You won’t find this list anywhere else, it’s my personal selection of Christmas markets in Tallinn, gathered from different local sources and based on what actually happens here each December. Some markets return every year (I personally visited all of them last December), while a few are new additions for 2025.
They are not all big events like in Germany, but even the small ones can be worth knowing about, especially if you plan to spend more than a few days in Tallinn, staying here for a month as a digital nomad, or even living here for the winter season.
Besides this Christmas guide, you also need to read my post about spending December in Tallinn, which includes my favorite (lesser-known) things to do, weather details, packing tips, and more!
Visiting Tallinn in December for the First Time?
Here are places to stay, activities worth doing, and practical tips that will help you make the most of Christmas in Tallinn!
Top Places to Stay in Tallinn during the Christmas season:
- Hotel Telegraaf – excellent location, amenities, and Christmas feel
- Tallinn City Apartment – with the view of the Main Square & Christmas market
- Boho Guesthouse – best quality for lower budgets right in the center
- Nunne Boutique Hotel – calm, but steps from the Old Town, ideal for a quiet Christmas stay
Experiences & Tours Worth Doing:
- Tallinn Winter Legends & Christmas Market Tour – detailed walk with a guide
- Seeing Highest Waterfall + Picnic – best if you want to see a bit of Estonian nature
- Tour to Husky Park with Hike – great if it doesn’t rain all day long
- Exploring a Forest on a Snowshoeing Tour – only if it snows
What Else You May Need:
- Tallinn card – best way to save if you plan to explore Tallinn outside its Old Town
- BoltFood – big December discounts from different restaurants and cheaper meals to your stay
- Hand warmers – perfect for keeping hands warm outdoors (cheap & super effective)
- Car Hire – rental cars are extremely cheap at this time, take advantage and go on a drive!
Some of the links below are affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase – at no extra cost to you. This helps support my site and keeps content free. Learn more here.
All Christmas Markets in Tallinn This Year – Dates, Events & Best Things to Do
🎄 Most interesting Markets (Great to Visit for Everyone)
⬩ Town Hall Square Market (📍Raekoja plats) – Nov 21-Dec 28, 2025
This is the main Christmas market in Tallinn with Estonia’s historic Christmas tree that was set there for the first time back in 1441. Central location, weekend performances, handmade gifts, and traditional foods are all here.
You’ll find wooden stalls selling handmade crafts, Estonian food like blood sausage, sauerkraut, and gingerbread, and hot Christmas drinks. Children can enjoy carousels, while adults warm up with glögi and festive music.
This is also the most expensive market in the city. Find the detailed cultural program with all the events here.
⬩ Baltic Station Market (📍Balti Jaama turg) – Nov 28-Dec 28, 2025
Small but authentic market right next to the train station and Telliskivi creative area. You’ll find here local street food, fresh Christmas trees within existing market walls.
This is a good place to get glintwine at a lower price and shop for top-quality produce, clothing, and trinkets.
⬩ Niguliste Museum Christmas (📍Niguliste 3) – Nov 30, 2025-Jan 4, 2026
Cultural-style celebration inside a medieval church-museum. In honor of Advent, the Christmas tree will be beautifully decorated again this year, accompanied by workshops, guided tours, and concerts.
For the events program with various exhibits, you can check the church’s website directly.
⬩ Põhjala Tehas Market (📍Marati 5, Kopli) – Dec 7, 2025 | 14:00–19:00
It will take place during a very short window only on one day. Trendy “factory-style” Christmas market in the non-touristy side of Tallinn with handmade gifts, Estonian design, gingerbread stalls, workshops, and a festive indoor disco.
There are also cool restaurants and cafes here. I also like to combine with a stop at Pelguranna Park by the coast (yes, even in winter), there’s a very pleasant waterfront in that area with lots of birds. (They are not always there, but often.)
Põhjala Tehas is an industrial but cozy district, becoming Tallinn’s new trendy spot. If you have time, I highly recommend you visit.
⬩ Viimsi Artium Market (📍Randvere tee 20) – Dec 7, 2025 | 11:00–16:00
Creative Christmas fair held in Viimsi’s modern cultural center. If you go, you can also stop in a nearby Viimsi Open Air Museum and War Museum (I’ve been to many war museums in Europe and can tell that this one in Tallinn is very interesting).
Focus on design, handmade crafts, and gourmet delicacies, Viimsi Artium Market is nice for people who are visiting for longer than just a short weekend trip to Tallinn or for those who live in the city.
✨ Moderately interesting (good for locals or repeat visitors)
⬩ T1 Center Market (📍6 Dec) – Dec 6, 2025
Held in the central atrium of T1 shopping mall and features Estonian food brands, handmade gifts, and live music.
⬩ Nõmme Market (📍Turu 8) – Dec 6, 2025 | 10:00–16:00
Traditional district fair with children’s activities, Santa, and family feeling. Classic suburban, very Estonian Christmas vibe in Tallinn.
And if you go, you also need to use my guide to the Nomme neighborhood to spend a very nice day there.
⬩ Haabersti Winter Fair (📍Väike-Õismäe pond) – Dec 14, 2025 | from 12:00
Small winter fair with a cultural concert program by local artists, including Lauri Liiv, famous Estonian singer and actor. Friendly, neighborhood-style atmosphere near the pond.
Good to go for variety if you want to explore a new neighborhood, lesser-known among tourists. You can combine it with a few other interesting places in the area like a spa, museum under the open sky, and a few cool bakeries around.
⬩ Kaja Cultural Center (📍E. Vilde tee 118) – Dec 6, 2025 | 10:00–15:00
Warm local fair inside the Kaja cultural house in Mustamäe. Features crafts, local flavors, and a small concert – nice for seeing community life, but if you are on a very short trip to Tallinn, then skip it.
🛍️ Christmas Markets Mostly for locals / less relevant for tourists
These events/fairs will be great for people who live in Tallinn or stay in different neighborhoods for a few months and would like to add some variety to their days and do something new:
⬩ Mustika Shopping Center – Dec 12–14, 2025
Indoor fair with local crafts and food stands; more of a shopping event than a traditional Christmas market.
⬩ Järve Center – Dec 17–23, 2025
Indoor shopping mall market for practical gift shopping.
⬩ Lasnamäe Centrum – Dec 13, 2025
Suburban mall fair with Estonian vendors, food, and handmade gifts.
⬩ Arsenal Delicacy Market (Erika 14, in Volta industrial complex) – Dec 19, 2025 | 12:00–19:00
A cozy gourmet market selling local delicacies and sweets, pleasant for foodies but small-scale.
⬩ Mustamäe Center – Dec 20–21, 2025
End-of-season Christmas sale with festive decor and discounts.
⬩ Collector Market (Lauteri 7) – Dec 17, 2025 | 16:00–19:00
A niche event for collectors and vintage enthusiasts, featuring select lectures (not yet known which ones exactly).
⬩ Small district fairs (Tondiraba, Mustamäe Park, etc.) – Dec 6–14, 2025 (various dates)
Family-oriented local events featuring food stalls, Santa visits, and community performances – enjoyable for residents, not essential for visitors.
What to Eat & Buy at Tallinn’s Christmas Markets
No matter which market you visit, food is a big part of the experience in Tallinn (as probably everywhere else). The classic must-try at the Town Hall Square market is verivorst (Estonian blood sausage) with sauerkraut, home-style potatoes, and mustard, washed down with hot Estonia’s take on mulled wine.
I also like pel’meni (the ones you see in the middle photo below) and soup in an edible cup (this is the first year it appeared in Tallinn).
You’ll also find gingerbread cookies, roasted almonds, local cheeses, honey, and pastries from small bakeries.
If you visit Balti Jaam or Kadriorg’s Food Street Market, you’ll discover a more modern twist – street food stalls, craft coffee, and gourmet treats from local producers. At Arsenal’s delicacy market and Viimsi Artium, you can pick up artisanal products like handmade chocolate, jams, smoked fish, and candles, nice gifts to take home.
Some markets (and the central one on the main square) also have stalls selling woolen socks, winter slippers and mittens from sheepskin materials, wooden kitchenware, and ceramics. At Nomme Christmas market, you can also purchase candles, handmade ornaments, and local cosmetics – beautiful but practical souvenirs that represent Estonian craftsmanship.
Also, what to know: you do NOT need to have cash in Tallinn when visiting Christmas markets. Take advantage while in this city which is among the most digital places in Europe. You can easily pay with a credit card even for small things.
Useful Tips for Visiting
- Opening hours: Most markets open around 10–11 in the morning and close by 20:00–21:00, but glögi stands at the Town Hall Square stay open until 22:00 on weekdays and 23:00 on Fri and Sat.
- Toilets: The main market has public toilets behind the Town Hall, and some cafes allow visitors to use theirs for a symbolic fee. Smaller district markets don’t have facilities (besides the one in Nomme, Niguliste, and those markets in malls).
- Weather reality: Tallinn in December is cold. Yes, temperature can be between +5 to –5 but even if it is above zero, it is still very cold, mainly because of humidity and wind. You especially feel it if you don’t move a lot.
Keep your feet warm, have a good scarf (makes it so much warmer), and bring touchscreen gloves (if you plan to take photos and record video) and hand warmers (I recently purchased disposable warmers in addition to rechargeable ones I have, and they literally became a lifesaver).
- Crowd-free times: Weekdays between 10 AM–3 PM are quietest; weekends after 5 PM are packed with locals.
- Food prices: A cup of glögi this year costs €8, glintwein €7, without alcohol €6. Plate with a sausage, potatoes and saurkraut €16, other variations (with chicken instead €14), pel’meni €9, soup €8, gingerbread cookie €5, cinnamon bun €4 (more expensive than cinnamon buns in my favorite cafes) but quite good to be honest!
- Accessibility: The Old Town has cobblestones and uneven surfaces; markets in Balti Jaam or T1 are easier for wheelchairs or strollers.
- Card vs cash: As I mentioned above, cards are accepted everywhere, so there is no need to look for cash if you don’t have any. In fact, many vendors prefer not to deal with cash at all.
- Souvenir tip: The handmade goods you see at the markets are truly unique, but many of the sellers also have shops in different parts of the city where their products are cheaper (because at the market you pay extra for the festive setting). So if you want to buy in bulk and budget matters, ask them where their other locations are and go there.
- Photos & videos: Drones are banned over the Old Town during events, but regular cameras and tripods are fine.
- Local secret: Almost every cafe around the Old Town Main Square Market sells mulled wine for much cheaper (Kofeman, for example, sells it for €4.5), and some offer affordable Christmas meals too (they bring the price down to survive the competition from the market).
If you are traveling to Tallinn on a tight budget and cold really gets to you, just step into one of the cafes near the market – you’ll warm up and enjoy your mulled wine in a comfortable space.
Do you have any other questions I didn’t cover? Just ask!
Explore Tallinn & Estonia With My Guides
I am now based in Tallinn for part of the year and spend a lot of time exploring the city (and traveling around the country). Sharing my favorite places and things to do in all seasons:
- Best Breakfast & Brunch in Tallinn – my favorite locations
- Tallinn in Autumn – you can use many ideas for what to do in Tallinn in December from this post
- Awesome Museums in Esotnia – so awesome that it is really worth traveling around the country
- Must-Do Things in Estonia – authentic and cool for different seasons
- Winter Getaways in Estonia – my favorite trips from Tallinn when otside is cold
Planning to Travel in the Region?
- Visiting Rovaniemi in December – tips for a smooth trip during Christmas and New Year
Thank you so much for this. I’m in the early stages of planning for Christmas 2026 and this is so helpful. Is there a good restaurant or patio on Town Square you recommend that would provide an aerial overlook of the market since drones are prohibited?
Hi Beth, the only place I can think of with a really nice view (and very good food) is Tule Restaurant – a medieval-style restaurant serving traditional Estonian dishes. They have seating on the second and third floors facing the Town Square and Town Hall, so the view is beautiful, although it’s not a true aerial panorama (it’s not very high and there’s no terrace). Instead, it’s more of a high-angle view from tables by the window.
Surprisingly, during Christmas they are usually not that busy (since most people spend time at the market), but I’d still recommend making a reservation if you are coming at a specific time, as there are only a few window tables.
Also, there is one apartment for rent, this one to be exact with a direct view of the square. I mentioned it a couple of times in my posts but not sure you saw it. That’s in case, if you would like to stay in the area with views too.