Belfast Christmas Market

Belfast runs what it calls a Continental Christmas Market, and the name is earned: over 100 exhibitors from around 28 countries take stalls in the grounds of City Hall, with food traders representing something like 32 nationalities. That is a genuinely different proposition from the German-themed markets on the British mainland, and it is the reason Belfast’s is worth a trip in its own right rather than as an add-on.

What to expect

The food is the main event. Alongside the expected bratwurst and Dutch pancakes you will find Spanish paella, French tartiflette, Indian street food, Argentinian steak, and a bar in a marquee that gets extremely lively after dark. The gift stalls run to Polish pottery, French soaps, Italian leather and a good deal of Irish craft.

The setting does a lot of work. The market fills the lawns in front of the Portland stone dome of City Hall, lit up behind the stalls, and the whole thing is enclosed by the railings — which makes it feel like an event you have entered rather than a row of huts on a pavement.

Getting there

Donegall Square is the dead centre of Belfast and effectively every city bus passes it. Great Victoria Street and Lanyon Place stations are both around ten minutes’ walk. If you are coming from Dublin, the Enterprise service makes this a very straightforward day out.

When to go

Opening weekend and the last weekend before Christmas are the busiest. Thursday to Saturday it stays open until ten, which makes a post-work visit genuinely viable and is when the bar area is at its best. Sunday is short — noon to six — and catches people out.

Worth knowing

Entry is free and there is no booking. It closes on 22 December, so it is not a last-minute Christmas Eve option. The Cathedral Quarter and Victoria Square are both a few minutes away if you want to make a day of it.