Have you ever wondered what goes on at those quaint European Christmas markets? Here is a little sample of that cozy Christmas ambience before the season gets too far behind us.
I'd never been to a proper Christmas market before we moved to Europe, but we were fortunate to visit three English Christmas markets in December. I ranked the three markets we attended based on my personal feelings, but I'd recommend all of them!
Manchester Christmas Markets
In third place is Manchester Christmas Markets. This market had my favorite booth selection of the three. However, the market was too spaced out; we missed a whole section! The lights display was pretty sad overall and far away from the rest of the fair, but the light creations were well done. There was no music! There were buskers, and I liked the buskers, but the festival should have had its own music, even if it was piped. Overall, while it was the least festive, the Manchester Christmas Markets had the most going on.
Harrogate Christmas Fayre
In second place is the Harrogate Christmas Fayre. Although the booths were good, there were not very many. Granted, that helped the fair be well-consolidated. The lights were just okay, but they were more scattered around the fair, which was nice. They had piped music, at least starting at sunset. The shops were much more integrated into the fair, with local businesses indicated on the official map. We did not ride on the Ferris wheel, but just the sight of it made me happy. The overall atmosphere was much more festive than Manchester. The best part of the Harrogate Christmas Fayre was the Twisted Potatoes, a spiral-cut fried potato on a skewer. YUM.
York St. Nicholas Fayre
In first place is the York St. Nicholas Fayre, the original reason I planned the trip where and when I did. The fair was a good size and had a lot of the same booths as Manchester. There were a lot of lights. There was piped music throughout that was coordinated with the bulk of the lights! THERE WAS A ROASTED CHESTNUT CART. He only took cash, so I had to walk over a mile round-trip to get cash from my husband, who was back at the car with the little kids, but I made the walk because I was getting those chestnuts! The only complaint I had was the stores surrounding the fair didn't stay open with the fair, closing between 5 and 7, and we missed out on a lot that we were going to get back to after doing a lap around the fair. Overall, the spirit of the York St. Nicholas Fayre was a giant party!
My experience at the Christmas markets was magical and festive, and I will definitely be seeking out more markets next Christmas. Even though the Christmas season has passed, I feel that holiday warmth whenever I look at the pictures. I'm glad I wrote about the experience at the time, because the details would be eluding me now; there was so much to see!
Have you ever been to a Christmas market? I'd love to hear about it!
No comments:
Post a Comment