German-style Christmas markets now run across Europe and in many U.S. cities, and not every menu stays German. At one market, the schnitzel skewers share a vendor list with porchetta sandwiches and filled churros. Nuremberg has its bratwurst and gingerbread, but visitors are praising the food at a European market serving Armenian and Georgian dishes.
The German Christmas market has a long paper trail, and Dresden’s dates to 1434. Dresden says Saxon Elector Frederick II issued a decree that year to allow a free market, and the first one lasted a single day. In the late Middle Ages, markets like it were mostly one-day sales fairs that sold food for winter. Basket weavers and toy makers later joined in, and roasted chestnuts and other nuts were on offer.
A traveler vote ranks the German markets at the bottom
Hundreds of thousands of travelers voted in a ranking of Europe’s best Christmas markets for the 2026 season. The ranking draws on those votes along with shares and recommendations on social networks. Craiova placed first, with Zurich in second. All five German markets on the list finished in the bottom five, led by Dresden at 16th. Cologne finished last at 20th.
German markets sell specialties of their own
Dresden’s city page ties the market’s name to Christstollen, which Middle High German called Striezel. The page says meat was sold first on the site of today’s Altmarkt, before the offerings broadened. A Stollen festival honors the pastry each year, and a procession through the Baroque old town tells its history. Stalls also sell gingerbread from Pulsnitz.
Nuremberg, which placed 17th, publishes a market guide that points visitors to freshly baked Nuremberg gingerbread and Nuremberg bratwurst. The guide says the bratwurst follows a recipe that the city council set down in writing and that has existed for more than 700 years. Regional stalls sell herbal teas, mulled wines, fruit brandies and fruit spreads made from local orchard and meadow fruit, along with lamb and beef sausages. Another stall serves a blueberry mulled wine.
Nuremberg’s 2025 market guide also devotes a tour to vegan food. One stall offers a vegan version of the Nuremberg bratwurst, and another sells vegan gingerbread. The guide adds that nearly every gingerbread and mulled wine stand offers a vegan alternative.
The top-ranked market’s menu reaches across borders
Craiova’s market serves dishes from countries including Armenia, Georgia, Greece, Bulgaria and Serbia. Visitors praise the food, which draws on the flavors of Eastern Europe and beyond. Last season’s market also sold Romanian staples, including mici, sarmale, bean stew with pork hock and langoș. A December 2025 news report lists a street food section among the market’s five themed sectors.
Craiova has run its own cross-border food project. A regional culinary project, supported by Craiova City Hall, redesigned the menus of 11 restaurants during an earlier Christmas fair. The menus drew on dishes from 11 European countries, including Azerbaijan and Georgia. The dishes included Georgian khinkali and Turkish eggs. Local chefs and students joined international specialists in making the menus.
Porchetta and pierogies join the schnitzel on 1 vendor list
Grand Rapids, Michigan, runs a Christkindl Markt that calls itself a traditional European Christmas village. The market has more than 60 artisan food and gift vendors, and this season’s vendor list goes well beyond German food. The German standards are there, from grilled sausages with sauerkraut to schnitzel skewers. Pierogies Factory serves Polish cuisine, and Casa de Churros serves filled churros with Spanish hot chocolate dipping sauce. Chez Waffles sells Belgian waffles and stroopwafels.
Grand Rapids organizers list porchetta sandwiches and chimney cakes among the season’s new finds. Porchetteria carves its porchetta sandwiches to order from pork sourced on Michigan farms, and Farmhaus Farms bakes sweet and savory chimney cakes fresh. Crepes by the Lakes gives its crepes a Midwest twist. Chewie Bitez serves rotating soups and stews in bread bowls, while Drift + Acre sells Michigan-inspired cocktail kits.
“Kürtőskalács,” also known as chimney cake, is a popular choice at Hungarian Christmas markets. The sweet pastry bakes over an open flame. The chimney cakes in Grand Rapids share that name, though the vendor list does not say which recipe they follow.
A Tokyo market adds picture books and a giant stollen
Tokyo Skytree Town runs a Christmas market on the fourth floor of its Sky Arena, themed around picture books. The menu includes dishes with Santa and snowman motifs. The market is also offering a giant stollen about 13 feet long, which is described as one of the largest in Japan. A Christmas-period dessert at a cafe on the Tokyo Skytree observation deck depicts a Christmas tree with baumkuchen and matcha ice cream.
Most markets never make a ranking
Europe has more than 1,500 Christmas markets each winter, and only 20 earn a place in the ranking. Grand Rapids and Tokyo fall outside the ranking’s European scope, yet Grand Rapids published a vendor list and Tokyo Skytree Town published its limited menu items. A ranking shows which markets travelers favored, while a vendor list shows what the stalls sell.
Jennifer Allen is a retired chef turned traveler, cookbook author and nationally syndicated journalist; she’s also a co-founder of Food Drink Life, where she shares expert travel tips, cruise insights and luxury destination guides. A recognized cruise expert with a deep passion for high-end experiences and off-the-beaten-path destinations, Jennifer explores the world with curiosity, depth and a storyteller’s perspective. Her articles are regularly featured on the Associated Press Wire, The Washington Post, The Seattle Times, MSN and more.