Manchester’s Christmas Markets end on Monday – last chance to visit and grab your 2025 Christmas mug!

There’s less than a week left to enjoy Manchester’s world-famous Christmas Markets before they close next Monday 22 December.

Vvisitors hoping to pay a visit and grab themselves one of the iconic 2025 Christmas market mugs to add to their festive mug collection are warned they’d better be quick!

Market bosses have confirmed that once again the highly collectable, unique to Manchester Christmas mugs – the design of which changes every year – are now all but sold out, with all of this year’s dated mugs out on market stalls and disappearing fast!

Visitors new to Manchester’s Christmas markets and wondering where to hunt down one of the coveted Christmas mugs will find the city’s legendary festive market stalls at a whopping ten different locations around the city centre.

With 274 market stalls in total – more seasonal stalls than ever – Manchester legendary Christmas markets can be found at St Ann’s Square, King Street, Exchange Square, Exchange Street, The Corn Exchange, New Cathedral Street, and Market Street, as well as Cathedral Gardens overlooking Skate Manchester’s ice rink, and the Winter Gardens at Piccadilly.

Manchester’s historic Albert Square is also back in the Christmas spirit this year and celebrating the season with ‘A Taste of Christmas’ offering a ‘mini’ Christmas market alongside festive fairground rides – including an amazing 50m Ferris Wheel, the largest mobile wheel anywhere in the UK, and offering a bird’s eye view of the city, along with an enchanting made-for-memories Christmas carousel.

A foodie’s delight with mouth-watering food and drink selections across each of the different market locations, as well as stalls selling everything from the finest cheeses and handmade chocolates, leather goods, soap and jewellery, to tweed hats, candles, Christmas decorations and more – the must-visit markets are full of festive crafts and treats. 

This year marks an incredible 27 years of Christmas Markets in Manchester, with the very first market in the city taking place back in 1998, and no sign of any let-up since then in their popularity with visitors who flock to the city from near and far every year to enjoy them.

Councillor Pat Karney, Christmas spokesperson for Manchester City Council, said: “Our Christmas markets have been a hit with everyone since our very first market 27 years ago and are now the stuff of legend.

“We’ve got young mums and dads coming to the markets now with their families who remember being brought to the markets by their own parents and grandparents when they were little – it’s become this fantastic Manchester Christmas tradition that everyone can enjoy.

“None of this could happen without our amazing market traders and I want to say a big thank you to them for helping make Christmas in Manchester so special for everyone this year, and a massive thank you also to our brilliant markets team who work tirelessly behind the scenes year round in fact to make sure our Christmas markets are magical. 

“There’s nowhere that does Christmas quite like we do and no Christmas is complete without a visit to our fabulous festive markets – if you haven’t been yet, get your skates on, grab a friend, and come and see us!”

Manchester’s Christmas markets are open daily at the following times:

All craft stalls 10 am – 8 pm  

All bars and food stalls 11 am – 9 pm

The last day of trading at this year’s Christmas Markets will be on Monday 22 December when stalls will close at 6 pm at all market locations with the exception of Albert Square and its giant Ferris Wheel attraction, and Cathedral Gardens alongside the ice rink.

Stalls on Albert Square and Cathedral Gardens will remain open through the Christmas period and into the new year for visitors to enjoy some extra festive fun this year and make the most of the holidays.

The giant Ferris Wheel, carousel and other fairground attractions on Albert Square will remain open until 4 January, along with all the food and drink stalls and craft stalls that have been part of ‘A Taste of Christmas’ this year on the historic square.

The Ice Rink and nearby food and drink stalls in Cathedral Gardens will also remain open for Christmas and new year skaters until Sunday 4 January.