Craiova Christmas Market Wins Top European Honour
Looking for the ultimate festive experience? Craiova in Romania has just been crowned the best Christmas market for 2026. European Best Destinations awarded the top spot after readers voted for their favourite destination, giving the Romanian city over 142,000 votes.
The massive festive world spans across five main city squares with enormous Christmas trees as centrepieces, live shows, and two million LED lights. Not only is it the best, but it is the largest too, covering an area of 280,000 square metres.
What to Expect at the Craiova Christmas Market
The sprawling winter wonderland has everything visitors expect from a top-tier seasonal attraction. There is a huge ice skating rink located in Mihai Viteazul Square where families can zip about on their skates.
Towering overhead is a 40-metre high Ferris Wheel, which stands as the largest of its kind in Romania. On clear days, anyone riding in a gondola can see across the city, and at night, passengers can view all the lights from high above the square.
The market also hosts Eastern Europe's highest-flying Santa sleigh, which soars above the crowd and is accompanied by festive music. Across the entire venue, visitors will find over 90 hand-painted chalets filled with goodies ranging from souvenirs and gifts to food and drink.
Traditional Food and Drink
Visitors can pick up traditional Romanian dishes like Oltenian tochitura, a rich pork stew, and sarmale, which consists of spiced meat wrapped in cabbage leaves. There are also classic festive treats on offer, such as waffles, gingerbread, and sweets.
Guests can warm up against the winter chill with a steaming cup of mulled wine, hot cider, or hot chocolate. For those travelling elsewhere in the region, another Romanian market in Sibiu is where British travellers will find the cheapest mulled wine at 82p a cup.
Daily Entertainment and Family Activities
There is plenty going on during the day to keep crowds entertained. The schedule features concerts every weekend, carols performed by the tree-stage, crafting workshops for children, and parades featuring characters from fairytales.
Affordable Travel and Living Costs
Visiting this top-ranked festive destination will not break the bank because Craiova is considered one of Europe's cheapest cities. According to Wise, local beers in Craiova can cost less than £1 and meals can be as little as £2.47.
As for how to get there, Wizz Air operates direct flights to Craiova from London Luton, with one-way tickets starting from £90 in December. Alternatively, travellers can book stopover flights which are cheaper. One route goes from London Stansted to Milan and onto Craiova using Ryanair and Wizz Air, with fares starting from £36.
Dates and Top Ten Rankings
This year, the Christmas market will be open between November 13 and January 3. European Best Destinations also released a full list of the top ten locations across the continent.
- Craiova, Romania
- Zurich Christmas Markets, Switzerland
- Riga, Latvia
- Wonderland Lisboa, Portugal
- Debrecen, Hungary
- Govone & Asti, Italy
- Valkenburg, The Netherlands
- Vienna, Austria
- Montbeliard, France
- Paris, France
