LOVE Manchester’s fabulous Christmas markets? Then you’re in for a treat in 2009 as they just got bigger.
Follow our Christmas trail round the seven sites of the market. Enjoy food, gifts, crafts, and festive fun from around Europe and beyond, admire some of the historical gems of the city centre…and let the full beauty of Manchester’s’ Christmas markets unfold before you.
Click here to download your a map of the Christmas Trail.
1) Albert Square
Wednesday, November 18 to Tuesday, December 22,
Open everyday from 10am to 9pm
The undisputed jewel in the Christmas market crown. Albert Square’s bustling atmosphere, festive cheer and top-notch produce and gifts attract thousands of people from across the region.
Not even the hardest-hearted Christmas humbug could fail to get excited upon entering the city centre winter wonderland, overlooked by the Gothic grandeur of Manchester town hall.
The Square is chock-full of a huge array of food and drink stalls, providing a multititude of choices to suit every taste.
Beer halls, hot cider and gluhwein houses and Christmas punch stalls provide the ideal winter warmer, competing for space alongside a choice of teas and coffees.
The market is spilling over with sweet treats, perfect when teamed with a steaming hot chocolate. Pancakes, hot strudel, waffles, mini-pancakes and French pastries are available alongside a mouth-watering selection of macaroons, Brittany biscuits, gingerbread, cakes chocolates, and sweets. Admittedly bad for the waistline, they are extremely hard to resist.
The famous German swing grill hands out hundreds of bratwurst sausages to ravenous shoppers every day, but markets-goers can also broaden their gastronomic horizons and tuck into German pizza, hog roast, burgers, potato pancakes, goulash, cheese baguettes…the list is quite literally endless.
Albert Square is also the perfect one-stop shop for Christmas gift ideas.
One-off hand crafted decorations include painted wooden reindeers. Dirk the world famous Dutch Flower Man will be around to sell trees and flowers galore, and Dinky Art Bonsai specialises in the oriental mini-trees. Clothes include scarves and leather bags, while hand-crafted unusual gifts from across Europe include puppets, a range of original wooden, steel, and pop record clocks, bird houses, and sheepskin rugs.
Jewellery, crystals, photography, books, and Russian gifts are also on offer, while food items for sale include cordials and jams. Kitchen goods, including garlic graters and bottle stoppers, will also be available.
2) St Ann’s Square
Wednesday, November 18 to Tuesday, December 22 2009
Open every day from 10am to 8pm
A bit further from the madding crowds is the German market of St Ann’s Square. The site of the original (and some would still argue, best) Christmas market, St Ann’s was the place where it all started.
In 1998, when a group of traders from Frankfurt were invited to host a small traditional German market of just 17 stalls, little did they know it would become what it is today.
Situated in the calm, tree-lined environs of the 18th century square, huddled between King Street, Deansgate and Exchange Square, St Ann’s will feature a variety of hot foods. Drink mulled wine the German way, in a specialist gluhwein chalet, and browse the numerous gift stores.
The square is overlooked by the beautiful St Ann's Church, a Grade 1 listed building dating from1712, as well as the famous Royal Exchange Theatre. Built in 1720, St Ann’s was created to mimic the fashionable squares of London and Bath.
3) Exchange Street
Wednesday, November 18 to Saturday, December 21, 2009
Open every day from 10am to 8pm
Moving from St Ann’s Square along towards Exchange Square, there are the plethora of craft and arts stalls cramming Exchange Street.
Lose yourself in the riches of the multitude of arts and crafts on offer, with silver and glass jewellery a specialism of this market.
Lined with stalls offering silver and glass jewellery and candles, as well as German favourites like original handmade clocks, there are also a range of hand-stitched crafts available, including textiles, canvases and cushions.
4) New Cathedral Street
Wednesday, November 18 to Monday, December 21, 2009
Open 10am to 7.30pm each day in November
Open 10am to 8pm each day in December
Open Sunday, December 21, 10am to 6pm
New Cathedral Street – one of Manchester’s newest thoroughfares – runs down to meet two of its oldest buildings. The street is the place to get your fairly traded goods, handcrafted, ethnic styles and one-off gift items.
Leather-bound books and boxes, glass and semi-precious stone, pearl and silver jewellery, african crafts, wooden and metal boxes, moroccan artefacts, money boxes, designer glass blown ornaments, and wooden puzzles are all piled high for eager shoppers. Natural beauty products, including seaweed body lotions, will also be on offer for those who want to pamper themselves.
And if you get tired after all that shopping, there is also a gluhwein house serving hot German food.
New Cathedral Street, now one of the city’s most exclusive shopping streets, was created after the 1996 IRA bombing of the city centre to link Anne’s Square with Exchange Square. Names like Lacoste, Louis Vuitton, Reiss, Henry Lloyd, Massimo, Cecil Gee and Burberry have opened shops there, and the streets finishes at the Shambles, the new site of Manchester’s last two remaining original timber-framed pubs, Sinclair’s Oyster Bar and the Old Wellington Inn.
5) Brazennose Street
Wednesday, November 18 to Monday, December 21, 2009
Open everyday from 10am to 7pm
Perhaps the least known part of the Christmas market, Brazennose Street is the location for the World Market, and provides an opportunity to relax and saunter through the craft stalls.
Beaded handbags, Indian jewellery and handmade leather books, knitware, jumpers, felt goods, homeware, and fairly traded and leather goods are all available for sale at this point in the trail.
A delightful range of consumables for taking home include French cheese, bread and sausages, fudge and sweets, Dutch biscuits and toffee waffles. There is also a roast chestnut stall.
Those looking for a quieter spot to indulge their taste buds should head for the Lincoln Square beer house, halfway down Brazennose Street. Several food chalets will be selling burgers, sausages, lamb and rice dishes, and pancakes.
The historic pedestrianised street, located in the heart of Manchester’s commercial district, is a curious little location with a fascinating history. Lincoln Square is so called after its statue of the famous American president, Abraham Lincoln. Considered too irreverent for London, the statue soon found a home in Manchester.
While on the street, you can also have a look at the beautiful St Mary’s Church - also know as the Hidden Gem - officially opened in 1794. England’s oldest post-reformation Catholic church, the quietly beautiful St Mary’s was built to serve one of the city’s poorest areas, and features some of Manchester's most stunning works of art.
6) Exchange Square and Triangle
Wednesday, November 18 to Monday, December 21, 2009
Open everyday from 10am to 8pm
For the first time this year, the Christmas Market is extending to Exchange Square and the Triangle. Spreading the festive fun to the northern section of the city centre, the new market provides even more choice for the discerning Christmas shopper.
The new venue will host a more traditional Olde English-style culinary blow-out, with a hog roast, mulled wine bar, and English bubbly, as well as a range of local beers.
There will be weekend stalls packed with festive treats located outside the Triangle, and more wooden houses in Exchange Square - perfect for shoppers browsing in the heart of Manchester’s shopping district.
Heavily redeveloped after the IRA bombing of the city centre in 1996, Exchange Square is now home to Selfridges, the world's largest Next store, and the Printworks entertainment complex.
The Square also contains the city’s 42-capsule Manchester wheel, permanently installed in May 2007, which provides stunning views of the city centre.
Coach Parking
Please contact Manchester Parking on 0161 234 4111 for the latest information and advice on the Markets. They may also be able to post out a leaflet for coach parking in the city.
Download a PDF of coach parking instructions by clicking here
Click here for more information on group visits to Manchester.
