It’s the time of the year when all the Christmas markets start to appear and there is such a great choice of places to go. This year, we chose to go to Maastricht Christmas Market and you can find out more below.

Maastricht Christmas Market

Maastricht Christmas Market

The Christmas markets originated in Germany, Austria, the South Tyrol and Alsace, but they have now spread throughout Europe and between the end of November and the end of December, you can shop for local arts and crafts, drink mulled wine, eat local specialities and soak up the festive atmosphere at one of many ‘Christkindlmarkts’.

Whilst Germany, Belgium and Austria are perhaps the most well-known Christmas markets, with markets such as Aachen, Berlin, Nuremberg, Brussels, Antwerp, Vienna and Salzburg, some of the lesser known markets, such as Maastricht in Holland are also well worth a visit.

Christmas Market

Maastricht is the capital of the Dutch province of Limburg and this small city becomes transformed at this time of year with Christmas markets and ice-skating all under the collective title of ‘Magical Maastricht’.

Christmas decor

This is a small but atmospheric Christmas market, which is convenient for visitors to explore on foot. You can combine a trip to the markets with visiting the old town, shopping, eating local specialities and skating on the temporary ice-rink that is put up in the Vrijthof square for the duration of the market. There are also some festive attractions unique to the city such as the ‘Festival of Lights’.

Visit the old town

Maastricht River View

The historic town centre is easy for visitors to explore on foot, and Maastricht also has many historic highlights, such as the ‘Basilica of Our Lady’ and the ‘Basilica of Saint Servatius’.

The ‘Basilica of Our Lady’ (which can be found in Onze-Lieve-Vrouweplein) is a renowned Roman catholic basilica dating back to the 11th century. There are plenty of outdoor cafés in the square where you can take a break and admire the lights from the 200 mistletoe-shaped lamps in the trees.

Basilica Saint Servatius

The ‘Basilica of St. Servatius’, which is located on the famous Vrijthof Square, is dedicated to Saint Servatius, an Armenian missionary who died in Maastricht in 384, and the saint’s relics are kept in a box, which is on display in the Treasury of Saint Servatius Church.

 Enjoy the Festival of light (until January 3rd)

During the festive period countless artists are given the opportunity to decorate the city with their own unique light projects and the ‘magical light route’ connects all the squares, streets and alleys in the historic old town.

Shopping in Maastricht

Christmas-in-Maastricht

Numerous artisan stalls make up the Christmas markets, but you can also find a range of shops in the ‘Jekerkwartier’ neighbourhood, and if the weather is disappointing there are a range of indoor shopping options in department stores or shopping centres.

One of the best known department stores is ‘De Bijenkorf (Achter het Vleeschhuis 26), which stocks many well-known fashion, furniture and perfume brands. For further information, have a look at their website

The Entre Deux Shopping centre is located between the ‘Vrijthof’ and ‘Markt’ and has a range of fashion, beauty, sport and toy shops, as well as a brasserie. You can find out more here

Finally, the ‘Mosae Forum’ lies between the ‘Markt’ and ‘Maasboulevard’ and this covered shopping centre houses various shops and also restaurants. Have a look at their site for further information.

Ice-skating and amusements

Maastricht-Christmas-MarketMaastricht-Christmas-Market

Besides a great many stalls there is also a Ferris wheel, a carousel and a temporary ice skating rink in the ‘Vrijthof’ square, so you can soak up the wonderful Christmas atmosphere while skating around.

Eat outdoors

Despite the time of year, it is still possible to eat outdoors and many of the restaurants’ terraces are heated.

Practical information

The Maastricht Christmas market takes place from November 28th to December 29th 2015. It is open Mondays through Wednesdays from 11am to 8pm, Thursdays through Saturdays from 10am to 10 pm and Sundays from midday to 6pm.

The ice skating rink is open daily from 10am to 10 pm except on 24th and 25th December, (when it is open from 10am to 6pm.)

For further information, look at this site and have a look below for places to stay.

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I hope you enjoyed this feature about the Maastricht Christmas Market, and have a look here for more of our travel guides.