Day 4 – 6 of my 9-day European Christmas Market Adventure
Riga – Vilnius – Warsaw
Want to get away to some Christmas Markets in Europe but not sure which to choose? Well here’s one to add to your list!
In the first week of December, we decided to head over to 3 different European cities, in 3 different countries, checking out their Christmas Markets. Instead of hiring a car and driving to each country, as we normally would do, we decided to fly. It actually worked out cheaper to fly to each country, than to hire a car, and pay the cross-border fees, and single-way drop-off fees.
Our second stop on our 9-day European Christmas Market Adventure was Vilnius.
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania. The city is known for its baroque architecture and its medieval Old Town. It is also Lithuania’s largest city, with a population of 570,806 as of 2019. The Old Town is beautiful to walk around and easily accessible on foot.
Why Did We Choose Vilnius For The Christmas Markets?
There were 3 main reasons for choosing Vilnius for the Christmas Markets this year:
- cheaper to visit compared to other European cities
- a city we have not visited before
- supposedly quieter than some of the other European Christmas Markets
The Christmas Markets
If you are planning on visiting Vilnius for the Christmas Markets, do not expect large Christmas Markets or lots of Christmas Markets. On our visit, they had 2 Christmas Markets: one located in Cathedral Square and the other located outside the Town Hall. It will take you around 10 – 15 minutes to walk from one to the other.
The biggest thing which stood out for us, with this Christmas Market, compared to the others we visited, was their Christmas Tree. The Christmas Tree was beautiful! It is certainly the best Christmas Tree I have ever seen! To get a good photo of the Christmas Tree from above, get yourself a ticket up the Bell Tower and try to take a photo through the mess wire covering the windows. A ticket will cost you €5 each. This is how I managed to take this photo below:
The Christmas Market in Cathedral Square was good. There was a wide variety of stalls; from locally handcrafted gifts to food, to drinks. I enjoyed a Chimney Cake covered in cinnamon and a cup of Cranberry Jelly Juice. We also bought a lovely souvenir, to bring back home with us. One big tip for you, make sure to have some cash on you! Some stalls take cards, but not all of them. One of the stalls we bought our souvenir from, we needed cash.
The Christmas Market at the City Hall was small but different. The stalls were located inside glass snow globes, selling mulled wine, biscuits, and handcrafted gifts.
If you are visiting with a family, you can always take a ride on their Christmas train. The train runs from Cathedral Square to the City Hall, frequently throughout the day.
Getting To and From The Airport
Getting to and from the airport is easy. The cheapest option is to take the train, which runs every 40 minutes, takes 8 minutes, and costs just 70 cents each. However, we decided to take an Uber from the airport to our hotel, which was located in Old Town. It cost us around €7.
To watch our full vlog of Vilnius Christmas Markets, please head over to our YouTube page: https://youtu.be/_o7x5hmu_-8?si=2Mxsy4s9BnV3wxAL
Want more Christmas Market inspiration? Check out some of my other blogs:
A Guide to Riga’s Christmas Markets
A Guide To Warsaw’s Christmas Markets
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