Bristol Christmas Market

Bristol is the early opener. While most UK markets wait for the second half of November, Bristol’s runs from early in the month, which makes the first fortnight one of the calmest big-city market experiences in the country.

What it is

Around 40 craft and gift stalls run the length of Broadmead, in the middle of the main shopping district. It is smaller than the flagship city markets and does not pretend otherwise; the pull is the food, drink and atmosphere rather than the volume of stalls.

The food and drink end is the strong part

Yorkshire pudding wraps, hog roast, German bratwurst, churros, hot fruit crumble, and a bar marquee with live music from local performers on Thursdays through Sundays. Bristol is a serious food city and the market reflects that better than the gift stalls do.

Getting there

Broadmead is a ten-minute walk from Bristol Temple Meads, or a short bus ride. Bristol is well connected to Bath (twelve minutes by train), Cardiff and London, which makes a two-market day with Bath entirely practical — though note Bath is much the better of the two for shopping.

When to go

Early November, when it has just opened and the Christmas shopping crowds have not arrived, is genuinely pleasant. By mid-December Broadmead is busy with shoppers irrespective of the market.

Worth knowing

It runs from 6 November to 23 December 2026 — one of the longest seasons of any UK market, and a useful option if you want something festive in early November when almost nothing else is open.

Combining it with Bath

Bristol and Bath are twelve minutes apart by train, and doing both in a day is one of the best market trips in England. The honest advice is to treat Bristol as the morning and Bath as the afternoon and evening: Bath is much the stronger of the two for shopping and by far the better setting after dark, while Bristol opens earlier in the season and is the better option for lunch. Note that Bath closes in mid-December while Bristol runs to 23 December, so late in the season Bristol may be the only one of the pair still standing.

Elsewhere in Bristol

Christmas Steps, the steep medieval lane of independent shops, is a ten-minute walk and is the antidote if the Broadmead crowds get much. St Nicholas Market — the covered Victorian market in the old city — runs year round and is a better source of unusual presents than the Christmas chalets.