While the Netherlands isn’t known for having insanely magical Christmas markets like those in Germany, there are actually plenty of festive events (including markets) to enjoy in this country. I love Christmas so I’ve made it a mission to attend as many different Christmas events as possible over the years, and today I’m rounding up the very best, not to be missed Christmas markets and Christmas events in the Netherlands! If you’re planning to visit during the next festive season, read on for what you should see and do.
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Amsterdam Ice*Village
Nestled in the historic heart of Amsterdam, the Amsterdam Ice*Village outside the Rijksmuseum transforms the city into a winter wonderland each year. The centrepiece of this festive gathering is an expansive ice rink in front of the majestic facade of the Rijksmuseum, creating a picture-perfect scene for locals and tourists alike. You can rent skates (and chairs for balancing!) at the cafe beside the rink, or just watch the fun. There is also a small Christmas market with Amsterdam-themed gifts along with yummy festive food and drink.
I usually say that if you can only see one museum in Amsterdam make it the Rijksmuseum, and if you only visit one Christmas market/event, make it this one! The Amsterdam Ice*Village is usually open from mid-December until Boxing Day, from midday until 9pm.
Just note that the skating rink wasn’t actually there last year and I haven’t been able to find out definitively if it will be there this year. The market definitely will though and hopefully, the ice rink will return soon.
You can also read about the best Christmas markets in Amsterdam here – although there aren’t very many!
Amsterdam Winter Paradise
Amsterdam’s Winter Paradise is a huge festive event which takes place both inside and outside the RAI Convention Centre in Amsterdam Zuid. This is a really cool event with lots of things to do including fair rides, ice-skating, ice-curling, live music, an indoor Christmas cinema and even an indoor maze. It’s fun for all the family, with some very fancy food and drink stalls along with an indoor ‘beer garden’ and wooden chalets overlooking the main entertainment stage. You do need to purchase tickets to attend, but it could easily provide hours of Christmassy fun!
Amsterdam Winter Paradise is usually open from mid-December until New Year’s Eve, from around 9am until midnight. You can also read a whole post about visiting it here.
Amsterdam Light Festival
While it’s not technically a Christmas event, the Amsterdam Light Festival takes place during the cold months of November, December and January, providing something nice to experience even when the weather is dreary. Luckily this is one event where darkness makes it better, as the festival sees amazing light installations installed on the main canals of the city, which can be explored either on foot or via one of the quintessential canal cruise tours.
Every year there’s a different theme and therefore different installations, but it’s definitely an enchanting experience – just make sure you rug up! The Amsterdam Light Festival takes place from the end of November until the end of January, from 5pm until 10pm (Monday – Wednesday) or 11pm (Thursday – Sunday). Find out more on the official website here.
Haarlem Christmas Market
The city of Haarlem is only about a 15-minute train ride away from Amsterdam and it hosts a very beautiful Christmas market among its cobblestoned streets. This market is much more the traditional Christmas market that you might expect, a lot cosier than the ones in Amsterdam even though it’s one of the largest in the country, with stalls selling lots of beautiful handmade gift items along with plenty of delicious food to keep you warm!
My favourite part was ‘t Straatje van Emma, a street that’s done up to look like it’s a Christmas market from the 19th century during the reign of Queen Emma (Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont), the Dutch queen consort and then queen regent between 1879 – 1898.
The Haarlem Christmas Market is usually open for one weekend in December. In 2024 that will be from Friday, December 13 to Sunday, December 15. It’s open from 10:30am until 8pm on Friday and Saturday, and 10:30am until 7pm on Sunday. You can see more on the official website.
The Hague Royal Christmas Fair
The main Christmas market/event held in The Hague is the Royal Christmas Fair, a large market held on the Lange Voorhout street right in the heart of the city. There are stalls, a small stage with regular musical performances and some covered seating areas set up on both sides of this L-shaped street, with twinkling lights strung between the trees above. It’s a very popular spot for locals to come in the evening for some mulled wine and tasty treats, as well as Christmas shopping. Santa Claus is usually there most days to say hello to the children.
Held between December 5th and 23rd, the Royal Christmas Fair is free to enter and open from midday until 9pm every day. You can read more about it here.
Castle Christmas Fair
Full disclosure, when I attended the Castle Christmas Fair it was held at Castle Assumburg in Heemskerk, but since then it has moved and is now held at Landgoed Duin & Kruidberg in Santpoort-Noord. So the photos here show the one I went to at Castle Assumburg a few years ago. However, the new location will surely be just as magical as it is still held on the grounds of a beautiful castle location, with lots of musical performances taking place among the Christmas market stalls.
The new location is actually easier to get to than the old one, as there’s a train station right near the main entrance and trains from Amsterdam take about half an hour to get there. It’s open in 2024 from Thursday, November 28 to Sunday, December 1 from 11am until 10pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and from 11am until 6pm on Sunday. Check out the official website for more info but do be aware it’s all in Dutch.
Deventer Dickens Festival
One of the coolest Christmas events I’ve experienced in the Netherlands is the Dickens Festival held annually in the former Hanseatic town of Deventer. Taking place over one weekend in December, the most historic section of Deventer is turned into a walking route through beautifully decorated buildings with lots of actors and locals in traditional Victorian-era costumes. You’ll spot plenty of fun things along the way like carollers and recognisable characters from the works of Charles Dickens, along with parades and food stalls.
The shops are all open for any Christmas shopping and the end of the Dickens walking route ends up at the main Deventer Christmas Market on Sunday, so be sure to go then if you are looking to buy gifts. This year the Dickens Festival will be held on the 14th and 15th of December, and while it is free to enter, you may need to queue for a while before you begin the walking route. Read all about my visit to this unique Christmas event here!
Kerststad Valkenburg
Another incredible and unique Christmas event in the Netherlands is Kerstad Valkenburg, which means Christmas City Valkenburg! Valkenburg is located in the south of the country near Maastricht and the entire city is transformed into an epic Christmas adventure from the middle of November until early January. This includes various markets, a display of sand sculptures, a museum filled with cute miniatures of the area (that are also decorated for Christmas) and a Christmas Parade, but perhaps the most unique aspect is the series of markets held in underground caves, or old marl-quarries.
Visiting a Christmas market inside a cave that contains old sculptures and drawings is one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. The caves are also beautifully decorated for Christmas and feature little cafes and even toilets along with all the lovely gifts for sale. If you’re looking for a festive weekend getaway, I can definitely recommend a trip to Valkenburg and you can read my whole guide to visiting Valkenburg for Christmas here.
Winter Efteling
For those who are more interested in fun rides than Christmas shopping then a visit to Efteling during winter is also a very unique festive choice. Efteling is a popular and magical Dutch theme park that is fun to visit at any time, but during winter it also gets a charming festive makeover, including a tiny little Christmas market section in the photo above.
While some of the rides are closed for maintenance during winter there is still plenty to do and everything is just a little bit more whimsical when draped in Christmas lights with special food carts and Christmas trees dotted about. Some of the fairytale characters are even dressed for winter, like the famous Longneck guy below! Winter Efteling is held from November 11th until February 2nd and you can read more about visiting Efteling during winter in my guide here.
Christmas World at Intratuin Duiven
For those who want to shop for Christmas decor and gifts without freezing in the outdoors then there’s Duiven Intratuin Christmas World, the largest Christmas Show in Europe at a garden centre near the city of Arnhem. While this is technically ‘just’ a garden centre with Christmas supplies for sale it’s actually also home to one of the most incredible Christmas displays I’ve ever seen, with a whole magical Victorian world brought to life, along with a huge room filled with epic Christmas miniature displays.
While everything is for sale for your own festive decor at home, you can also just visit for free to gawk at all the amazing displays, which is what I recently did and you can read my full guide to visiting Christmas World at Intratuin in Duiven here!
It’s open from October until January but I would recommend you try to visit on a weekday as it’s incredibly busy even then (I visited on a weekday) so I would hate to see how busy it gets on a weekend. Also factor in plenty of time as it took us around 4 hours to see everything, although that included a stop for lunch at their onsite café, which was also very nice.
To Be Continued…
So far this guide covers all the best Christmas events and markets in the Netherlands that I have personally visited, but there are even more than those listed here which I plan to try and visit (and then write about) as soon as possible! Make sure you check back each year to see if I’ve added more places yet, and here is a list of some of the ones I have on my list in case you want to see them before I do:
- Archeon Midwinter Fair: A winter fantasy festival held at the Archeon open-air museum park.
- Swedish Christmas Market: A Scandinavian-style Christmas market held in a former sugar factory in Groningen.
- Lemster Dickens Festival: Another Christmas Dickens festival, this one is held in the town of Lemmer in Friesland and includes the UNESCO World Heritage Steam Pumping Station of Wouda Gemaal.
- Kerst in Oud Kampen: The former Hanseatic city of Kampen is also transformed into a previous era, with an open-air Christmas festival that includes theatre performances, a nostalgic funfair and beautifully decorated homes.
- Magisch Maastricht Vrijthof: When we visited Valkenburg for Christmas we also got a glimpse of Maastricht’s beautiful Christmas market and events, but didn’t get to explore it fully so I definitely want to go back!
- Middelburg Winter City: Middelburg is the capital of the province of Zeeland and is transformed into a winter wonderland between mid-November to mid-January. I haven’t explored Zeeland much so I would love to start here.
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Have you been to any of these Christmas events or do you know of another one that should be on my list? Let me know in the comments or pin one of these if you’re planning your own festive visit to the Netherlands!
Disclaimer
All information is true and correct at the time of publishing but I cannot be held responsible for changes in opening times and prices or businesses closing in the meantime. I always endeavour to keep my posts up to date but also encourage you to double-check the official website of an attraction for information on when it is open, how much it costs etc.
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