Vienna's Christmas market season runs from mid-November through December 26th (Christmas Day markets) and extends through January 6th (Epiphany) at some locations. The sheer number of markets — over 20 across the city — means that Vienna's Christmas experience is one of almost inexhaustible variety, from the grand showpiece of the Rathausplatz market to the intimate neighborhood markets in Spittelberg (Vienna's most Dickensian Christmas experience) and the aristocratic grandeur of the Schönbrunn Palace market.
The Rathausplatz Christkindlmarkt, in front of the neo-Gothic City Hall, is the city's most famous market and one of Europe's largest, with over 150 stalls across a vast illuminated square. The City Hall's facade provides an extraordinary backdrop, particularly when viewed from the Burgring side as visitors approach through the Volksgarten. The market runs from mid-November and is consistently excellent quality — the food, drink, and craft standards are supervised by the city.
Viennese Christmas food and drink traditions are worth experiencing in their own right. Glühwein (mulled wine) is available everywhere, but Vienna's particular variation — often enriched with rum or made with regional Niederösterreich wines — is superior to most European equivalents. Punschkrapfen (rum punch cake), Kipferl (crescent cookies, which are the predecessor of the French croissant), Lebkuchen (gingerbread), and the extraordinary Demel Bäckerei's Christmas pastry selection represent a uniquely Viennese approach to festive confectionery.
Vienna's Imperial entertainment tradition reaches its festive peak in December. The Vienna Philharmonic's New Year's Concert is broadcast worldwide, but the weeks before it feature equally magnificent concerts by the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Boys' Choir (who sing Advent and Christmas masses at the Burgkapelle in the Hofburg), and Vienna's baroque and classical churches hosting exceptional seasonal programs. St. Stephen's Cathedral (Stephansdom) holds particularly beautiful Christmas and New Year concerts.
Temperature in Vienna in December averages 0–4°C, with regular cold snaps and occasional snowfall that transforms the city's imperial architecture into something from a Christmas card. The possibility of a white Vienna Christmas is real and glorious when it happens — Schönbrunn Palace under snow, the Belvedere's baroque gardens frosted white, and the Ringstrasse's plane trees crystalline in the early morning light. Even without snow, the cold and the illuminations create an atmosphere that is perfectly suited to the city's imperial grandeur.
