Stuttgart Christmas Market

First recorded in 1692. The market is not one square but a chain of four, running from Schlossplatz to Schillerplatz, Karlsplatz and the Marktplatz, with Glühwein (hot spiced wine), roasted almonds and Swabian food stands along the way.

Dates and hours in 2026

The Stuttgart Christmas Market runs from November 25 through December 23, 2026. As always, it closes the day before Christmas Eve, so the stalls are shut on the holidays themselves. That is worth planning around: American visitors who arrive on December 24 will find the squares already being taken apart.

Hours are 11am to 9pm Sunday through Thursday, and an hour longer, until 10pm, on Friday and Saturday. Admission is free. The stretch between Schlossplatz and the Marktplatz is at its most crowded on the first Advent weekend and on Friday evenings in December. If you want to actually look at the stalls rather than the back of someone's coat, come on a weekday morning.

Where the market takes place

Unlike most Christmas markets, Stuttgart's does not sit on a single square. It runs as one continuous band through half of downtown: from Schlossplatz (Palace Square) past Schillerplatz and Karlsplatz to the Marktplatz (Market Square). All four squares are within a few minutes' walk of one another and are linked by pedestrian streets, so the entire market can be walked as a single loop in an evening.

The organizer puts the count at around 250 vendors. The focus is on decorated stalls with elaborate rooftop displays, which is what the market is known for, plus Glühwein (hot spiced red wine), roasted almonds and Swabian staples like Maultaschen, oversized pasta pockets filled with meat and spinach, and Dinnete, a thin Swabian flatbread.

Ferris wheel, fairy-tale land and concerts

The Ferris wheel turns on Schlossplatz, and from the top the lit-up downtown spreads out below you all the way up to the slopes of the Kessel, the bowl-shaped valley Stuttgart sits in. For families there is the Kinder-Märchenland, a children's fairy-tale area with carousels and small rides, which is at its busiest in the afternoons.

The program also includes concerts, among them performances in the inner courtyard of the Altes Schloss (Old Palace) and in the Stiftskirche, the city's collegiate church. They are a good reason to schedule your visit for the early evening, when the market has its lights on but the crush has not built yet.

Getting downtown

The market sits directly on Königstraße, the main shopping street, and is a few minutes on foot from the main train station. Every S-Bahn commuter line stops at either Stadtmitte or Hauptbahnhof, and the Stadtbahn light rail stops at Schlossplatz, Charlottenplatz and Rathaus, among others.

If you drive, use the downtown parking garages around Schlossplatz or a park-and-ride lot on the edge of the city. On Advent weekends the city-center garages are regularly full from early afternoon onward.

Since 1692: one of Europe's oldest markets

The Stuttgart Christmas Market was first documented in 1692, which puts it among the oldest in Europe. What began as an Advent market for everyday goods has become an event that draws 3.5 to 4 million people a year, according to the organizer.

What has survived is the quirk the market is known for well beyond Stuttgart: the decoration on the stall roofs. Many vendors rebuild their displays elaborately every year, there is a competition for the best design, and that is exactly what separates this market from an interchangeable row of wooden huts.