Behind us are 32 days of wonderful experiences and records at the Gdańsk Christmas Market. Together with exhibitors and visitors we once again managed to create a magical place, which has been celebrated as the best Christmas market in Europe. Thank you for a beautiful time, and we already invite you in 2025.
The Gdańsk Christmas Market 2024 has come to an end. For more than four weeks Targ Węglowy, ul. Bogusławskiego and ul. Tkacka, Wielka Zbrojownia Sztuki and Zespół Przedbramia were full of life, attracting residents and tourists who, in its exceptional atmosphere, could feel the magic of the approaching Christmas. Stalls with handicrafts, aromatic dishes, Christmas decorations and numerous artistic attractions created an unforgettable atmosphere that will long remain in the memory of participants. This year’s edition of the Market proved to be another success, combining tradition with modernity. We fondly recall these magical moments and are already looking forward to next year.
Best Christmas Market in Europe 2025
The Gdańsk Christmas Market was entered for the third time in the Best Christmas Markets in Europe competition. And it can be written in all seriousness: third time lucky. In the online vote for Best Christmas Market in Europe 2025, the Gdańsk Christmas Market won the highest total in the history of the competition, with 92,283 votes and as a result became the best of all – previously it had taken 3rd (2020) and 2nd (2022) place. In doing so it beat Budapest’s result from last year by 35 per cent. It is also the first such distinction for Gdańsk and for Poland. And here are the reasons why the Gdańsk Christmas Market is the best on the Old Continent.
This was evident among the visitors. On the Market’s streets, besides Poles, there were guests from, among others, England (the airline Jet2.com launched special connections from Great Britain for the duration of the Market in Gdańsk), Germany, Sweden, Norway, the United States, France, Spain, Japan and Australia. Local hoteliers felt it too – even before the event they signalled that weekend days and days around the weekend were completely sold out.
A record, almost half a million people visited the Market’s official website www.bożonarodzeniowy.pl. The nationalities of the most frequent visitors here almost coincided with the people who appeared at the Market. In total, citizens of 154 countries looked for information on the site, including exotic ones such as: St Martin, St Lucia, Martinique, Mayotte, the Virgin Islands and Jersey.
Visitors and others appreciated…
The Christmas Market was widely talked about in international and Polish media, such as: National Geographic, Vogue, ELLE, Onet, Wirtualna Polska, Interia, Gazeta.pl, Forbes, Wyborcza.pl, as well as the television stations TVN, Polsat, TVP Info, Polsat News and TVN24.
The Market was also noticed by the creators of social media profiles such as: Make Life Harder, Make Life Easier, Latex Coach, Voyage Provocateur, Donald Tusk and Visit Poland.
The Gdańsk Christmas Market was visited this year by, among others: Iga Świątek, Martyna Wojciechowska, Jarosław Boberek and Wojciech Modest Amaro.
More than 200 posts about the event appeared on the Market’s social media. The Facebook and Instagram profiles recorded record growth in followers – by 38 and 56 per cent respectively. Cooperation with influencers was also a record, among them: foodlovepeople, dusiowakuchnia, whynotgdansk, panizpomeranii, dziecko_w_trojmiescie, przerwa_weekendowa, damian.tkaczuk, 44stt, gdziewpolscenaweekend and miejscawgdansku.
The Christmas Market is above all about trade – crafts, handicrafts, food and drink. During the event, for the second year running, awards were presented in the Grand Prix and Christmas Treasury of Ideas competitions. The first of these covered three categories: Good Idea, Good Treat and Good Taste. In the Good Idea category the Grand Prix was awarded to Just Candles of Malbork, for natural soy candles in unique gift arrangements. In the Good Treat category the Grand Prix went to Art – Żywilla Okła, Ale Pierniki.pl, for intricately decorated gingerbread biscuits in the form of a gingerbread cottage. In the new Good Taste category the Grand Prix was awarded to Lobster House Gdańsk for exquisite brioche with prawns, scallops and baby octopus.
It is worth adding that among the food and drink stalls, the brioche mentioned above was one of the hits with visitors too. Queues traditionally formed for langos, as well as for chocolate-covered fruit, Gdańsk doughnuts and Venezuelan arepas. Visitors drank hot drinks from more than 230,000 paper cups. In addition, for the needs of the Market there were produced 7,000 ceramic mugs.
The Christmas Treasury of Ideas once again enjoyed huge interest. Thanks to the votes of visitors, the best gifts and gift inspirations in the display case in Zbrojownia were chosen. The main prize, for a malachite mineral symbolising success and abundance, went to the company Anamir.
New at the Market
The Gdańsk Christmas Market 2024 had 198 stalls, more than 20 more than the year before. One of the reasons for the increase in the number of exhibitors was the extension of the Market along ul. Bogusławskiego – as far as ul. Ogarna. The Advent Gate found a new place there, as did the food and drink zone. Thanks to the new space another Market corner could be created, named the Advent Corner.
Returning to the food and drink zone, debuts there included Afghan, Venezuelan, Lebanese, Uzbek, Mexican and Italian cuisines and products such as seafood in tempura and in brioche, pasta in a Parmesan wheel, podpłomyk flatbread and spit-roasted suckling pig.
A different arrangement of stalls could be seen in Wielka Zbrojownia Sztuki. New accompanying events also took place there, such as Tastes of Pomerania, organised by the Pomeranian regional government, and the KOWR campaign – #KUPUJSWIADOMIE. For the first time collectors, well known from St Dominic’s Fair, appeared at a trading stall and in the programme. Guests could also listen to stories about the history of porcelain, baubles and silver. There was also an intergenerational meeting with seniors from Stowarzyszenie Waga. Also in Zbrojownia the trading space was extended, into the room with Santa’s throne.
The Angelic Corner found a new place, its main attraction being the glowing angel wings. Guests visited it in Katownia.
The Market: culture and workshops
From Tuesday to Sunday, visitors could take part free of charge in cultural events held on the Market grounds. Santa Claus appeared on the Main Stage, and there were competitions and artistic and theatrical performances. The largest audience was drawn by an extreme acrobatics show held on 3 December on the wall of Katownia: “Historie wylatane” performed by Teatr Młodych from Gdańsk. It was also part of the celebration of the victory in the Best Christmas Markets 2025 competition. The band DownTown Brass also appeared on the Main Stage that day, playing Christmas pieces among other things.
In total, during the Market’s 32 days, 132 cultural events took place. They included a visit from Santa Claus from Lapland, a silent disco in Zespół Przedbramia that ended with everyone dancing a Polonaise together, and performances by the NEPTUN Folk Dance Ensemble, the Gdańsk Song and Dance Ensemble and the Academic Choir of the University of Gdańsk on the balconies of Zespół Przedbramia – the voices of more than 25 students. The Procession of St Lucia from Sweden visited the Market and sang beautiful Swedish Christmas songs. Jarosław Boberek appeared with the Treflik characters, and we had a concert by the 5/6 ensemble, made up of graduates of the Academy of Music in Gdańsk. From 1 December, the windows of the Advent Calendar were opened together with special guests: ZUT, the University of Gdańsk Choir, Sinsay, Caritas, PKP Intercity and Lechia Gdańsk.
Various kinds of workshops were also held during the Gdańsk Christmas Market. Their aim was to cultivate Christmas traditions, to educate and to develop manual skills in a Christmas atmosphere, regardless of age. They allowed different generations to come together and to spend creative time in the run-up to Christmas.
In total, Zbrojownia hosted 20 workshops lasting more than 50 hours, and the number of participants exceeded 2,000. Guests of the Market could choose from: intergenerational workshops with seniors – making decoupage candles, baubles and Christmas cards; gingerbread workshops, where a 500-year-old recipe was presented and gingerbread was made in traditional wooden moulds; and art workshops, where participants designed their own unique bags and bookmarks.
Various other events also took place in Zbrojownia. One of them was the distribution of parcels prepared at the intergenerational workshops under the motto “Bring good news to a person who does not leave home”. The aim of the campaign was to visit an elderly person and deliver a parcel with a gift. Seniors from Stowarzyszenie Waga made more than 50 Christmas decorations, candles and baubles for those in need. The Gdańsk Youth City Council also took part in the event. Migrants’ Day was held as well, an initiative aimed at supporting people in difficult situations, including migrants and refugees. The event was organised by the Fundacja LWF w Polsce, the City of Gdańsk, the Centrum Wsparcia Imigrantów i Imigrantek, the Ukrainian Library in Gdańsk, Fundacja RC, Animal Helper, Stowarzyszenie WAGA, the Rada Imigrantów i Imigrantek and the Fundacja Gdańska. Over two days, the Fundacja LWF w Polsce ran more than 10 different workshops, such as making anti-stress toys, Flags of the World – a joint painting project, making Christmas cards for children from a school in Dnipro, and world cultures workshops. In addition, a camera was set up during the event, where anyone who wished could record their greetings for Migrants’ Day.
The Christmas Market supported the promotional campaign of Zakład Utylizacyjny under the motto “Ecology under the Christmas Tree”, which consisted of various educational activities promoting ecological solutions at Christmas. A promotional campaign by Ostoja, “Education about Wild Animals”, was also organised. The organisation gave talks intended to give visitors knowledge about wild animals living in Poland and their natural environment.
There was also an educational campaign on foster care run by the Miejski Ośrodek Pomocy Rodzinie “Daj przyszłość”, aimed at supporting people in difficult life situations, especially children, young people and families in crisis.
Workshops for schools were also held, attended by 439 pupils from 20 primary schools (most of them from Śródmieście). They took the form of an escape room, with an educational character and Christmas fun, during which pupils made key rings, met Santa Claus and enjoyed Market attractions: the VR sleigh or the spinning coaster.
We also had one extra event – a surprise on the Main Stage – the engagement of a couple who had travelled to the Gdańsk Market from Greater Poland.
The Market for charity
In the very heart of Targ Węglowy stood a giant present that visitors could walk into to create a special family photograph. The GPEC Group, together with the Fundacja Hospicyjna and AMBEREXPO, prepared this magical place full of Christmas warmth in order to help those most in need. The photo could be personalised with a heartfelt message to loved ones, and the whole thing framed in a beautiful Christmas frame. The proceeds from this initiative will support the beneficiaries of the Fundacja Hospicyjna.
It is worth recalling that, as is traditional, the organisers of the Gdańsk Christmas Market will also donate support to the Fundacja Hospicyjna from part of the proceeds from the sale of Market mugs, which this year were available in two versions – traditional and modern.
The Fundacja Hospicyjna also held a collection among visitors to the Market. In total, the campaign for the Fundacja Hospicyjna at the Gdańsk Christmas Market raised PLN 60,000.
The Christmas Market also supports Christmas Eve for the Needy, an event organised for people experiencing homelessness, who particularly need the support of another human being at this festive time. A shared hot meal, gifts and carol singing make for an excellent opportunity for a Christmas gathering, which was organised for the 33rd time by the Dominikańskie Duszpasterstwo Akademickie Górka, the Polska Izba Gospodarcza Restauratorów i Hotelarzy and the Szczep Bór scout troop. The event took place on 24 December in Zbrojownia under the patronage of Mayor Aleksandra Dulkiewicz. The partners of Christmas Eve for the Needy are Międzynarodowe Targi Gdańskie and the Christmas Market.
Gdańsk Zoo, in cooperation with MTG, organised the campaign “Teddies Support Lynxes”. As a result, Fundacja Lynx, which looks after the lynxes of the Oliwa zoo, received support of more than PLN 6,000 – that is how much was raised at the Gdańsk Christmas Market. The teddy bears supporting the campaign were the ones everyone knows from the Teddy Bear Gate in Zbrojownia, given as a token of gratitude for a donation to the lynxes. Once again, it turned out that the magic of Christmas can work wonders, and the friends of the Christmas Market who “adopted” the teddy bears proved very generous.
A charity campaign during the event at Targ Węglowy was also organised by DKMS.
The Market is also fun
During the Market there was no shortage of the magical Christmas Travel Corner with AmberSky. This special place featured attractions dedicated to the youngest (and not only!): the VR simulator Santa’s Magical Sleigh, the Gdańsk Carousel and the spinning coaster – Spinning Barrels. The Observation Wheel on Ołowianka is also part of the corner.
At Targ Węglowy, visitors could also find the Amber Corner – an exceptional exhibition, “Treasure Box of the Future / Kapsuła Przyszłości”, presenting modern forms of amber, which can make a great Christmas gift. The Capsule of the Future, the Gdańsk Illuminations and the Market in Gdańsk were supported by a Friend of the Christmas Market, Gdańska Infrastruktura Wodociągowo-Kanalizacyjna.
The organisers of the Gdańsk Christmas Market thank the Energa Group, Partner of the Market. One of the three largest electricity suppliers in Poland. A socially responsible company that has supported events and institutions in Pomerania for many years.
The Market has come to an end, but the Gdańsk Illuminations are still waiting for guests – they make Gdańsk shine even brighter in the Christmas glow. The light figures will be on display around Gdańsk until 2 February. The sponsor of the Gdańsk Illuminations, the GPEC Group, invites you to atmospheric winter walks.
