The best UK city for Christmas markets has been revealed — and London misses out

Manchester’s markets claimed the first festive prize (Picture: Getty Images)

You don’t really feel festive until you’ve had a sip of mulled wine and a Nutella-filled crepe at a Christmas market.

From London’s technicolour Winter Wonderland to Birmingham’s Frankfurt Christmas market and the Frost Fayre in York, markets up and down the country are now open.

But if you’re unsure where to go, a new ranking has got you covered.

To work out the best UK Christmas market city, the research considered markets’ availability (opening dates/times), accessibility (closest car park and train station), affordability (food/drink prices, entry fee etc.), attractions (traders, food stalls, and ice rink) and appeal (online popularity and reviews). 

Each market was then awarded a ‘must-visit’ score out of 10 based on their performance across these metrics, to bring you the best city for some market fun.

And the winner? Well, despite London coming first in so many ‘best’ of rankings this festive season, it didn’t quite make the top spot.

In fact, it was Manchester that claimed the prize as the best city for Christmas markets, according to JeffBet.

The Northern favourite scored 7.4 out of 10, largely due to its sheer volume of food stalls and traders – it has a staggering 225 stalls across nine sites throughout the city centre – including 75 food vendors – and a public outdoor ice-skating rink.  

The market also performed well for accessibility, as the closest car park to Albert Square is just five minutes away by foot, while the nearest station is even closer at just four minutes. 

And, visitors will have more money left over than if they were to visit a festive market in Leeds, Plymouth, or Liverpool – as Manchester is considerably more affordable when food and drink prices, entry fees, and ice-skating ticket prices are considered.  

The figures show that the average cost of a hot food item at a Manchester market is £8.00, while a glass of mulled wine will set you back £5.50, and a pint of beer is £6.50.  

In comparison, mulled wine further north in Edinburgh will cost you £7.00, a pint is priced at £7.00 in Cardiff and Nottingham, and the typical warm food item costs £9.50 in Southampton.  

But if Manchester is a little too far away for you, there are still some good options elsewhere.

Birmingham came in second place, scoring 7.3 out of 10. The main market here, located along New Street and in Victoria Square, is one of the top performers for accessibility as the nearest train station and a car park is just a minute walk away. 

Birmingham also offered better availability – the market, which is one of the largest German Christmas markets held outside of the country itself, is open for 53 days between November and December, and for up to 11.5 hours a day – plenty of time to pick up some Christmas goodies.   

The third-best market came out as Glasgow’s Winterfest, scoring 6.9 out of 10. Again, another affordable one with the average warm food item available for £7.25 and a pint of beer priced at £6.00.  

London’s markets – particularly Winter Wonderland – were the least affordable (Picture: Chris Gorman/Big Ladder/Getty Images)

If you’re a Londoner reading this you might be wondering where your beloved city comes in the ranking. Well, it placed at a not too shabby fourth.

Unsurprisingly, London’s markets – particularly Winter Wonderland – came out as the least affordable.

On the other end of the scale, if you want the most bang for your buck, head to Sheffield, which came out as the most affordable Christmas market in the UK.

And, while we don’t want to go to ‘bah humbug’ on you, the ranking also included the worst market to visit.

Languishing at the bottom of the list was Oxford, which scored just 3.9 out of 10, with just 45 trader stalls and 15 food vendors. However, it is on the cheaper side, so does have some perks.