As the year gradually draws to its festive close, Europe’s traditional Christmas markets reclaim streets and squares with a warmth that feels almost conspiratorial — a string of wooden huts, the faint smoke of chestnuts and the soft geometry of hand-made wares.
In London, trade in Covent Garden’s Apple Market takes on a festive guise from mid-November and the neighbourhood’s lights switch on in early November; it’s an easy walk from Karma Sanctum Soho and an intimate alternative to the bigger fairs.
In London, trade in Covent Garden’s Apple Market takes on a festive guise from mid-November and the neighbourhood’s lights switch on in early November; it’s an easy walk from Karma Sanctum Soho and an intimate alternative to the bigger fairs.
In the Cotswolds, village markets — think Moreton-in-Marsh’s late-November fair and Chipping Campden’s traditional market on 6 December — bring candles, local preserves and wood-turned toys to high streets a short drive from Karma Salford Hall.
Scotland’s festive pulse beats in and around Stirling with family markets and seasonal craft fairs at the Albert Halls and Stirling Castle late November; Karma Lake of Menteith makes a peaceful base for a day trip to the festivities.
Over in Bavaria, Munich’s Marienplatz Christkindlmarkt (24 Nov–24 Dec) is pure tradition: carved toys, hand-painted baubles and steaming Glühwein beneath the Rathaus, reachable from Karma Bavaria by a short train.
And in Carcassonne the citadel stages “La Magie de Noël” from early December — about twenty chalets, an ice rink and lantern walks that pair perfectly with a stay at Karma Château de Samary.
Pack a scarf, favour the slower stalls and let each market’s particular rhythms — local cheeses, crafts and songs — do the rest.
