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Winchester Christmas Market 2023 – What you need to know

I have long been intending to visit Winchester Christmas Market but for some reason never quite made it. However this weekend we found ourselves on the way back from the Longleat Festival of Lights and decided to stop by Winchester Xmas market for the first time. Before visiting I could not find that much information so I thought I would share here some of our top tips for visiting the Winchester Market this Christmas. So that you are able to make the best of your visit to the Winchester Cathedral’s Christmas Market.

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Winchester Christmas Market

Winchester Xmas market is thought to be one of the best Christmas markets in the South of England. Based in the heart of the city it is sometimes referred to as the Winchester Cathedral Christmas Market. Full of pretty wooden chalets in a festive setting it is ideal for those that are in search of an authentic Christmas experience. Reminiscent of traditional German Christmas markets, with its Christmas lights and festive foods it makes a wonderful day trip. In years gone by there has also been an ice rink. Although for the last two years there has not been one in the historical grounds.

What date is Winchester Christmas Market 2023?

Winchester Cathedral Christmas Market 18th November – 22nd December. It is open between the hours of 10 am and 4 pm every day during this time. Located in the shadow of Winchester Cathedral courtyard it is not difficult to find since it is quite a large building! Simply head towards the Cathedral. The opening night on Friday 18th November.

As you walk around the front of the cathedral, you see a big red sign that says Christmas market this way. You walk down along the side of the Cathedral, known as curle’s passage in a one-way traffic. Yes, it really does get this business busy. This will take you into the Christmas market area

Do I need a ticket for Winchester Christmas Market?

You do not need a ticket to visit the Winchester Christmas market and you do not need to pay it is free. However, I would try and regulate the time that you visit on the basis that it gets extremely busy.

When is the best time to visit Winchester Market this Christmas?

Weekends are particularly popular. So if you do need to visit on the weekend, it would make sense to visit either early in the morning when it opens or towards the end of the day about an hour or so before it shuts. Failing that weekdays are much less busy and the earlier in December you go the better.

Where can I park for Winchester Xmas Market?

Anything you read about parking prior to arriving at Winchester will push you towards one of the three park-and-ride that operate outside of the city centre. However, it was our intention not to stay very long. We decided that a park and ride would be a bit of a faff for us. I did expect to be busy afterall, it’s a Sunday just before Christmas. But even early on it was busier than I was expecting.

There are lots of small council car parks located around Winchester. On Sunday these are available for public use. However, when we arrived at 10 am. We tried a couple of different ones and they’re already full. We did, however, find a place in the Brooks car park below the shopping centre. When we arrived at 10 am there were quite a lot of spaces on the lower ground floor. However, by the time we left at about 1 pm, it was completely full with people queueing for our space as we left.

You can use the postcode SO23 8QY to reach this car park which is in the one-way system. So you need to keep an eye out for it as you want to be in the left-hand filter lane to be able to access the underground car park.

Food & Drink at Winchester Christmas market

In the centre of the Christmas market, you will find that there is a hard standing which has been designed like a food court. There are lots of picnic tables in the middle of the square where you can sit. Around the outside, there are various different food outlets. Including the more traditional things such as German bratwurst sausages and hog roast. You can also pick up sweet treats such as churros and boozy coffee

As you walk around the Christmas market will also come across market stalls that look like they are out of the 1920s. With metal frames containing pots of boiling mulled wine. As well as other seasonal treats, roasting chestnuts and toasting marshmallows. They are extremely pretty and really unusual I have never seen anything like them before.

If Winchester cathedral’s Christmas market gets too busy. Then you can pick up mince pies from the self service cafe within the cathedral visitor centre.

How long do you need at the Winchester Christmas market?

We spent around two hours at the Winchester Christmas market. Of course, the time you need would be dependent on how busy it is. We visited on the first Sunday in December. Arriving for when it opened at 10 o’clock. It’s not a massive market. In fact, it was a bit smaller than I was anticipating.

Winchester itself as a city is beautiful. If you are planning on visiting you may want to allow extra time to explore the local area. Or even going to the cathedral. Entrance to the medieval building does cost with adult tickets £10 while children’s tickets are free when brought with accompanying adults.

What do you expect to see at the Winchester Christmas market?

There is a wide range of different stalls with high quality exhibitors. The little wooden huts are strung with festive lighting and Christmas decorations. I challenge you not to feel Christmassy after visiting this market with its bustling atmosphere.

Market stalls are sort of grouped together, as you enter the unique location you will see that the traffic naturally goes around to the left. The first chalets you will come across are selling Christmas decorations toes. I highly recommend visiting the glass ornament one which has the most stunning handmade Christmas decorations. With all of her ornaments being hand blown.

As you walk around there’s is also a very tasty cheese stall called The Wedge when we visited they were offering a reasonable deal on multiple chases. Perfect for your Christmas table. They also offer samples without restriction encouraging people to buy. It is a popular store so be prepared to wait.

As you want around you will see that off to the right-hand side there is the makers market. The British crafts village is perfect for Christmas shopping and it is where you find more of the traditional craft-based items for sale in new. Such as glass ornaments, coconut bowls, absolutely delicious shortbread and various other different types of handicrafts. All make wonderful Christmas gifts.

Like many other Christmas markets, there are also some of your more traditional stalls selling garden tools and different types of alcohol to sample. Our purchases included a lovely wooden Christmas gift with the tree of life on it and some hanging birdfeeders. So as you can tell there really is a wide range of things on offer. Make sure you do not miss the nativity scene in the top right-hand corner of the market.

Depending on when you visit there could also be the normal market which was running on Sunday morning and located on the other side of the cathedral in the High Street. With various different bric-a-brac stalls, antiques and fresh bread it is also worth a wander.

Top tips for visiting Winchester Xmas market

Arrive early or late and avoid weekends where possible.
You could combine a visit with the Christmas services and carol concerts being held in the Cathedral.
Use park-and-ride facilities, if travelling at any other time, as local car parks will most likely be full. And there is a painful one-way system for those that are not local
There are plenty of food options available and seating where you can sit listening to the sound of Christmas carols. Which will get busy around lunchtime but was quite quiet when we visited in the morning.
The market seems to have a one-way system which goes around to the right as it gets busier. Going against foot traffic will make life more difficult than it needs to be.
It does get very busy at peak times and you need to keep an eye on your children like a hawk.
If you are looking to stay locally we stayed in a Premier Inn in Andover. Where a double room will cost you around £60. Alternatively, you could look for a Winchester Hotel in the centre of the city and use public transport to get to this year’s Christmas market.
There are no toilet facilities instead you will need to use those in the Winchester Cathedral cafe.

Have you visited a Christmas market this festive season? Perhaps you have been to Winchester or other European destinations.