Krakow Christmas Markets 2026
The Christmas Markets in Krakow on the map are 4 craft and traditional fairs: three in the Old Town (Main Market Square, Mały Rynek, St Mary Magdalene Square) and a weekend makers' fair in Podgórze. They run from 27 November 2026 to 6 January 2027.
The Krakow Christmas Markets of 2026, listed
The 4 Christmas Markets on the map, with their map numbers, squares and 2026 dates:
| # | 1 |
|---|---|
| Christmas Market | Christmas Fair in the Main Market Square |
| Where | Rynek Główny, Old Town |
| Dates 2026 | 27 Nov to 3 or 6 Jan |
| # | 2 |
|---|---|
| Christmas Market | Christmas Fair on the Small Market Square |
| Where | Mały Rynek, Old Town |
| Dates 2026 | 30 Nov to 6 Jan |
| # | 3 |
|---|---|
| Christmas Market | Christmas Fair of Unique Items in Podgórze |
| Where | Rynek Podgórski, Podgórze |
| Dates 2026 | Sat 28 and Sun 29 Nov |
| # | 4 |
|---|---|
| Christmas Market | Christmas Fair on St Mary Magdalene Square |
| Where | plac św. Marii Magdaleny, Grodzka Street, Old Town |
| Dates 2026 | 30 Nov to 3 Jan |
In Polish, the Main Market Square fair's own description covers its goods, food and regular events, and IMAGO's page for the Small Market Square fair sets out its nativity-scene space, programme and food zone.
Krakow Christmas Markets, market by market
1. Christmas Fair in the Main Market Square
Jarmark Bożonarodzeniowy na Rynku Głównym, its Polish name, is held by Krakowska Kongregacja Kupiecka and run by Artim, carrying on the square's trading past for over 30 years. Stalls sell hand-painted baubles, embroidered linen, nativity scenes and wool goods; the stage hosts carols and folk groups, and a Polish Post stand franks Christmas cards with a market postmark. No entry ticket is needed. It opens on Friday 27 November 2026 and ends on Sunday 3 or Wednesday 6 January 2027.
2. Christmas Fair on the Small Market Square
Kiermasz Bożonarodzeniowy na Małym Rynku, now in its second edition, is an IMAGO Centrum Sztuki Ludowej fair where crafts lead: ornaments, ceramics and art glass, wreaths, candles and designer jewellery, sold from huts with porches. A space for Krakow nativity scenes (szopki) hosts workshops, while folk-inspired concerts, carol processions and street nativity plays make up the programme, and a food zone sits alongside. It runs from Monday 30 November 2026 to Wednesday 6 January 2027.
Photo: the Small Market Square (Mały Rynek) by Allie_Caulfield (CC BY 2.0)
3. Christmas Fair of Unique Items in Podgórze
Świąteczne Targi Rzeczy Wyjątkowych, organised by the PODGORZE.PL association, gathers local makers and artists selling candles, socks, hats and gloves, ornaments, jewellery, toys and Podgórze souvenirs. A century-old Victorian merry-go-round turns in the middle of the square, and the side programme has included children's workshops and a meeting with Santa Claus. The fair began in 2008 as a summer event. It lasts one weekend, Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 November 2026.
4. Christmas Fair on St Mary Magdalene Square
IMAGO Centrum Sztuki Ludowej adds this fair in 2026, its first edition: a small, selective market where only a limited number of porched huts stand. Shoppers find tree ornaments, glass and ceramics, jewellery and candles, textiles and prints, goods made of wood or paper, and delicatessen products. Its stalls stand from Monday 30 November 2026 until Sunday 3 January 2027.
Photo: St Mary Magdalene Square by Michał Bulsa (CC0)
What to eat and drink at the Krakow Christmas Markets
Krakow Christmas Market food on the Main Market Square has two staples: oscypek (smoked highland sheep's cheese), grilled and served with cranberry, and grzaniec galicyjski (Galician mulled wine). In its last season the savoury stalls added pork knuckle, maczanka krakowska (Krakow pulled-pork roll), highland cheeses and sausage, a pierogi (filled dumplings) stall and a soup stall with żurek (sour rye soup), barszcz (beetroot soup), kwaśnica (sauerkraut soup) and bigos (hunter's stew). For something sweet there were pierniki (gingerbread), roasted nuts and kürtőskalács (chimney cake), and mead and wine stood next to the mulled wine.
On Mały Rynek, the food zone of the Christmas Fair on the Small Market Square offered Polish cheeses, regional cured meats, pierogi, traditional Christmas dishes, baked goods and hot drinks in its first edition.
Across the river, the Christmas Fair of Unique Items in Podgórze serves mulled wine, coffee and hot dishes among the makers' stalls. At the Christmas Fair on St Mary Magdalene Square, delicatessen products are part of the goods on sale.
Christmas Markets in Krakow in November and December
On the map, the Christmas Markets in Krakow in November open in three steps. The Christmas Fair in the Main Market Square starts on Friday 27 November 2026; the Christmas Fair of Unique Items in Podgórze follows on Saturday 28 November and is over after Sunday 29 November; the two IMAGO fairs, on the Small Market Square and St Mary Magdalene Square, both open on Monday 30 November.
Of the four on the map, the Christmas Markets in Krakow in December are the three Old Town fairs. December's first Thursday also belongs to a Krakow custom: entrants in the nativity-scene contest gather with their szopki by the Adam Mickiewicz monument on the Main Market Square. The krakow.travel portal has an English page on the Krakow nativity-scene competition, with its history and its Thursday gathering by the monument.
In January the season winds down: the St Mary Magdalene Square fair ends on Sunday 3 January 2027, the Small Market Square fair on Wednesday 6 January 2027, and the Main Market Square fair on either of those two days.