Inside Vienna’s Stunning Christmas Markets
Vienna, where snow globes were invented in the 19th-century, doesn’t look quite like a snow globe—it’s even more magical. Intricate sparkling light displays hang between grand palaces reminiscent of adorned wedding cakes. Even beyond the Christmas markets, most street corners feature a mulled wine or punch stand where people huddle together under those same lights, wrapped in layers of wool as the sun sets.
Vienna always shines, but during the Advent season, it sparkles. Austrians often refer to the three-week period as the country’s “fifth season.” Festivities unfold in stunning squares and pedestrian spaces, making the walks from cafés to museums and shops even more delectable. Going to the Upper Belvedere to see Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss? Top off your visit with gooey Raclette at the market outside. Dropping into The Dorotheum, the famed Austrian auction house? A five-minute walk toward Stephansplatz brings you to the city’s towering gothic church, where glittering stalls wrap around it like a Christmas wreath.
The Austrian capital is a dreamy destination for a holiday hiatus, complete with layers of culture that elevate this place to the world s most livable city. Far from the hectic fury of Black Friday at home, I’m here listening in to the chatter of people from near and far, embracing the season to the tune of Mozart and Beethoven in the city’s squares.
If you’re planning a trip to Vienna during the holiday season, you’ll want to harness a mix of spontaneity and intentionality. Book a room at one of two locally-owned properties: Hotel Altstadt Vienna or Hotel Sacher Wien. Hotel Alstadt is unfailingly eclectic and deeply hospitable with designer digs laid out in a hotel that shares an entranceway with Viennese neighbors in the seventh district. Hotel Sacher, meanwhile, maintains the imperial grandeur of the former Austro-Hungarian empire at the city’s most prestigious address. Both hotels boast significant art collections, although with remarkably different looks at Viennese culture: one is an ode to its Imperial past, the other a testament to its more recent renaissance.
