 Dec 2025 to Thu 1 Jan 2026 |
| # | 3 |
|---|---|
| Christmas Market | Christmas Fair of Unique Items in Podgórze |
| Year | 2025 |
| Dates | Sat 29 and Sun 30 Nov 2025 |
| # | 3 |
|---|---|
| Christmas Market | Christmas Fair of Unique Items in Podgórze |
| Year | 2024 |
| Dates | Sat 30 Nov and Sun 1 Dec 2024 |
The Main Market Square fair opened on a Friday at the end of November in both of those years, on 29 November 2024 and on 28 November 2025, and closed on New Year's Day each time. Its 2026 season again opens on a Friday, 27 November, and is planned to run past New Year's Day, to 3 or 6 January 2027.
The Podgórze makers' fair has kept to a single weekend at the end of November or the turn of December. The Small Market Square fair held its first edition in the 2025 season, and the St Mary Magdalene Square fair has no earlier season at all.