The Manchester Christmas Markets will be back in town for their 2024 edition before we know it, filling the streets with people and festive cheer.
From the stalls selling traditional German market-style food like bratwurst and gluhwein, to local operators whipping up festive specials, the food is a big part of the appeal.
There are also shops selling all sorts of gifts and handmade items right across the city centre.
Christmas in Manchester is the most magical time of the year, and the markets are one of the city’s biggest annual attractions.
Tens of thousands of people will head into the city centre for the celebrations, and whether it’s your first time or your 26th we’ve rounded up your essential guide to the Manchester Christmas Markets.
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What dates are the Manchester Christmas Markets 2024?
Friday 8 November until Sunday 22 December.
Food and drink stalls at Cathedral Gardens will stay open until 31 December.
Due to the ways that the dates fall this year, the Manchester Christmas Markets run actually includes seven weekends in 2024 instead of the usual six.
Map of the 2024 Manchester Christmas Markets
Map of the 2024 Manchester Christmas Markets. Credit: Supplied
All the locations of the Manchester Christmas Markets in 2024
The Winter Gardens at Piccadilly Gardens
The central hub of the Manchester Christmas Markets once again in 2024, the Winter Gardens will be a hive of festive activity.
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There’ll be traditional food like pancakes, bratwursts, churros, and more, with bars serving continental and foreign ales, and the beloved all-year-round Piccadilly Street Food Market will also stay open until 9pm each night.
Two new twinkling marquees will host live entertainment and music every day.
Market Street
Manchester’s bustling main shopping street will be filled with 45 different stalls selling bespoke crafts, gifts and produce, like crowd favourites of freshly baked coconut macaroons and cheese truckles.
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Cathedral Gardens
In what might be the prettiest corner of the Manchester Christmas Markets 2024, the Skate Manchester outdoor ice rink will be back this year.
Beside that there’ll be free live entertainment every Thursday to Sunday until New Year’s Eve, authentic crepes, gourmet hotdogs, hot chocolate, and much more.
St Ann’s Square and Exchange Street
The original site of Manchester Christmas Markets, here you can cosy up in an undercover bar with a boozy beverage, and enjoy a huge selection of authentic German goods from some of the markets’ longest-standing traders.
Expect German beers and cherry glühwein, bratwurst, salt and pepper chicken from Northern Quarter favourite Yard and Coop, or hot chocolate cones poured right from the chocolate taps.
New Cathedral Street
The Witch House at New Cathedral Street at the Manchester Christmas Markets 2024. Credit: The Manc Group
New Cathedral Street is the go-to spot for high end gifts and foodie favourites, like handmade candles, ceramics, local spirits, and thoughtful keepsakes.
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It’s also home to the legendary The Witch House (just look for the giant sausage statue).
Exchange Square
The Mill Exchange will be back serving up a whole menu of Mancunian mulled wine, plus this spot is home to the legendary Yorkshire pudding wraps from Porky Pig.
King Street
Down on King Street you’ll find authentic Italian deli, Ballaro, plus festive twists on the beloved Spanish cooking from El Gato Negro.
The Corn Exchange
Here at The Corn Exchange you can expect handmade pies, Nepalese woollen jumpers, handmade jewellery, Christmas decorations made from recycled wood, plus photo frames, artisan chocolates and much more.
Opening and closing times for Manchester Christmas Markets 2024
The Manchester Christmas Markets will be back for 2024. Credit: The Manc GroupThe Manchester Christmas Markets will be back for 2024. Credit: The Manc Group
Generally across the markets, craft and gift stalls will trade from 10am to 8pm, while food and drink stalls will serve from 11am to 9pm daily.
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On the final day, 22 December, the markets close at 6pm, except for the food and drink stalls at Cathedral Gardens, which will remain open until 31 December.
Piccadilly Gardens – 10am to 9pm (craft stalls until 8pm)
Market Street – 10am to 8pm Monday to Saturday; 10am to 6pm Sundays
Cathedral Gardens – 10am to 9pm daily
St Ann’s Square and Exchange Street – 10am to 9pm daily (craft stalls until 8pm)
New Cathedral Street – 10am to 9pm daily (craft stalls until 8pm)
Exchange Square – 10am to 9pm daily (craft stalls until 8pm)
King Street – 10am to 9pm (craft stalls until 8pm)
The Corn Exchange – 10am to 9pm (craft stalls until 8pm)
How much is food and drink?
Until the Manchester Christmas Markets officially open, we don’t know how much food and drink will cost for 2024.
But prices have been steadily climbing every single year, with mulled wine up to £5.50 last year (from £5 the year before), and Yorkshire pudding wraps hopping up £2 to a tenner each.
Don’t be surprised to be facing £6 mulled wines in 2024, basically…
Manchester Christmas Market 2024 mug design
Another tradition of the Manchester Christmas Markets are the special yearly mug designs.
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Each year the council debuts new mugs, with previous designs like festive characters and patterns. This year is no different, with cartoon figures depicting Mr and Mrs Claus, plus festive elves.
These are available to use for your wines and hot chocolates across the markets for a £3.50 deposit, or you can take it home with you as a souvenir.
Travel advice and how to get to the Manchester Christmas Markets
The city centre gets busy during November and December, so people are urged to use public transport wherever possible to travel in and out of the city centre for the Manchester Christmas Markets.
There are plenty of other events running alongside the festivities, from huge football matches to gigs at the AO Arena to Black Friday sales.
Manchester’s iconic Bridgewater Hall to host FIVE Christmas events this year
Daisy Jackson
The Bridgewater Hall, one of Manchester’s finest music venues and concert halls, has announced a busy programme of Christmas events this year.
The beloved landmark has a schedule that includes something for all ages, from family-friendly shows and carol singing to epic orchestral evenings.
Over the course of the festive season, the Bridgewater Hall will host the music of the world’s greatest composers, travel back in time with nostalgic swing nights, and welcome in fans of all ages to get into the festive spirit.
This year’s schedule includes appearances from Sir Karl Jenkins, Horrible Histories, The Glenn Miller Orchestra, and loads more.
Have a read below for the five big Christmas events at Bridgewater Hall this year.
Christmas with Sir Karl Jenkins
Christmas with Sir Karl Jenkins
The Bridgewater Hall will welcome a musical icon this Christmas, with a very special evening with Sir Karl Jenkins.
He’ll be conducting a spell-binding night of carols and festive classics, brought to life by the Manchester Concert Orchestra and presented by John Suchet.
Expect choirs, a full orchestra and a timeless evening of live music to get you into the Christmas spirit.
There’ll be music from Sir Karl’s hit festive albums Joy To The World and Stella Natalis, including Silent Night, Dulci Jubilo, Healing Light and plenty more.
Can you think of a more magical way to ring in Christmas than with traditional carol singing on Christmas Eve? Because we can’t.
The ultimate night of carolling will hit the Bridgewater Hall this winter, led by the inimitable Jonathan Cohen and featuring West End star Louise Dearman.
Belt your heart out to the likes of The Twelve Days of Chrismtas, Winter Wonderland, Frosty The Snowman, and plenty more beloved carols.
The Music of Zimmer vs Williams returns to Bridgewater Hall this Christmas
Composers don’t get much more iconic than Hans Zimmer and John Williams, who between them have crafted the most legendary movie music soundtracks of all time.
The 70-piece Manchester Concert Orchestra will be performing a selection of these in an almighty concert, where you’ll hear live renditions of soundtracks including Star Wars, Interstellar, Harry Potter, The Holiday, Pirates of the Caribbean, E.T., and loads more.
This night will be an epic head-to-head battle between two of the film industry’s composing greats.
The legendary Horrible Histories team will bring Horrible Christmas to the Bridgewater Hall in December, taking audiences on a festive romp through British history.
From Victorian villains to medieval monks, partying Puritans to terrible Tudors, and even a visit from St Nicholas himself.
The show will follow a Christmas that’s under threat from a jolly man in red (clue – it’s Santa), and one brave child’s mission to save the day.
It’ll be a night packed with family-friendly laughs, villains, and seasonal cheer.
Wrapping up the seasonal programme at the Bridgewater Hall is The Glen Miller Orchestra, stepping back in time to relive the music that defined an era.
The UK’s most celebrated big band will perform war-time chart-toppers from the 1940s, harking Manchester back to the golden age of swing.
Special guest Ray McVay will join the orchestra on stage, adding to the concert’s vintage charm.
And for the second half of the show, the band will don the iconic US Army Air Force uniforms of the Second World War for a truly immersive experience.
Manchester’s magical Christmas Parade is back to take over city centre again for 2025
Emily Sergeant
Manchester’s magical Christmas Parade is returning for 2025, and it’s set to be one of the most heartwarming events of the festive season.
Returning this December and now in its fourth year, the annual parade has been a favourite with Mancs since first taking place in the city in December 2022 – and this year, it’s back once again to delight children, families, and anyone young at heart when it makes its way through the city centre‘s main shopping streets.
Organisers are not just spreading the festive cheer this year, they’re also giving community groups across Greater Manchester a chance to join in and be part of the Christmas magic.
That’s right – you can be a part of the parade in 2025.
A call has gone out to community groups of all kinds to come and be part of the parade and play their part in helping fill the event with Mancunian spirit.
Manchester City Council is hoping to make what is already the UK’s best Christmas Parade even more magical this year.
Manchester Christmas Parade will be making its way through the city centre this festive season / Credit: Manchester City Council
You can expect 2025’s parade day on Sunday 7 December to be filled with music and laughter, as well as the return of Manchester’s very-own Elf Express, complete with VIP passenger Santa hitching a ride on his way to the North Pole, together with his trusty team of elves.
Not only that, but you can also expect also to see Nutcracker-inspired toy soldiers sweeping their way through the parade on segways whilst happy to stop and pose for saluting selfies, a roaming Christmas tree, a pair of gentle giant-sized reindeer, a stunning arctic fox, and Jack Frost himself.
Brand-new for this year will be the fantastic Festive Fantasy Candyland Castle, which stands over three-meters tall and is truly the stuff of fairytales.
Our iconic Manchester Christmas Parade returns. 🎄✨☃️
On Sunday 7 December, enjoy a free day out in the city centre as our streets are filled with festive characters, spectacular performances and magical sights.
And of course it wouldn’t be the Manchester Christmas Parade without the Snow Queen, right? Everyone’s favourite enchanting visitor will mesmerise crowds as she sits in her giant snow globe sliding her way through the city streets.
Live bands and orchestras will be playing classic Christmas tunes, and don’t forget to watch out for plenty of pop-up festive fun around the city on the day.
“There’s nowhere that does Christmas quite like Manchester,” commented Cllr Pat Karney.
“Seeing the joy and wonder on the faces of everyone as they watch the Parade would melt even the hardest of hearts, and this year, we’re going all out to put on an unmissable show that makes memories for children and families that last a lifetime.”
Organisers are encouraging local community groups to apply to join in / Credit: Manchester City Council
This year’s Christmas Parade will follow a route that starts and ends at Manchester Cathedral, taking in many of the city centre’s main shopping streets like Deansgate, Cross Street, Market Street, and more along the way.
Exact timings of the parade will be confirmed nearer the parade date, so keep your eyes peeled.
Community groups interested in taking part are asked to make contact with parade organisers here, with the closing date for expressions of interest being Monday 27 October.
You can find more information about Christmas in Manchester here.
Daisy Jackson -
7th October 2024 
