Leeds Christmas Market 2019: dates, opening times and everything you need to know

Leeds’ traditional German Christmas Market, Christkindelmarkt has once again transformed Millennium Square into a scenic winter village with wooden chalet stalls, cosy indoor retreats, a traditional carousel and a daily programme of entertainment.

It's the perfect place to spend a frosty afternoon enjoying mulled wine and sampling street food, while picking up hand-crafted gifts.

When is the Leeds Christmas Market?

The Leeds market opened on Friday 8 November and will remain open until Saturday 21 December. You can visit from 10.30am to 9.30pm from Monday to Saturday and on Sundays from 10.30am to 7.30pm. Entry is free.

Where is it and how do I get there?

Christkindelmarkt is located on Millennium Square in the heart of Leeds city centre and is easily accessible from Calverley Street, Cookridge Street and Portland Crescent.

A number of bus routes pass through the city centre and stop in close proximity to Millennium Square on The Headrow and Woodhouse Lane

Leeds City train station is only a 10-minute walk away from Millennium Square via City Square leading into Park Row and Cookridge Street. Full details can be found over at the Trainline.

There are also coach drop off/pick up points nearby, details of which can be found at the VisitLeeds website.

What food and drink is available?

As a traditional German market, Leeds’ Christkindelmarkt features plenty of cosy nooks where you can rest up with a frothy stein of German beer.

It will also feature live German music that’s sure to get everyone into the partying mood, especially after a beer or two.

The Alp Chalet restaurant will be serving up wintry cuisine in the form of traditional Bavarian dishes like Bratwurst and Schnitzel. And, of course, they will also be selling hot cups of mulled wine.

Over at the Kuh Stall you'll find the perfect place to hide from the crowds with something hot from the grill or something cold from the taps.

The Schwenkgrill will be providing warm platefuls of currywurst and giant German sausage, while other stalls will have burgers, chips and traditional German baked goods to hand.

For those with a sweeter tooth, there will also be candy floss, crepes and chocolate skewers on offer.

And if you've got a bit of a cold this winter, the Mead House will have cups of hot honey mead, as well as honey waffles.

There will also be a Ski Hutte bar set in a bespoke alpine chalet, with a Glockenspiel feature playing up to 30 different melodies.

What is there to do at the market?

The open air market square will be kept lively with a daily line-up of light entertainment, as well as children's shows on the covered stage each Sunday.

It will host face painting, balloon modelling, interactive games and sing-alongs with appearances from the Winter Wonderland Princesses, making sure that anyone too young for the mulled wine will still have plenty to look forward to.

Of course, for the little ones, the priority is always going to be tracking down the man in the big red suit. Fortunately, he won’t be hard to find – every Saturday and Sunday morning from Saturday 23 November there will be a breakfast buffet with Santa as the guest of honour at the Alp Chalet.

Visitors can enjoy a buffet style breakfast with fresh brotchen (bread) rolls with jam and butter, cheese, ham, scrambled egg, bratwurst sausage and unlimited tea, coffee and hot chocolate plus an assortment of cakes and donuts.

Meanwhile Father Christmas will pay a special visit to each table with gifts for the children and the session will finish with the chance to take part in a festive treasure hunt around the market.

Tickets cost £15 for children aged 12 and under and £11.50 for adults and kids over 13. You can book online.