Bath Christmas Market 2026: A Former Local’s Guide (Dates, Tips and Is It Worth It?)

Jess and I lived in Bath for four years, and we went to the Bath Christmas Market every year it ran while we lived there, which wasn’t every year, thanks to the pandemic. We’ve been to a few Christmas markets around the UK, Edinburgh’s most notably, and Bath’s is our favourite by a long way.

So yes, it’s worth going. The chalets are spread through the streets around Bath Abbey, so you’re wandering one of the best-looking cities in England with a mulled wine in hand, and once the lights come on it all feels a bit Dickensian, in a good way. The one real downside is the crowds, and they are serious. Come on a weekday, early in the run if you can, and you’ll get the version of the market we loved.

Quick take for 2026:

• Thursday 26 November to Sunday 13 December 2026, 18 days in total
• Open 10am to 7pm Monday to Wednesday, 10am to 8pm Thursday to Saturday, and 10am to 6pm on Sunday
• Free to walk around, with no ticket needed
• Spread across the city centre around Bath Abbey, from Abbeygate Street up to Milsom Street
• Quietest on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, busiest on Saturdays
• It opens on US Thanksgiving and closes on 13 December, so it’s over well before Christmas week

 

Bath Christmas Market 2026: Dates, Opening Hours and Essentials

The 2026 Bath Christmas Market runs for 18 days, from Thursday 26 November to Sunday 13 December, and it’s free to walk around.

Bath Christmas Market 2026	Details
Dates	Thursday 26 November to Sunday 13 December 2026
Monday to Wednesday	10am to 7pm
Thursday to Saturday	10am to 8pm
Sunday	10am to 6pm
Entry	Free, no ticket
Size	Up to 210 chalets and units
Where	City centre streets around Bath Abbey, from Abbeygate Street to Milsom Street
Run by	Bath & North East Somerset Council
Official site	bathchristmasmarket.co.uk

There’s also a residents’ evening on Wednesday 25 November, the night before it opens, but that one’s for locals only.

On size, the council’s planning page says there will be no more than 210 chalets and units in 2026, so think of it as around 200 chalets.

The market has run since 2001, and these days it’s run by Bath & North East Somerset Council. It didn’t take place in 2020 or 2021 because of the pandemic, and it has been back every year since 2022.

 

Why Is the Bath Christmas Market So Short?

The 18-day run goes back to a decision in 2017. Visit Bath, which organised the market at the time, had proposed stretching it to 25 days, but dropped the idea after a four-month consultation. As its chief executive told the Bath Chronicle then, “at the end of the day we have to listen to residents.”

The council now has permanent planning permission to run the market for up to 25 days a year. In September 2026, though, it said it has “no current plans” to extend it beyond the current 18 days (you can read the council statement on the market’s length). Having seen how busy those 18 days get, I can see the residents’ point.

 

Is the Bath Christmas Market Worth It?

Yes. It’s our favourite Christmas market in the UK, although we may be a little biased.

What makes it is the setting. The chalets run through the streets around the Abbey and up towards Milsom Street, so the backdrop to every stall is Bath itself, all honey-coloured Georgian stone. Bath is, of course, worth a trip in December without a single chalet, and the market adds lights, mulled wine and roasted chestnuts on top.

My favourite spot is Abbey Green, the little cobbled square with an enormous old London plane tree in it, which is lit up after dark. Jess came with me every year, and for her it was all about how cosy it feels.

The downside is the crowds. Visit Bath says the market gets around 440,000 visitors a year, and on a Saturday afternoon the narrower streets slow to a shuffle. If you hate crowds and can only come at the weekend, go early in the day or think about skipping it. If you can come midweek, it’s a much nicer experience.

Plenty of other people rate it too. In 2024, Which? put Bath at the top of its list of nine UK Christmas markets, drawn from its survey of UK cities. The market’s own website also carries a “Best UK Christmas Market 2024” badge from European Best Destinations, a travel site that ranks markets by public vote. (The same site says Edinburgh has hosted the best Christmas market in the UK three years running, so take your pick.)

If you’re coming from further afield, remember the market is a bonus on top of Bath itself. The Roman Baths, the Abbey and the Royal Crescent are all here whether the chalets are or not, and our guide to things to do in Bath covers the rest.

 

When to Go (and When Not To)

Go on a weekday, and go early in the run if you can.

Visit Bath‘s advice is that “Tuesday and Wednesday mornings (10am to 12pm) are the quietest. Evenings and weekends are the liveliest.” From our years of going, I’d add that earlier in the run is calmer than later on, so a weekday morning in late November is about as quiet as it gets.

Mornings are the quietest time, but the market is at its most magical after dark, when the lights come on and the crowds build. As sunset in Bath in early December is around 4pm, you can have a bit of both. On a weekday, I’d arrive in the early afternoon, wander while it’s calmer, find a mulled wine, and stay on as the lights take over. If you’d rather avoid the crowds than see the lights, come in the morning instead.

Wrap up warm, too. As you can see from our photos, it gets chilly in December.

Saturdays are the busiest days. GWR even runs a queuing system at Bath Spa station on Saturday afternoons during the market, from 1pm to 6pm, to stop the platforms overcrowding. If Saturday is your only option, come in the morning, and expect to queue for the train if you head home in the afternoon.

 

Visiting From the US? Watch the Dates

The market opens on US Thanksgiving, Thursday 26 November, and closes on Sunday 13 December. If you’re planning a trip to England for Christmas week, you’ll miss it by about ten days.

If the market is the reason you’re going, come in the first two weeks of December instead. London is all lit up for Christmas by then, and Bath is an easy day trip or overnight from the capital. If your dates fall after 13 December, Bath is still a lovely place to be at Christmas, and Bath on Ice runs until 3 January (more on that below).

 

Where Is the Bath Christmas Market?

The market is spread across Bath city centre, from Abbeygate Street in the south to Milsom Street in the north.

Most of it sits around Bath Abbey, in what the organisers call the Abbey Quarter, with more chalets along Bath Street and Union Street. Abbey Green, just south of the Abbey, is cobbled, so it’s harder going with a pushchair or wheelchair.

There’s no single entrance. The organisers give Stall Street (postcode BA1 1QH) as the market’s central point, and the southern end is only a few minutes’ walk from Bath Spa station, so you can step off the train and walk straight in. Bath’s centre is pretty compact, and the crowds will set your pace far more than the distance does. For this year’s exact layout, the official site has an interactive map.

 

What to Eat, Drink and Buy

For me, it’s not Christmas until I’ve had a mulled wine (or a hot cider) and some roasted chestnuts! I always make a beeline for those stalls first, Christmas jumper optional. After that, we like to wander and see what we find.

The organisers say the traders come “from the South West and beyond”, and the stalls are a mix of hot food, drinks, gifts and crafts, so you won’t go hungry. Jess goes for a bratwurst (that’s one in her hand in the photo in front of the Abbey, further up), and it’s another of our highlights.

It’s a good hunting ground for Christmas presents, too. In 2019 we found everything from felt gnomes and paper star lanterns to cashmere scarves and gloves.

We came home with one of these gnomes, and he takes pride of place at Christmas every year. He’s called Gnorbit.

 

Getting to the Bath Christmas Market

The train is the easiest way to get there from both London and Bristol.

 

By Train From London

Direct GWR trains run from London Paddington to Bath Spa in around 1 hour 20 to 1 hour 30 minutes, and the station is a few minutes’ walk from the market. Book ahead for the best fares, either on the GWR London to Bath page or through Trainline, which is handy if you’re not used to buying UK train tickets.

On the market’s first weekend, Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 November 2026, GWR is running an amended timetable because of engineering works, and trains to and from London will use London Euston instead of Paddington. If you’re planning a day trip that weekend, check GWR’s Bath Christmas Market travel page before you set off.

Remember the Saturday-afternoon queuing system at Bath Spa, too. GWR itself says travel is likely to be more comfortable on weekdays.

 

Day Trips From London

If you’d rather not organise it yourself, the London Pass includes a Bath Christmas Market Day Trip, run by Evan Evans from Victoria Coach Station. It’s included on both the London Pass and the London Pass Explorer, and runs every day of the market except Tuesdays. You need to book your seat in advance.

It’s a long day, at up to 11 hours, with around two and a half hours on the coach each way, and neither Roman Baths entry nor food is included. Without a pass, London Pass lists the trip at up to £79, so it makes most sense if you’re already buying a pass for sightseeing in London. You can, of course, just get the train and do it yourself.

If you’d like to see Stonehenge as well, this Stonehenge and Bath day trip from London covers both, although splitting the day means less time at the market. We have more ideas in our guides to a day trip to Bath from London and a Stonehenge, Bath and Cotswolds day trip from London.

 

Driving and Park & Ride

I wouldn’t drive into the centre during the market. The organisers close roads around the market site while it’s on, so use Park & Ride instead.

There are three Park & Ride sites, at Odd Down to the south, Lansdown to the north and Newbridge to the west, and the buses run seven days a week, until 11.30pm Monday to Saturday and until 6pm on Sundays. Visit Bath says the services run longer into the evening, with extra buses, during the market. As things stand, the Sunday buses finish at 6pm, the same time the market closes, so don’t linger on a Sunday.

 

From Bristol

From Bristol Temple Meads, there are frequent trains to Bath Spa, and the journey takes around 15 minutes.

 

Where to Stay for the Bath Christmas Market

If you’re staying over, book as early as you can, especially for a Friday or Saturday night during the market, because central Bath fills up fast on market weekends.

As we lived in Bath, we never needed a hotel there ourselves, but these three are all well placed for the market:

• The Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa if you want to splash out. It’s in the Royal Crescent itself, with its own spa, and it’s an easy walk downhill into the market.
• Hotel Indigo Bath, a boutique hotel in a Georgian terrace on South Parade, only a few minutes’ walk from the Abbey.
• The Z Hotel Bath if you’re on a budget. The rooms are compact, but it’s right by the Theatre Royal and a short walk from both the station and the market.

For more options, have a look at hotels in Bath on Booking.com.

 

Bath at Christmas Beyond the Market

There’s plenty to do in Bath at Christmas beyond the chalets, and most of it carries on after the market closes on 13 December, which is good news if your dates don’t line up.

 

Bath on Ice

Bath on Ice is an outdoor ice rink in Royal Victoria Park, open from 20 November 2026 to 3 January 2027. We’ve been skating there ourselves, and it’s the obvious answer if you’re in Bath for Christmas week and missed the market. You book your session through the official site.

 

Thermae Bath Spa

Thermae Bath Spa is open through December, and its open-air rooftop pool stays open after dark, with views across the city. The pools are open until 9pm. A two-hour session costs £44 on weekdays and £49 at weekends, and it’s adults only (16 and over).

The spa is closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, with shorter hours on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.

 

The Roman Baths

The Roman Baths stay open during the market. Advance tickets for 1 November to 18 December 2026 cost £23.50 on weekdays and £26.50 at weekends, and they’re £2 more if you buy on the day, so book ahead, either direct or through GetYourGuide.

On selected days in December, the torches around the Great Bath are lit as it gets dark, so aim for a late-afternoon ticket. Check the Roman Baths website for this year’s festive dates.

 

Bath Abbey at Christmas

Bath Abbey holds Advent carol services and a Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols each year. They’re free, but you need a ticket, and demand is high enough that each one runs twice in an evening.

There are also short, informal Shoppers’ Carols during the market that you can just drop in on, plus paid Christmas concerts. Check the Abbey’s website for this year’s dates and when tickets are released.

 

Christmas Lights and Light Trails

The city’s Christmas lights make an evening walk around the centre worthwhile even without the market. Some of the photos in this guide are from a lights walk Jess and I did in December 2020, the first year the market was cancelled.

Two bigger light trails are within driving distance of Bath. Longleat’s Festival of Light, themed Legendary Worlds this year, runs on selected dates from 7 November 2026 to 10 January 2027, so book ahead.

Christmas at Westonbirt, the after-dark light trail at the National Arboretum, runs on selected evenings from 27 November to 31 December 2026. It’s timed entry, advance booking is essential, and if you’re driving you’ll need to pre-book parking as well.

 

Photographing the Bath Christmas Market

The best time to photograph the market is the half-hour or so after sunset, when there’s still some colour in the sky and the chalet lights have come on.

Sunset in Bath in early December is around 4pm. The dusk photos in this guide were taken on 15 December 2019, between about 4.30pm and 4.45pm, around Abbey Green and the streets near the Abbey. Abbey Green, with its lit-up plane tree above the chalets, is a good place to start. Leave it much later and the sky goes black, which is fine for the lights but loses the blue.

In the crowds, forget about a tripod. Most of my market photos were taken on a Canon EOS 6D with the EF 16-35mm f/4L, a lot of them at the wide 16mm end, which gets the chalets, the people and the buildings above them into one frame.

For the dusk shots I was at f/4 and around 1/30 to 1/40 second, and I let the ISO climb as high as 6,400. The 6D is an old camera now and it coped fine, and a bit of noise beats a blurred photo every time.

Canon EOS 6D, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 16mm, 1/40 sec, f/4, ISO 5000

I also took an 85mm f/1.8 lens, which is useful for picking out details on the stalls without pushing to the front, and for photographing something other than the backs of people’s heads.

A tripod comes into its own once the crowds have gone. My photos of Bath’s Christmas lights were taken on the evening of 19 December 2020, a year the market had been cancelled, with exposures of between one and 20 seconds at ISO 100 to 125. That needs a tripod, or at least a wall to rest the camera on.

Canon EOS 6D, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 20mm, 20 sec, f/8, ISO 125

We went into town that night on purpose to photograph the lights. After months of Covid restrictions, it was mostly about doing something that felt vaguely normal.

 

Bath Christmas Market FAQs

 

Is the Bath Christmas Market Worth Visiting?

Yes. It’s our favourite Christmas market in the UK, mostly because it’s spread through the streets of such a good-looking city, with Bath’s Georgian architecture as the backdrop.

Just avoid Saturdays if you can, because it gets extremely busy. A weekday early in the run is much more relaxed.

 

When Is the Bath Christmas Market 2026?

The 2026 market runs from Thursday 26 November to Sunday 13 December. It’s open 10am to 7pm Monday to Wednesday, 10am to 8pm Thursday to Saturday, and 10am to 6pm on Sunday.

 

Is the Bath Christmas Market Free?

Yes. It’s an open-air market on the city’s streets, and it’s free to walk around, with no ticket needed. You only pay for what you eat, drink and buy.

 

Do You Need Tickets for the Bath Christmas Market?

No. There’s no ticket for the market itself, because it’s on the city’s streets and free to walk around.

The things you might want to book ahead are the extras, like the London Pass coach day trip from London, a session at Bath on Ice, or a ticket for the Roman Baths.

 

Why Is the Bath Christmas Market So Short?

The 18-day run dates back to 2017, when Visit Bath, the organiser at the time, dropped a plan to extend it to 25 days after a public consultation, saying it had to listen to residents.

The council, which runs it now, has permission for up to 25 days but says it has no current plans to extend it.

 

How Long Do You Need at the Bath Christmas Market?

Two or three hours is enough to walk the whole market, eat something and have a mulled wine or two.

I’d make a day of it, though. See some of the rest of Bath during the day, then come back to the market as it gets dark.

 

Is the Bath Christmas Market Open Over Christmas?

No. The market closes on 13 December, so it’s finished well before Christmas week.

If you’re in Bath later in December, Bath on Ice in Royal Victoria Park runs until 3 January 2027, and the city still looks festive with its Christmas lights.

 

Further Reading

If you’re planning a trip to Bath, these should help:

• Our guide to things to do in Bath
• 2 days in Bath, our weekend itinerary
• How to do a day trip to Bath from London
• Our Stonehenge, Bath and Cotswolds day trip from London
• Our guide to winter in Edinburgh, the other UK Christmas city we know well
• Jess’s guide to Christmas in Edinburgh, over on Independent Travel Cats

And if you’re planning a wider trip around the country, the Rick Steves England guidebook covers Bath and plenty more.