Christmas in Edinburgh

German market comes to Edinburgh's winter festival

Already one of the highlights of Christmas in Edinburgh, the traditional German market is not just an exhilarating shopping experience that appeals to touch and taste but also to the sight. Here's what to expect from the German market.

The German Christmas market is officially opened by the Lord Provost of Edinburgh on Thursday, November 24th at 5pm. The event also sees the launch of other Christmas attractions in Edinburgh, including the Ferris Wheel and Winter Wonderland, as well as all its holiday decorations being switched on.

The German Christmas market in Edinburgh is usually found in East Princes Street Gardens by the Scott Monument. In 2005, however, the Christmas market will change its location for the first time, moving to the Mound precinct, outside the National Gallery of Scotland.

When night falls on Edinburgh and everything is festively lit, the entire panorama -- Winter Wonderland down in the Gardens and the Christmas Market on the Mound -- is simply magical.

The German Christmas market in Edinburgh consists of 25 little wooden cabins, like smurfs homes, each brightly illuminated with all of the usual seasonal trimmings. The aim of the market is not to rival the original ones in Germany but to bring an authentic continental experience that locals and tourists to Edinburgh can all enjoy.

Shopping at the German Christmas market in Edinburgh

The variety of products and gifts available at the market, whether traditional or unusual, is quite staggering. You can find virtually anything from hand-blown baubles, colourful wooden toys, Christmas decorations, carved bottle stoppers to elegant glass decorations, handmade candles, incense burners and candle pots.

In the food department, the German market features a wide range of traditional festive foods and drinks. The most famous of all is the mulled wine, so popular with tourists on a Christmas break or locals enjoying a night out that every year extra ceramic mugs in which the Gluhwein is traditionally served had to be brought in.

Food specialties at the Christmas market include all kinds of sausages and liver pate, potato dumplings, puddings, cakes, sweets and traditional sweet Christmas bread. The colours and glittering wrappings of the products laid out on the stalls give a true visual feast. Stall vendors are all Germans, adding to the authenticity of the market.

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