Dresden Christmas Market 2026: Striezelmarkt Location, Dates and Hours

The Dresden, Germany Christmas market that most people mean, the Dresden Striezelmarkt Christmas market, fills Altmarkt, the old market square, opposite the Kulturpalast and right on Wilsdruffer Straße. Tram stop: Altmarkt. From the main station, walk north along Prager Straße; buses from Prague stop outside the station too.

On a map, the four big markets sit close together. Altmarkt, Neumarkt (around the Frauenkirche) and the Stallhof (behind the Fürstenzug mural) are all in the Altstadt, a few minutes apart on foot.

The Augustusmarkt is the odd one out: it is on Hauptstraße in Neustadt, on the far side of the Elbe, starting at the Golden Rider statue once you cross the Augustus Bridge.

Open Altmarkt on OpenStreetMap 

All four markets open on Wednesday 25 November 2026. The Striezelmarkt shuts for the season at 14:00 on Christmas Eve; Neumarkt and the Augustusmarkt pause over Christmas and carry on into January (official info, 30 October 2026).

Closed days: the Striezelmarkt does not reopen after 24 December. Neumarkt and the Augustusmarkt are closed on 24, 25 and 26 December and on 1 January. Dates come from each market's own site: striezelmarkt.dresden.de, advent-auf-dem-neumarkt.de, augustusmarkt.de and mittelalter-weihnacht.de.

• Only time for one: the Striezelmarkt, with the giant pyramid, the historic Ferris wheel and the most stalls.
• To see the Frauenkirche as well: Neumarkt, where the church rises straight behind the huts.
• Between Christmas and New Year: Neumarkt or the Augustusmarkt, both open until 3 January.
• Late evenings: Neumarkt stays open until 22:00 every night; the Augustusmarkt does on Fridays and Saturdays.
• With children: the medieval market in the Stallhof, with blacksmiths at work and jugglers on stage.
• On Christmas Eve: only the Striezelmarkt, and only until 14:00.

Every Advent weekend day at the Striezelmarkt has its own theme. The 2026 programme on the official site:

• 28 November: Advent Calendar Festival
• 29 November: Kreuzkirche Day
• 5 December: Stollen Festival (Stollenfest), the busiest day of the season
• 6 December: Gingerbread Festival (Pfefferkuchenfest)
• 12 December: Pyramid Festival
• 13 December: Christmas Crafts Day
• 19 December: Pflaumentoffel Festival
• 20 December: children's festival
• 24 December: Christmas Eve, until 14:00

The Pflaumentoffel is a little chimney sweep made from dried prunes on sticks; it is eaten, kept as a lucky charm, and the city treats it as a symbol of a Dresden Christmas. The programme may change (striezelmarkt.dresden.de).

Half a day: our whole visit was 5 to 6 hours, all of it at the Striezelmarkt: the stalls first, then the Ferris wheel, then a food crawl after dark, and the evening bus back to Prague. Watch in the video · 3:13 

A full day: the Striezelmarkt in the morning, the Stallhof and Neumarkt after lunch, then cross the Augustus Bridge at dusk and end the evening at the Augustusmarkt, which stays open until 22:00 on Fridays and Saturdays.

To see the market with a local guide, Striezelmarkt tours:

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Three of the four markets (Altmarkt, Neumarkt and the Stallhof courtyard) sit inside the old town, so a room there means a short stroll home once the huts shut; those same streets sell out first on Advent weekends.

Pick Neustadt for the Augustusmarkt, or a hotel by the station if an early train to Prague or Berlin is waiting. Our where to stay in Dresden  page sets the three areas side by side.

Where we stayed: not in Dresden. We were based in Prague, came over by FlixBus in the morning, went back the same way in the evening and left for Vienna the next morning. Watch in the video · 13:06 

From Prague by bus: our FlixBus left Prague's central bus station and, roughly two hours later, pulled in right in front of Dresden Hauptbahnhof. Snow on the verges told us when we had crossed into Germany. Watch in the video · 0:48 

From Prague by train: about 2 to 2.5 hours. Altmarkt is then a straight walk up Prager Straße from the station.

Prague to Dresden timetables and fares  Ad

By air: Dresden has a small airport, so many visitors fly into Prague or Berlin and continue by bus or train; Berlin trains and route details are in our Dresden guide .

If you'd rather not plan it yourself, day tours run from Prague to Dresden.

Browse Prague to Dresden day tours  Ad

Between the markets: Altmarkt, Neumarkt and the Stallhof are a short walk apart; for the Augustusmarkt, walk over the Augustus Bridge.

Trdelník over a wood fire: we had looked for a proper trdelník at the Czech markets without luck and found one here, turning over open flames and still smoking when they handed it over. Crisp sugar and cinnamon outside, soft dough inside, with a faint taste of charcoal. The best one we had at any Christmas market. Watch in the video · 4:18 

Mandelstollen: classic Dresden Stollen has raisins, but the stall had three or four kinds and let us taste small pieces first. We preferred the plain almond one, the Mandelstollen, under a thick coat of powdered sugar. Watch in the video · 8:09 

Beef sausage: the sausage stall had pork, beef and a mix of both; we went for beef in a roll, and it was juicy and full of flavour. Ask for Rind if you want the beef one. Watch in the video · 10:03 

Raclette: a half wheel of cheese sits under a heater until the surface bubbles, then the soft layer is scraped onto bread or potatoes, usually with pickles and onions. Mine came on spiced potatoes; the cheese pulled into long strings, and crisp potatoes suited it even better. Watch in the video · 10:53 

We didn't try a Pflaumentoffel this time.

Christmas week: the Striezelmarkt closes for good at 14:00 on 24 December, and Neumarkt and the Augustusmarkt are shut on 25 and 26 December. Aim for 23 December or earlier, or 27 December or later.

Crowds: in the evening it was hard to get to the front of the Striezelmarkt stalls. Midday is calmer; keep your bag and phone in front of you. Watch in the video · 3:41 

Ferris wheel: we paid €5 each for the Striezelmarkt Ferris wheel. It felt fast and I was a little nervous, but the view over the market and the old town was worth it. We couldn't find the 2026 price on the official site. Watch in the video · 7:20 

Stallhof tickets: the medieval market charges entry on Advent weekends; go Monday to Thursday to get in free.

If your tour is cancelled: the tour we had booked for the day was cancelled, so we took the bus on our own and were glad we did. Watch in the video · 13:16 

Visa before a December trip: Dresden sits inside Schengen, so the same entry rules apply as for the rest of Germany; your nationality decides whether you need a visa. Who needs one, how to apply and the official sources are in our Germany visa guide .

Our Christmas route was Prague, Dresden and Vienna; the morning after Dresden we moved on to Vienna.

• Prague Christmas markets : the city we set out from.
• Vienna Christmas markets : the last stop of the route.
• Cologne Christmas market : the cathedral market in western Germany.
• Best Christmas markets in Europe : every city we filmed.