A Vienna Christmas market even a Scrooge can love: Schönbrunn Palace
With a dozen Christmas markets in spitting distance of each other in Vienna’s city center, is it really necessary to take a 15 minute train ride out to yet another market?
![A Vienna Christmas market even a Scrooge can love: Schönbrunn Palace 29 Schonbrunn Palace Christmas Market Vienna stalls vendors day](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc04770.jpg?w=633)
An overview of Vienna’s Schonbrunn Palace Christmas Market.
Schönbrunn Palace Christmas market is well worth the quick train ride and is my pick for the best Christmas market in Vienna.
I’ve been fascinated with Vienna’s Schönbrunn Palace Christmas market (that’s Weihnachtsmarkt Schönbrunn to my Austrian readers) ever since watching my favorite curmudgeon, Anthony Bourdain, visit the market on an episode of his travel show, “No Reservations.” I expected nothing but a bah humbug from Bourdain, who is known for his caustic wit and commentary.
So I was surprised to see the program feature this self-proclaimed Scrooge sauntering through the snow on the palace grounds (was that a look of wonder on his face?) and helpless to Schönbrunn’s charms, uttering these unlikely words–
“I just wanna cuddle. With some hot wine.”
If this Christmas market could melt the heart of my favorite travel critic, then I knew it must be pretty spectacular. So I made sure to visit Vienna’s Schönbrunn Christmas market on my first European Christmas market tour two years ago. I loved it so much I visited it again on my latest tour this December.
Why Vienna’s Schönbrunn Christmas market will make your heart grow three sizes bigger
By day, Mozart is piped through the Schonbrunn Palace’s outdoor, speakers, making it easy to imagine you are simply strolling through the grounds with the rest of the royal court. The canary yellow Palace wraps itself around the market, creating the perfect backdrop, punctuated by a gigantic Christmas tree at the center.
![A Vienna Christmas market even a Scrooge can love: Schönbrunn Palace 30 schloss schonbrunn night christmas market palace vienna](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc05388.jpg?w=633)
Vienna’s Schonbrunn Palace Christmas Market at night.
By night, Vienna’s Schönbrunn Palace Christmas Market takes on a golden hue, the tree twinkles, the stalls are illuminated just enough to create a festive vibe without competing with the Palace’s majestic glow.
No market is complete without excellent shopping– and the quality of the crafts here was bar none, you won’t do better elsewhere. I also like that the crafts were all very traditional– no weird trendy stuff I’ve seen elsewhere to break the fantasy that Sissi or Marie Antoinette might appear around the corner at any moment.
Take my virtual photo tour through Vienna’s Schonbrunn Palace Christmas Market and see what great gifts you can buy here:
![A Vienna Christmas market even a Scrooge can love: Schönbrunn Palace 31 Schonbrunn Palace Christmas Market wurst sausage food stall](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc04701.jpg?w=633)
Lots of food and sausage options at Vienna’s Schonbrunn Palace Christmas Market.
![A Vienna Christmas market even a Scrooge can love: Schönbrunn Palace 32 hanging strings of ornaments vienna Schonbrunn Palace Christmas Market](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc04719.jpg?w=633)
These handmade ornaments caught my eye at Vienna’s Schonbrunn Palace Christmas Market.
![hat vienna Schonbrunn Palace Christmas Market vienna hand made wool hat vendor stall](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc04709.jpg?w=633)
I bought this hand-made hat in Charcoal grey on my first visit to the Schönbrunn Christmas market. I was glad to see the vendor, Helene Dietrich was back again this year and bought some additional items as gifts.
![A Vienna Christmas market even a Scrooge can love: Schönbrunn Palace 33 Schonbrunn Palace Christmas Market Vienna glass ornaments](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc04736.jpg?w=633)
Several stalls of glass blown ornaments at Vienna’s Schonbrunn Palace Christmas Market. These were hand-painted with sweet snowy scenes.
![A Vienna Christmas market even a Scrooge can love: Schönbrunn Palace 34 Schonbrunn Palace Christmas Market Vienna wreath](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc04716.jpg?w=633)
A vendor at Schonbrunn Christmas Market peeps out from behind his wreaths.
- Snow globes were actually invented in Vienna and make a great gift from the Christmas market.
![A Vienna Christmas market even a Scrooge can love: Schönbrunn Palace 36 Schonbrunn Palace Christmas Market what to buy stall vendor crafts](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc04735.jpg?w=633)
A friendly vendor at Vienna’s Schonbrunn Palace Christmas Market.
![A Vienna Christmas market even a Scrooge can love: Schönbrunn Palace 37 Vienna Schonbrunn Palace Christmas Market crafts puppets stall booth](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc04807.jpg?w=633)
I’ve since learned that creepy puppets are a Christmas market staple.
![A Vienna Christmas market even a Scrooge can love: Schönbrunn Palace 38 Schonbrunn Palace Christmas Market Vienna wood ornament hand made](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc04757.jpg?w=633)
I bought several of these made-in-Vienna wooden ornaments, for myself and as gifts– very light and suitcase friendly.
![A Vienna Christmas market even a Scrooge can love: Schönbrunn Palace 39 Vienna Schonbrunn Palace Christmas Market beeswax candles sell craft vendor](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc04863.jpg?w=633)
You’ll find candles made from beeswax at nearly every Christmas market in Austria and Germany, but the quality and selection may vary. This Viennese vendor had an interesting variety of shapes I didn’t see at other markets, so I loaded up for gifts.
![A Vienna Christmas market even a Scrooge can love: Schönbrunn Palace 40 Schonbrunn Palace Christmas Market Vienna handmade beeswax candles](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc04865.jpg?w=633)
Handmade ornaments made from beeswax at the Schonbrunn Palace Christmas Market in Vienna.
![A Vienna Christmas market even a Scrooge can love: Schönbrunn Palace 41 Schonbrunn Palace Christmas Market in Vienna handmade ornaments elves](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc04803.jpg?w=633)
I loved the handmade wooden ornaments dressed in miniature woolens– I came home with several, including this guy.
![A Vienna Christmas market even a Scrooge can love: Schönbrunn Palace 42 crafts vendor stall Schonbrunn Palace Christmas Market Vienna.](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc04745.jpg?w=633)
A star light for sale at the Schonbrunn Palace Christmas Market in Vienna.
![A Vienna Christmas market even a Scrooge can love: Schönbrunn Palace 43 charcuterie vendor Schonbrunn Palace Christmas Market Vienna.](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc04768.jpg?w=633)
Charcuterie and dried sausages at the Schonbrunn Palace Christmas Market in Vienna.
![A Vienna Christmas market even a Scrooge can love: Schönbrunn Palace 44 hand made craft chrismas ornament Schonbrunn Palace Christmas Market in Vienna.](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc04802.jpg?w=633)
Hand-carved Christmas ornaments at the Viennese Christmas market.
![A Vienna Christmas market even a Scrooge can love: Schönbrunn Palace 45 hand-blown glass ornaments Schonbrunn Palace Christmas Market in Vienna.](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc04847.jpg?w=633)
Several stalls of hand-blown glass ornaments.
![Christmas market Vienna gingerbread cookies austrian food cookies](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc04819.jpg?w=633)
This was one of my favorite stalls– yummy gingerbread and other Austrian baked goods. I brought back a fruit bread, gingerbread dipped in chocolate and small tray of Christmas cookies, some for me, some for gifts for friends who are gingerbread fanatics.
![Christmas market Vienna fries food stalls options Schonbrunn Palace Christmas Market in Vienna fries](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc04811.jpg?w=633)
Piping hot fries at the Schonbrunn Palace Christmas Market in Vienna.
![A Vienna Christmas market even a Scrooge can love: Schönbrunn Palace 46 food gifts Schonbrunn Palace Christmas Market in Vienna.](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc04765.jpg?w=633)
Yummy pates and tapenades from pumpkin seeds and other ingredients make a unique gift item.
![A Vienna Christmas market even a Scrooge can love: Schönbrunn Palace 47 Austrian christmas ornaments Schonbrunn Palace Christmas Market in Vienna.](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc04850.jpg?w=633)
Glittery, frosty red glass ornaments at the market.
![A Vienna Christmas market even a Scrooge can love: Schönbrunn Palace 48 Austrian jams schnapps gift Schonbrunn Palace Christmas Market in Vienna.](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc04860.jpg?w=633)
Austrian jams and fruity schapps– also a great gift from the Schonbrunn Palace Christmas Market in Vienna.
![A Vienna Christmas market even a Scrooge can love: Schönbrunn Palace 49 austrian sweets](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc04841.jpg?w=633)
Austrian sweets.
![A Vienna Christmas market even a Scrooge can love: Schönbrunn Palace 50 Vienna christmas ornament rocking horse wooden Schonbrunn Palace Christmas Market in Vienna.](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc04791.jpg?w=633)
I loved this little rocking horse wooden Christmas ornament.
Don’t miss a visit with the familie Seifried, a family-owned farm and vineyard just outside Vienna. The family has been making wine, liquors, schmaltzes, jams, and pumpkin-seed based pestos (I bought one) for years. They are a delight to chat with and one of my favorite booths.
![A Vienna Christmas market even a Scrooge can love: Schönbrunn Palace 52 austria vienna gifts schanpps Schonbrunn Palace Christmas Market Vienna](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc04776.jpg?w=633)
Traditional (and home-made) Austrian schnapps are a great gift idea from the Christmas market.
![A Vienna Christmas market even a Scrooge can love: Schönbrunn Palace 53 Schonbrunn Palace at night Vienna austria](https://souvenirfinder.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/dsc05385.jpg?w=633)
The Schönbrunn Palace at night.
Want to see even more photos? Click through on the slide show:
Vienna Souvenir Shopping Details:
Where: Parade Court, on the grounds of the Schönbrunn Palace
When: November 23- January 1
Opening Hours: Daily: 10:00 a.m. – 09:00 p.m., 24th December: 10:00 a.m. – 04:00 p.m., 25th December 2013 – 1st January 2014: 10:00 a.m. – 07:00 p.m.
Want to read about more Christmas markets?
Read about a Real Life Swedish fairy tale at the Swedish market in Stockholm
Check out the Budapest Christmas Market here for the shopping
And here for the Budapest Market’s mouth watering-eats
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