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The Manchester Christmas Markets run from Friday 6 November to Tuesday 22 December 2026, and Albert Square and Cathedral Gardens stay open until Sunday 3 January 2027. There are more than 210 stalls across ten city-centre sites, and walking round them costs nothing. This guide covers what is where – including the new site at Lincoln Square, and the fact that Piccadilly Gardens is not part of the markets this year – plus food and drink prices, the Skate Manchester ice rink, the best times to go and how to get there.
The markets began in December 1998 with a handful of traders from Frankfurt in St Ann’s Square. They are now one of the biggest Christmas markets in the UK, with an estimated nine million visitors a year, and a 2023 study by Parkdean Resorts ranked them the most popular Christmas markets in the world on TikTok.
Manchester Christmas Markets 2026 at a glance
| Dates | Fri 6 November – Tue 22 December 2026; Albert Square and Cathedral Gardens until Sun 3 January 2027 |
| Opening hours | 2026 hours not yet published. In 2025: craft stalls 10am–8pm, food and drink 11am–9pm, daily |
| Sites | Albert Square, Lincoln Square (new), King Street, St Ann’s Square, Exchange Street, New Cathedral Street, Exchange Square, Corn Exchange, Cathedral Gardens, Market Street |
| Not this year | Piccadilly Gardens |
| Stalls | More than 210 |
| Entry | Free |
| Mug deposit | £3.50 in 2025, refunded when you hand the mug back |
| Ice rink | Skate Manchester, Cathedral Gardens, 6 November 2026 – 3 January 2027; adults £15–£21 |
| Big wheel | 50 metres, Albert Square |
| Christmas Parade | Sunday 6 December 2026 |
What’s new for 2026
- Lincoln Square joins the markets. A brand-new site just off Brazennose Street, between Albert Square and Deansgate, with more than a dozen food and drink stalls and food trucks.
- Albert Square is fully back. In 2025 the square hosted the markets for the first time in six years, after the Town Hall restoration works – a partial return built around a 50-metre Ferris wheel. For 2026 the council promises the wheel, a helter-skelter, food, drink and craft stalls and a new Manchester Christmas Markets pop-up pub.
- St Ann’s Square has a new layout, with more craft, food and drink traders.
- Piccadilly Gardens is not on the list. It hosted a site in 2025 but is not one of the ten for 2026, so if you arrive at Piccadilly station, the nearest stalls are on Market Street, about ten minutes’ walk away.
- Fewer stalls. More than 210, down from a record 274 in 2025.
- Zippy Santa, the giant inflatable Father Christmas, is coming back, though the council had not said where when we checked.
- The Christmas Parade is on Sunday 6 December, with details still to be announced.
Dates and opening hours
Most sites open on Friday 6 November and close on Tuesday 22 December 2026. Albert Square and Cathedral Gardens carry on through Christmas and New Year until Sunday 3 January 2027.
The council had not published the 2026 opening hours when we checked. In 2025 they were:
- Craft stalls: 10am–8pm daily.
- Food and drink stalls: 11am–9pm daily.
- Exceptions: Market Street closed at 6pm on Sundays, and every stall closed at 6pm on the final day.
Over Christmas and New Year, the two late-running sites kept these hours in 2025. Expect something similar in 2026, but check before you travel:
| Date | Albert Square | Cathedral Gardens |
|---|---|---|
| Christmas Eve | 10am–5pm | 10am–5pm |
| Christmas Day | Closed | Closed |
| 26–30 December | 10am–6pm | 10am–5pm |
| New Year’s Eve | 10am–12.30am | 10am–5pm |
| New Year’s Day to closing | 10am–6pm | 10am–5pm |
The ten market sites
The sites sit close together, and you can walk the whole circuit in an afternoon. St Ann’s Square is the place for crafts; Exchange Square and Lincoln Square are mostly about food and drink; Albert Square has a bit of everything plus the rides.
Albert Square
The flagship, in front of the Town Hall. For 2026: the 50-metre Ferris wheel – billed in 2025 as the UK’s largest mobile wheel – plus a helter-skelter, food, drink and craft stalls and the new pop-up pub. In 2025 a ride on the wheel cost adults £8 off-peak and £9.50 at peak times; 2026 prices had not been announced. Open until 3 January. Tram: St Peter’s Square.
Lincoln Square
New for 2026, just off Brazennose Street and a couple of minutes’ walk from Albert Square: more than a dozen food and drink stalls and food trucks. Tram: St Peter’s Square.
St Ann’s Square
Where it all started in 1998, and still the craft-led heart of the markets, with a new layout and more traders for 2026. Tram: Market Street.
King Street
The city’s smartest shopping street and usually the calmest of the sites. In 2025 its traders included El Gato Negro, the King Street tapas restaurant, with a seating area, the Italian deli Ballaro and Hong Kong French Toast.
Exchange Street
A short run of stalls beside the Royal Exchange, a few steps from St Ann’s Square – easy to fold into a walk between the two.
New Cathedral Street
The designer shopping street between Exchange Square and St Ann’s Square, home to Harvey Nichols, with a smaller cluster of stalls.
Exchange Square
The main food site, in the space between the Arndale, Selfridges and the Corn Exchange. Porky Pig’s Yorkshire pudding wraps have been the headline act here for the last two years, and the council says the stall returns in 2026 in an upgraded chalet. Tram: Exchange Square.
Corn Exchange
Stalls around the outside of the Corn Exchange, whose ground floor is full of restaurants – the easiest place on the circuit for a proper sit-down meal. Tram: Exchange Square.
Market Street
The main shopping street running up from Exchange Square towards Piccadilly. Handy if you are at the Arndale, less of a destination in its own right. Tram: Market Street.
Cathedral Gardens
Beside Manchester Cathedral and the National Football Museum, and home to the Skate Manchester ice rink and a cluster of stalls. Open until 3 January. Victoria station is a few minutes’ walk away.
If the geography is what is confusing you, our breakdown of all ten market locations maps every site and gives a walking route that covers the lot in an afternoon.
Skate Manchester at Cathedral Gardens
Skate Manchester’s covered rink runs from Friday 6 November 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027, closed on Christmas Day only. Its 2026/27 prices and times:
| Skating hours | 6 November – 6 December: 11am–9pm. 7 December – 3 January: 10am–9pm. Last session 8pm |
| Sessions | Up to 45 minutes; arrive 30–40 minutes early to collect your skates |
| Adult or teen (13+) | £15–£21 |
| Child (12 and under) | £13.75–£15.50 |
| Family | £44–£59 (two adults and two children, or one adult and three children) |
| Carer | Free, from the box office only, with proof of eligibility |
| Skate aid | £5 |
| Included | Skate hire; the booking fee is extra |
Prices move with the date and time, so check a few sessions before you book. Weekend evenings in December are the ones to book well ahead; a weekday daytime session in November is the easiest time to get on the ice. Children must be at least three, and under-13s need an adult with them. Skates run from junior size 8 to adult 14, with bob skates for the smallest skaters.
The rink’s 2026 offers include free skating for kids on Tuesdays from 4pm to 6pm and £10 student tickets on Tuesdays and Wednesdays (both until 18 December, conditions apply), a 20% “Local Love” discount on Mondays and Tuesdays, £15 parent-and-mini-skater sessions on weekdays from 2pm to 3pm until 18 December, and SEND sessions on Mondays from 3pm to 4pm. Two practical points: there are no toilets at the rink, and the cloakroom costs £2.50 an item.
Food and drink: what to eat and what it costs
The 2026 line-up and prices had not been published when we checked, so the figures below are 2025’s, from a price survey on opening day. Expect much the same in 2026, or a little more.
| Item | 2025 price |
|---|---|
| Mulled wine | Usually £5.50–£6; £6.50 small or £8.50 large at The Mill Exchange |
| Glühwein | £6 |
| Hot chocolate | £3.50–£5.50 |
| Mug deposit | £3.50, refundable |
| Bratwurst | £8 |
| Currywurst | £9–£9.50 |
| Porky Pig Yorkshire pudding wrap | £9.50 meat, £9 veggie |
| Pint of lager | £6 for Krombacher; £6.50 for most others |
A wrap and a mulled wine comes to almost £20 up front once the mug deposit is added, so treat the markets as somewhere to graze rather than to eat three courses. The traders worth looking for, going by 2025:
- Porky Pig – Yorkshire pudding wraps, Exchange Square; the council says it is back for 2026.
- The Mill Exchange – mulled wine made in Manchester, at Exchange Square and Albert Square.
- The German Pancake House and the Dutch mini pancakes stall – Albert Square.
- Wrap Up – loaded hash browns with truffle or katsu toppings (£12), Albert Square.
- Holy Duck – roast potatoes with duck and raclette (£11), Exchange Square.
- El Gato Negro – patatas bravas and mulled margaritas, King Street.
- Ballaro – fresh cannelloni and arancini, King Street.
The mug deposit is added to hot drinks. Hand the mug back for your £3.50, or keep it: the design changes every year – 2025’s showed a toy-town Manchester in day and night scenes – and plenty of people collect them. Most stalls take cards, but carry a little cash for the smaller traders.
For the eating and drinking side of things, our guide to Manchester Christmas markets food and drink has the dishes worth queuing for and the ones to walk past.
Best times to visit (and when to avoid)
Quietest
- Weekday mornings and early afternoons, especially in November.
- Opening time – in 2025, 10am for craft stalls and 11am for food and drink.
- King Street, usually the calmest site, in the daytime.
Busiest
- Friday and Saturday evenings, and all day at weekends in December.
- The last fortnight before Christmas.
- Albert Square and Exchange Square, most of all.
- Sunday 6 December, when the Christmas Parade brings extra crowds into the centre.
The sweet spot is a Tuesday or Wednesday in November, arriving late morning: you can see the lot in three hours with stops, and the queues are at their shortest.
Before you go, read our Manchester Christmas markets tips: the quietest days and hours, the park-and-ride sites that save you a city-centre car park, and how to get through a December Saturday without losing your temper.
How to get there
By tram
- St Peter’s Square – Albert Square and Lincoln Square.
- Market Street – Market Street and St Ann’s Square.
- Exchange Square – Exchange Square, the Corn Exchange and New Cathedral Street.
- Victoria – Cathedral Gardens.
Trams run until around midnight from Sunday to Thursday and until about 1am on Friday and Saturday nights. That is the normal year-round timetable, not a markets extra. Tram fares are frozen through 2026: a single within one zone is £1.40, and tapping in and out with the same contactless card caps a day in one zone at £2.70, or £1.90 off-peak. Our guide to transport passes and tickets has the full fare picture.
By train
Victoria station is a few minutes’ walk from Cathedral Gardens. From Piccadilly it is about ten minutes on foot to Market Street and fifteen to Exchange Square. Oxford Road and Deansgate stations are the closest to Albert Square and Lincoln Square.
By car
Metrolink Park & Ride is free with a valid tram ticket. In 2025 TfGM also allowed free overnight parking at its Park & Ride sites from 1 December to 3 January for tram users; check whether it does so again. If you do drive in, the Arndale’s car park (run by NCP, with about 1,450 spaces) is the closest to Exchange Square, and Q-Park has several city-centre car parks, including Deansgate North. Booking online in advance is usually much cheaper than paying on the day.
Accessibility
The council publishes an accessibility guide and access map each year before the markets open; the 2026 version was not out when we checked. In 2025 it included:
- Accessible toilets at the main sites, including Albert Square and Cathedral Gardens.
- Changing Places toilets, including one on Mount Street beside Albert Square, with a hoist and an adult changing bench – bring your own sling.
- Priority seating at the bigger sites.
- The City Centre Loo Scheme, which lets you use the toilets in participating shops, cafés and venues.
- Quiet spaces at Manchester Cathedral, St Ann’s Church and the National Football Museum café.
Stalls are at street level or ramped, but the crowds are the real obstacle – a weekday morning is far easier with a wheelchair or a buggy than a Saturday afternoon. At Skate Manchester, carer tickets are free from the box office, and the Monday SEND sessions run from 3pm to 4pm.
Visiting with children
- Albert Square has the big wheel and the helter-skelter.
- Cathedral Gardens has the ice rink, from age three, with £5 skate aids and weekday parent-and-mini-skater sessions.
- Zippy Santa makes a good photo stop, once the council confirms where he is.
- For Father Christmas himself, the Trafford Centre runs a bookable grotto – see our Trafford Centre guide.
- Buggies are hard work at weekends. Go on a weekday morning, and plan your loo stops – there are no toilets at the rink.
Practical tips
- Dress for it. December in Manchester averages about 2–7°C and it often rains, so wear waterproof shoes and layers rather than one big coat.
- Carry a little cash for the smaller traders, even though most take cards.
- Dogs: there is no market-wide rule, but the sites are packed, full of dropped food and hot drinks, and no fun for a dog at busy times. The rink admits assistance dogs only.
- Bags: there may be security checks at busy times, and the crowds suit pickpockets, so keep valuables zipped away.
- Warming up: Sinclair’s Oyster Bar on Shambles Square is right beside Exchange Square; Mr Thomas’s Chop House on Cross Street is about five minutes’ walk away; and the Corn Exchange has restaurants under one roof.
- A free indoor break: the John Rylands Library on Deansgate is a short walk from Albert Square – see our John Rylands Library guide.
How Manchester compares with other UK Christmas markets
- Manchester – free, more than 210 stalls spread across ten sites, and two of them open into January.
- Birmingham’s Frankfurt Christmas Market – more than 80 stalls from Victoria Square down New Street, billed as the largest authentic German Christmas market outside Germany and Austria. It usually runs from early November to Christmas Eve. Choose it if you want one compact, German-style market.
- Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, London – 19 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, closed Christmas Day. Every visitor needs an entry ticket, from £1 off-peak, and it is as much a theme park as a market.
For sheer scale, free entry and a season that runs into January, Manchester is hard to beat. For atmosphere in one place, Birmingham’s is more concentrated.
FAQ – Manchester Christmas Markets 2026
When do the Manchester Christmas Markets open in 2026?
Friday 6 November 2026.
When do the Manchester Christmas Markets finish?
Most sites close on Tuesday 22 December 2026. Albert Square and Cathedral Gardens stay open until Sunday 3 January 2027, apart from Christmas Day.
What are the opening hours?
The 2026 hours had not been published when we checked. In 2025 craft stalls opened 10am–8pm and food and drink stalls 11am–9pm, daily.
Where are the Manchester Christmas Markets?
At ten city-centre sites: Albert Square, Lincoln Square, King Street, St Ann’s Square, Exchange Street, New Cathedral Street, Exchange Square, the Corn Exchange, Cathedral Gardens and Market Street.
Is there a Christmas market in Piccadilly Gardens in 2026?
No. Piccadilly Gardens hosted a site in 2025, but it is not one of the ten 2026 locations. The new site is Lincoln Square, off Brazennose Street.
How many stalls are there?
More than 210 in 2026, down from a record 274 in 2025.
Is it free to visit?
Yes. Every site is free to walk round; you only pay for what you buy.
How much is the mug deposit?
It was £3.50 in 2025, refunded when you hand the mug back. The 2026 design and deposit had not been announced when we checked.
Is the big wheel back in Albert Square?
Yes. The 50-metre wheel returns for 2026, with a helter-skelter, stalls and a new pop-up pub.
How much does Skate Manchester cost?
For 2026/27, adults and teens pay £15–£21, children 12 and under £13.75–£15.50 and families £44–£59, with skate hire included and a booking fee on top. Carers go free.
What is the quietest time to visit?
A weekday morning or early afternoon in November. Friday and Saturday evenings and December weekends are the busiest.
Which tram stop is best for the Christmas Markets?
St Peter’s Square for Albert Square and Lincoln Square, Market Street for Market Street and St Ann’s Square, Exchange Square for Exchange Square and the Corn Exchange, and Victoria for Cathedral Gardens.
Can I bring my dog?
There is no market-wide ban, but the sites are crowded and noisy, so leave dogs at home at busy times. The ice rink admits assistance dogs only.
When is the Manchester Christmas Parade in 2026?
Sunday 6 December 2026. The council had not released the route or times when we checked.
Planning the Rest of Your Trip
- Our Christmas in Manchester guide covers the light trails, the pantos, afternoon teas and what is open on Christmas Day.
- Here on opening weekend? Manchester’s free council fireworks are the next night, Saturday 7 November – see our Manchester Bonfire Night guide.
- Christmas shopping: our Manchester Arndale guide, next to Exchange Square, and our Trafford Centre guide.
- Markets the rest of the year: our wider markets guide.
- Staying for New Year: our Manchester New Year’s Eve guide.
- Getting about: our Metrolink guide.
- Everything else on this season: our Manchester events and festivals guide.