The Magic of Christmas Markets Across Poland

I've had this trip in mind for a full three years since we lived in Bahrain. We are a family that loves Christmas, and it's my personal favorite holiday. While everyone knows and discusses the German Christmas markets, there are fantastic Christmas markets all across Europe.

So after doing lots of research on Christmas markets in Europe, Poland really attracted me. They seemed really similar to ones in Germany, but Poland tends to be much cheaper, less crowded, plus I have some Polish blood in me and their food seems right up our alley.

And let me tell you, Poland does not disappoint, we highly recommend.

We spent approximately 8 days in Poland, exploring 4 different cities and their Christmas markets. I'll discuss the markets we visited in chronological order and provide additional information about the cities.

Wroclaw

This is where our Poland journey began. We flew into Wroclaw after an overnight layover in Zurich, seeing their Christmas markets. (Following post on that coming)

If you could visit just one location in Poland for a Christmas market, I would definitely recommend Wroclaw. This market is incredibly large and features a stunning backdrop of the old town buildings.

Wroclaw is also very walkable. We stayed just a 10-minute walk from Old Town at a DoubleTree. By the way, their breakfast buffet in the morning was pretty amazing and very affordable, so I recommend it.

The bars surrounding the market, known for their essential and classic Glühwein, were each distinct and spacious, offering a wide selection of drinks. Regarding souvenir mugs, their boot-shaped mug is likely our favorite, and they introduce a new design each year.

Food and other stalls can be fairly repetetive around the market but still a very good vareity since its so large. Since it also is in a square pattern and even branches off onto side streets there are plenty of other places to eat or warm up at the market.

Stepping outside of the magic of Wroclaw's Christmas market, the rest of the city also has some great things to do. There are lots of great places to eat, and we even found a Georgian restaurant that for us was a must-visit. When I say Georgian, I don't mean the US state, I mean the Eastern European country which Liz and I visited in 2021 and absolutely loved.

A true standout, particularly for Landon, was visiting a miniature museum. Imagine numerous model trains and towns with interactive elements. It was incredibly impressive, and I suggest anyone with children should visit. There's even a whole room dedicated to a gingerbread train and town.

Poznan

This was an easy daytrip thats about a 90 minute day trip from Wroclaw so easy to add on to your trip and see more. Its also absolutely worth the trip.

Although the market is smaller due to the city's size, we discovered that smaller markets often have a more local atmosphere, offering a greater variety of drinks and food. The beverages here surpassed those in Wroclaw. There is still a large Ferris wheel that offers a fantastic view of the city, located just a block from the main large square. This square has a few additional stalls, but the main attraction, aside from the square itself, was the ice skating rink.

I read earlier that the main square has been under renovation for some years, but there wasn't any when we went, so I wonder if the entire market will be inside the square, which would be really cool.

I will also add that the trains in Poland were actually really great. I believe I used the KOLEO app to book train tickets. The business class tickets aren't much more expensive, and they get you in one of those individual 3x3 cabins that have a door that shuts and the seats face each other. Of the 6 trains we took, the most we ever had was one person in there.

Krakow

I have mostly good things to say about Krakow as a whole, but I will say their market would rank 4th out of 4 for the markets we went to in Poland. The best thing going for the Krakow Christmas market is that the square it is in is beautiful, festive, and the whole of the old town was great. But those are external factors; if you would pick up either Poznan's or Katowice's and plop it in the square, it would be leaps and bounds better.

I actually think the old town in Krakow is one of my favorites in Europe because the entire thing is circled by a green space and walking path, which we would regularly use to walk around. There is also a large castle and some castle like walls so it really feels like a transition when you go there.

Regarding the Christmas market, as I mentioned, the square is its highlight, but the offerings aren't as impressive. A downside of the large Christmas markets is that they appear to be managed by the same entity, I assume. When you come across a wine booth, the menu and options are identical. The same goes for certain food booths; it's all a copy and paste. I believe this scale of operation reduces the quality significantly and limits your overall options.

The food here was still pretty good; there just wasn't much variety. The wine was actually kind of awful. Not many choices at all, and I think I only had 2 cups in the 4 days we spent there because halfway through the drink it did not sit well. There was a smaller mead stand we found in the very back that was great, though.

Oh, and no souvenir mugs! What gives? This is a trademark European Christmas market thing. That alone gave this market a sour taste.

We departed from the Krakow market feeling that they weren't putting in much effort and that it had the potential to be significantly better. In terms of size, it's not particularly large either, likely comparable to smaller city markets. However, the Krakow old town square is truly remarkable. The lack of effort made it the most disappointing aspect for me.

Krakow is definitely worth visiting, and we enjoyed our time there, though two days is likely sufficient. We had some excellent food, particularly at a place near the park perimeter of the old town called Pod Wawelem Kompania Kuflow. The food and setting were fantastic, and everything about this place was wonderful.

There is also a much smaller market in the Jewish quarter, which is only a 15-minute walk away. I do recommend walking all around the Jewish quarter and finding places to eat down there because there are some very good ones, like Wręga. It was also nice to walk along the river, and if you do, you will come upon a fire-breathing dragon which is backdropped by the castle in the old town.

Katowice

This has to be the biggest surprise and hidden gem Christmas market in Poland. And it's very close to the train station. We went here on a day trip from Krakow, nice and easy.

It's not very big at all, and it doesn't have that charming old town backdrop like the rest of the markets. But if this market were to be picked up and placed in the Krakow square, it would be one of the best.

The first big thing that sets itself apart from other markets is these interactive box displays with lots of different Christmas scenes. These were awesome and really kept Landon interested. Some of them played songs with the characters moving, others sent trains going.

Another outstanding aspect is the food and beverages. Arguably, this market offers the finest drinks among all, and they also provide a wide selection of souvenir mugs to choose from. Each mug features the city's name and the year, available in various shapes, which is fantastic.

The food was excellent as well. While there were the usual sausage and soup stands, this place featured a stand with potato pancakes and various stew toppings, which was fantastic.

If you're visiting Krakow, you must take a trip to Katowice to savor their food, drinks, and animatronics.

Poland at a glance

We really enjoyed ourselves in Poland. It's extremely affordable, so once you get there, you are not breaking the bank. The food is also exceptional; we love the hearty style food. Pierogies, goulash, and soups, oh my! I think its in our top 3 countries for food and we would absolutely go back.

Don't worry about the language. In the 8 days we were there, we literally only encountered one person that didn't speak English.

Key Points

• Poland currency is the Polish złoty and to convert to USD jsut divide by 4.

  • 80% of where we went took credit cards, even in the markets. Only when getting a mug in Wroclaw and Poznan did they need a cash deposit, and you just keep it if you want, or you turn it back in to get your deposit back.

• Pack layers obviously, but some where you can double up on pants and waterproof jackets. It hovered around freezing while there but some days felt colder.

• Poland is very safe so walk around and explore. Search for restaurant's that look appealing and mark them on your google map ahead of time.

• Use the KOLEO app to book train tickets, and I recommend paying for the business seats because you are in your own little cabin.

• Learn how to say please and thank you. It was very noticeable when I would say thank you in Polish how much their face and posture perked up.

  • Use your translator app and listen to how it's said. Polish isn't always phonetically friendly.

• December 6th in Poland is their sort of kickoff party to Christmas. They usually have a Santa go around and give presents to kids. But because of this, you may notice the big Christmas trees aren't lit; that is because they are lit on the 6th as part of the festivities. Both Wroclaw and Krakow's trees were not lit until the 6th.