Christmas markets by train: Vienna, Budapest and Zagreb

The journey at a glance

Begin in Vienna, where the Advent season opens earliest and with the most ceremony. Take the Railjet east along the Danube plain to Budapest, then the afternoon InterCity south-west across Hungary to Zagreb, where the whole city centre becomes one Christmas market. Each leg is a pleasure in itself, and you arrive every time in the middle of town, a short walk or tram ride from the lights.

All three countries are in the Schengen area, so there are no routine passport checks on the trains, but carry your passport or ID card. Austria and Croatia use the euro; Hungary uses the forint, and cards are accepted almost everywhere.

• Vienna: two or three nights
• Wien Hauptbahnhof to Budapest Keleti: Railjet, under three hours
• Budapest: two or three nights
• Budapest Déli to Zagreb Glavni kolodvor: direct InterCity, about six and a half hours
• Zagreb: two nights

Vienna: palaces, punch and the Rathausplatz

Vienna is where the tradition feels grandest. The Wiener Christkindlmarkt fills the Rathausplatz in front of the neo-Gothic City Hall, with the trees of the park strung with lights and the Eistraum ice rink beside it. Come in the late afternoon, as the lights come on, with a mug of Punsch to warm your hands, and return on a weekday morning if you want to browse in peace.

The two palace markets are the most beautiful. In front of the Upper Belvedere, the stalls stand before one of the finest Baroque façades in Europe, reflected in its long pool; in the forecourt of Schönbrunn, the summer palace of the Habsburgs, the market opens earliest and stays latest, into January. For something more intimate, wander the narrow old lanes of Spittelberg, behind the MuseumsQuartier, where the evenings feel like a neighbourhood fair.

• Wiener Christkindlmarkt, Rathausplatz: 13 November – 26 December 2026, daily 10am–10pm (24 December to 6.30pm); the Eistraum ice rink runs to 6 January 2027
• Schönbrunn Palace: 6 November 2026 – 6 January 2027, daily 10am–9pm (24 December to 4pm; 25 December – 6 January to 7pm)
• Belvedere: 20 November – 31 December 2026, weekdays 11am–9pm, weekends and holidays 10am–9pm (24 and 31 December 11am–5pm)
• Spittelberg: 13 November – 23 December 2026, weekdays 2–9.30pm, weekends and holidays 11am–9.30pm

Vienna’s Christmas markets (wien.info) →

Vienna to Budapest by Railjet

Railjets and EuroCity trains leave Wien Hauptbahnhof for Budapest through the day and reach Keleti, the great eastern station of 1884 with its arched glass façade, in under three hours. The line crosses the border at Hegyeshalom and runs on past Győr across the wide Danube plain, often white with frost in December.

Book through ÖBB or MÁV; the cheapest fares go first in the run-up to Christmas, so book as soon as your dates are fixed. Keleti is on metro lines M2 and M4, a few minutes from the centre of Pest.

Onward by rail: the Budapest–Belgrade train →   Zagreb to Belgrade →   ÖBB timetables and tickets →

Budapest: the Basilica, Vörösmarty Square and the ruin bars

Budapest has two great markets, a few minutes’ walk apart in the heart of Pest. The Christmas Fair on Vörösmarty Square, in front of the Gerbeaud café, is the city’s oldest, with Hungarian crafts, food and forralt bor, the local mulled wine. The Advent fair in front of St Stephen’s Basilica has a great Christmas tree and, in the evenings, light projections on the Basilica’s façade; reports published in October 2026 give 13 November 2026 to 1 January 2027 for this year’s fair. Vörösmarty Square’s dates are not yet announced, but it traditionally opens in mid-November.

Between the stalls, look for kürtőskalács, the chimney cake rolled in sugar and cinnamon, and lángos, fried dough with sour cream and cheese. When the cold sets in, walk on to the old Jewish Quarter, where Szimpla Kert, the first and most famous of the ruin bars, fills a crumbling house with rooms, courtyards and odd corners; on Sunday mornings it turns into a farmers’ market. And keep an afternoon for the thermal baths, where the outdoor pools steam in the winter air.

Christmas in Budapest →   Ruin bars: the back story →   The thermal baths →

Budapest to Zagreb by InterCity

The second leg is slower and quieter, and a lovely way to watch the light go down over western Hungary. In HŽPP’s timetable for 2026 (updated 20 October 2026), one direct InterCity a day leaves Budapest Déli, on the Buda side, at 3.35pm and reaches Zagreb Glavni kolodvor at 10.03pm. In the other direction it leaves Zagreb at 4.30pm and arrives at Budapest Déli at 10.24pm.

The European timetable changes on 13 December 2026, so if you travel after that date, check the new times before you book. Buy tickets from MÁV or HŽPP, bring something to eat, and settle in: you step out in Zagreb onto King Tomislav Square, where the Advent ice rink has been set up in recent years.

HŽPP: trains to Hungary →   MÁV →

Zagreb: Advent in the whole city

Few cities give themselves to Advent as completely as Zagreb. According to the City of Zagreb, Advent in Zagreb 2026 officially opens on Saturday 28 November and runs until 7 January 2027. The opening traditionally takes place on Ban Jelačić Square, by the Manduševac fountain, where a candle on the great Advent wreath is lit each Sunday.

From there, the festivities spread through the centre. On Zrinjevac, the plane trees are wrapped in lights around the old music pavilion; the Strossmayer promenade has Fuliranje, with street food and music; and on King Tomislav Square, opposite the station, an ice park has been set up for skating in recent years. In 2025 the programme returned to the Upper Town after two years of renovation, and the gas lamps of Gradec are still lit by hand at dusk. Zagreb’s Advent was voted Europe’s best Christmas market in an online public poll three years running.

Eat as the locals do: fritule, little doughnuts dusted with sugar, a cup of kuhano vino, and štrukli, thin pastry wrapped around fresh cheese and baked with cream until golden, the dish every Zagreb child grows up with.

Advent in Zagreb →   Štrukli and Zagreb’s table →   The Upper Town →

Practical tips

Our advice: start in Vienna in the first days of December, give each city two or three nights, and keep one slow afternoon in each for something other than markets: a palace in Vienna, a bath in Budapest, a coffee in Zagreb’s Upper Town. Book your hotels early, as all three cities are busy on December weekends.

• The best window is 28 November to 23 December, when every market on this page is open; Spittelberg closes on 23 December and the Rathausplatz on 26 December
• Book the Railjet early, and plan your Budapest–Zagreb day around the single direct train
• Christmas Eve is a family evening in all three countries: many stalls close early on 24 December (the Rathausplatz at 6.30pm, Schönbrunn at 4pm) and many restaurants close
• Travel light: a small case is far easier on market cobbles and station steps
• Dress for cold evenings, with good shoes, gloves and a hat; the markets are at their best after dark

Questions and answers