Wrocław, Poland: Christmas Market Review

There are just under 10 days until Christmas, so I’m super excited about my next mini-series of blogs between now and then — reviewing three Christmas markets in Eastern Europe! This past Friday, Matt and I set out for a 10-day trip to Wroclaw, Prague, and Bratislava, to celebrate my 32nd birthday (which was Saturday) and take advantage of one of the best parts of living in Europe: the Christmas markets. And I’ll also be checking my 31st country off the list when we get to Slovakia.

So, first up, we have the Wroclaw, Poland, Christmas Market. I’d been to Wroclaw once before, on a solo trip in March 2019 when I was living in Madrid. I was excited to come back with Matt, and really excited for the pierogies. But how does the Wroclaw Christmas Market stack up?

Here’s everything you need to know about the Wroclaw Christmas Market.

When Does the Wroclaw Poland Christmas Market Start?

The Wroclaw Christmas Market began on November 29, 2024, and runs until January 7, 2025. However, there are a few days when it will be closed: December 24, December 25, and January 1.

We learned from experience during our holiday trip to Germany and Austria in 2019 that traveling on Christmas itself isn’t a great idea, because everything is closed. And it seems like the Wroclaw Christmas Market is no exception. So keep that in mind as you plan your visit.

Where Is the Wroclaw Christmas Market?

The Wroclaw Christmas Market is held at Market Square in Wroclaw, one of the city’s most iconic sites. It’s also known as Rynek Square. I remembered the beautiful, brightly painted facades of the square from my last visit, so I was super excited to see it all decked out for Christmas.

Wroclaw’s town hall sits in the middle of the square, so the Christmas Market kind of surrounds it on all sides — and spills into some of the nearby streets as well. Pretty much anywhere you look, you’ve got an awesome view of something in the background. And the spinning Christmas pyramid was my favorite thing there!

Food To Try at Wroclaw Christmas Market

The amount of different foods at the Wroclaw Christmas Market blew me away. I was expecting some sausages, maybe some regional specialties like pierogies, and chimney cakes of course.

But the reality is that there was SO MUCH food that we couldn’t even try it all. I started making a list of all the different food options and I eventually just gave up on trying to write it all down. Here’s what I had on my list:

• Kielbasa
• Currywurst
• Pierogies
• Toast/bread with toppings
• Hamburgers and cheeseburgers
• French fries
• Serki góralskie: a type of Polish cheese
• Portuguese pastel de nata
• Italian cannolis
• Turkish delights
• Pajda chleba: kind of like a Polish open-faced sandwich
• Fried cheese
• Cotton candy
• Chestnuts
• Waffles
• Churros
• Various soups
• Flammkuchen: kind of like German pizza
• Chimney cakes
• Chocolate-covered fruit
• Regional wines for tasting

We personally tried the pierogies (very tasty, reminded me of the ones I grew up eating), serki góralskie (better than expected, kind of like a smoky string cheese for adults), fried cheese (basically mozzarella sticks… on a stick), and pajda chleba, which was probably the most unique thing we got. It’s basically a huge, long piece of bread spread with lard and then topped with sausage, onions, and pickles. It wasn’t our favorite but it was definitely worth trying, and Matt did eat most of it!

Drinks & Mugs at Wroclaw Christmas Market

One of the most exciting thing about Christmas markets is how they often serve mulled wine in a cute mug. You pay a deposit for the mug the first time you get a drink, and you can then either keep the mug as a souvenir, or return it and get your deposit back. I have a few floating around the house in Kansas City, and a few at my parents’ house, from the Christmas markets I visited in Germany long, long ago. So I couldn’t wait to see what Wroclaw’s mugs would look like.

It turns out that they are in the shape of a little boot every year! This year’s mugs are green with a red interior, which is very festive, and they say “2024” on the front. Last year’s seem to have been purple with a yellow inside — we saw some people walking around with them, so they must have brought them from home.

And now the mulled wine itself. I was expecting one red and maybe one white wine option, but they had a whole hot drink menu! They had glühwein (just regular mulled red wine), one called Wroclaw mulled wine, which also had rum in it, and then raspberry, cherry, plum, and berry mulled wines. Additionally, they had a white mulled wine and hot chocolate with amaretto! Between the two of us, we tried almost every flavor, but I think our favorites were the Wroclaw mulled wine and the hot chocolate + amaretto combo.

(They also had alcohol-free drinks which were also served in the mugs — non-alcoholic mulled wine, hot chocolate, Christmas punch, coffee, tea, and more.)

Of course we decided to keep our mugs, which we also plan to do at the Prague and Bratislava Christmas Markets! Stay tuned to see how we get six mugs back to Spain with us. 😂

Wroclaw Christmas Market Activities

Some parts of the Wroclaw Christmas Market seemed to be set up like a carnival — there were carnival games and even some Christmas-themed rides for kids. And there was a fun house, that kind of looked like a haunted house, but not scary at all. We didn’t go in, so I couldn’t really tell you what it’s like.

There are also lots of cute photo ops around the market! There were a bunch of boot mugs scattered throughout the market, colored like the mugs in previous years, that one or two people could stand in together and pose for a photo. Another section of the market has life-sized reindeer pulling a sled, there was a light-up sleigh you could sit in, and there are even a few little market stalls set up like living rooms decorated for Christmas that are just for photos.

Other Things To Know About the Christmas Market

While many of the stalls accept credit cards, some are cash-only. But some are also card-only. So I’d be sure to have both! Poland doesn’t use euros, though they are members of the EU, so you’ll have to take out some Polish złoty from the ATM. $1 USD = about 4 zł. We initially ended up taking out about $50 USD or 200 zł, which we thought would be enough, but it wasn’t for the amount of things we wanted to try at the Christmas market.

For example, the drinks and mugs were cash-only. Each glass was about 20 zł, so about $5 USD, and then the mug deposit was also 20 zł. (This is actually where most of our money went.)

The Christmas market does have a bathroom, which I decided to check out for research purposes. There’s a public toilet at the northeast corner of Plac Solny, just a minute or two walk from the main market square. Go down the stairs and pay the attendant outside the restroom 1 zł (using coins) to use the bathroom and 50 cents to wash your hands… though I’m not sure how they’d know if you didn’t pay to wash your hands and did it anyway. 😂

My Review: Wroclaw Christmas Market

I’ve probably been to at least 10 different Christmas markets over the years, and I have to say that Wroclaw’s is the best one I can remember. It was big and spread out over a large enough area that it didn’t feel too crowded, there were tons of different food and drink stalls, and the decorations were amazing.

Also, I really appreciated that there were so many spaces with tables for people to stand with their food and drinks. You didn’t have to fight for the corner of a table or try to balance everything in your hands — there was plenty of available space built out for eating and socializing, and most of it was even covered, protecting you from the cold winds and occasional rain.

And like I mentioned at the beginning of this post, the backdrop of the absolutely gorgeous buildings made the whole thing so charming. It almost made me forget about the fact that the sun goes down at 3:45 p.m. so it feels like the middle of the night when it’s really only 5. All the twinkling lights, the wafts of delicious market food, and the internal/external warmth of the mulled wine leaves you feeling cozy instead of wishing for a glimpse of the sun to end your seasonal depression.

Wroclaw Poland Christmas Market 2024 Dates & Hours

Location: Market Square (Wrocławski Rynek)
Dates: November 29, 2024 – January 7, 2025
Hours: Daily 10:00-21:00 (though we noticed it was still going at 21:30 on Friday/Saturday nights when we were there)

Exceptions:

• Closed: December 24, December 25, January 1
• December 26: Opens at 13:00
• December 31:
  • Shops: Close at 17:00
  • Food and drinks: Open until 02:00 (January 1)

Plan Your Wroclaw Christmas Market Visit

Book the Best Wroclaw Hotels: Wroclaw Poland Hotels

Things To Do in Wroclaw Poland: Wroclaw Christmas Market River Cruise // Wroclaw Old Town Walking Tour // Wroclaw Small Group Guided eCar Tour

 

So, now you know that the Wroclaw Christmas Market is absolutely worth a visit! We loved it so much, and the next two Christmas markets on this trip have a high bar to measure up to.

Have you ever visited the Christmas Market in Wroclaw, or somewhere else? What did you think? Let me know in the comments!

-Cathy

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