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 Heaton Park to host dazzling new immersive light trail this winter
Emily Sergeant
Heaton Park will be transformed into a glowing world of wonder as one of the UK’s most celebrated festive light trails makes its Manchester debut.
Once the sun goes down this winter, visitors will be able step into an immersive world of light and sound as Northern Lights – the acclaimed light trail from the team behind established music festivals Kendal Calling and Bluedot- will be descending on our city’s largest park, and bringing a breathtaking festive experience for all ages along with it.
Already a hit in other major northern cities such as Leeds and Newcastle, and in the Welsh capital Cardiff, Northern Lights has captured national attention with its cinematic visuals, choreographed soundscapes, and festive atmosphere.
The mile-long route will feature up to 12 large-scale installations, each synchronised to bespoke soundtracks creating a 90-minute experience like no other.
Winding through Heaton Park’s iconic grounds, visitors will encounter glowing tunnels, enchanted glades, and a stunning illuminated lake scene, all designed to spark wonder as the magical festive season arrives.
“We’re putting together an experience that is completely new and unlike anything seen on the park before,” explained Roxy Robinson, who is the Creative Director at From the Fields, ahead of the trail arriving this November.
“Our goal is to create a magical evening out that feels joyful, atmospheric, and a little bit extraordinary, and we want people to step into a different world for 90 minutes and leave with huge smiles on their faces.”
Manchester will be hosting a dazzling new immersive light trail this winter / Credit: Supplied
Alongside the trail, there’ll also be a ‘Christmas Village’ serving up mulled wine, hot chocolate, toasted marshmallows, and street food from Manchester’s finest independent traders, alongside vintage fairground rides, and open fire pits to complete the winter vibes.
Northern Lights is not only one of the UK’s most successful festive light events, but it’s also one of the most accessible, as the Manchester trail will be fully accessible for wheelchair users and prams once it arrives this winter, following hard paths, ramps, and matted areas, with no steps in sight.
On top of this, there’ll also be dedicated quiet sessions for neurodivergent visitors, and the chance to get wristbands allowing queue-jumping for those with additional needs.
Heaton Park will be transformed into a glowing world of wonder once the sun sets / Credit: Supplied
Northern Lights will arrive at Heaton Park later this year from 20 November – 31 December 2025, with timed entry slots every 15 minutes from 4:15pm up until 8:15pm (times may vary during off-peak days), and tickets going on sale from 3 June – with prices starting at £15 for adults, £5 for children aged three and up, and under threes going free.
‘Early bird’ registration is now open though, meaning you can get 20% off tickets for a limited time only, and even be in with a chance of winning a family pass and £50 spending voucher.
Christmas WILL return to Albert Square this year, Manchester City Council confirms
Daisy Jackson
Manchester’s Christmas activities will finally make a return to Albert Square for the first time since 2019, the council has confirmed.
The beautiful square in the heart of the city has been largely closed off for the last few years while the Town Hall is carefully restored, in a project known as Our Town Hall.
Before that it was the beating heart of the city every winter, filled with wooden huts for the Manchester Christmas Markets and overlooked by the giant light-up Santa.
Now, Manchester City Council has confirmed that ‘most of’ Albert Square will be made available this year to support this year’s Christmas programme.
There’s been no mention of the city’s biggest festive event, the Manchester Christmas Markets, but rather plenty of hints of ‘Christmas events’.
The latest report on the Our Town Hall project says that works on the the transformed and enlarged square will be ‘resequenced and accelerated’ so the Albert Square can be ready for a ‘welcome winter return’.
More details of the festive attraction will be shared later in the year.
The skilled contractors working on the Town Hall are now 80% of the way through the ‘construction’ phase, with completion currently pencilled in for August 2026.
Albert Square in Manchester will host Christmas events again in 2025. Credit: The Manc Group
When it reopens, it will include a new free visitor attraction which will open up the Town Hall’s history to the public.
Deputy Council Leader Councillor Garry Bridges said: “We know Mancunians and visitors alike are looking forward to having their town hall and their civic square back and better than ever and it’s great that we can now look ahead to that.
“We are developing a civic square to rival the best in Europe and it will be exciting to see it pilot Christmas events this year ahead of a full permanent opening next year.
“We look forward over the course of this year to announcing more details about Christmas in Albert Square and how people in Manchester can help us celebrate the reopening of their magnificent town hall.
“We’ve overcome so many challenges to get to this point and while the unique nature of the project is such that some inevitably still remain, we believe the end result will be something special.”
The Our Town Hall report will be considered by the Council’s Resources and Governance Scrutiny Committee when it meets on Thursday 6 March.
The project is continuing to operate within its revised £429 million budget, adjusted in October last year, but some residual risks remain. A further update report will be brought forward this summer once negotiations with the management contractor have concluded and the completion date is confirmed.