Christmas List · Family Days Out Across Northern Ireland
Christmas Markets in Northern Ireland
From the six-week market under the City Hall dome to a Georgian street festival in Armagh and a castle courtyard in Enniskillen — where to find the festive stalls, and when.
A Christmas market is the cheapest good day out of the whole festive season — you can walk round for nothing and only spend if you want to. Here are twelve markets and festive fairs across Northern Ireland, from the huge to the very local.
Almost all of them are free to walk into. You pay for food, drink and gifts, not for entry. That makes a market the easy Christmas outing when the grottos and light trails have already taken a chunk out of the budget.
Go on a weekday evening if you can. Belfast in particular is shoulder-to-shoulder on December Saturdays. The same market on a Tuesday at 5pm is a completely different, far more pleasant experience, and the food queues are minutes rather than half an hour.
Dates move every year. We have confirmed 2026 dates where they are published, and said so where they are not — most councils release their Christmas programme in October. Always check the official page, linked on every entry, before you travel.
Bring cash for the small ones. The big city markets all take cards, but the church-hall and community craft fairs often do not, and the best handmade gifts are usually on those stalls.
Buggies are easier early. Chalet aisles get tight once a market fills up. If you are pushing a buggy, aim for opening time rather than after school.
The small fairs are where the real presents are. The continental markets are wonderful for eating and atmosphere. The local craft fairs, listed further down, are where you actually find a handmade gift for a decent price.
1
Belfast Christmas Market
City Hall grounds, Belfast · 14 Nov – 22 Dec 2026 · free entry
The centrepiece of the whole Northern Ireland festive calendar, and the one everybody means when they say "the Christmas market". For six weeks the grounds of Belfast City Hall fill with more than a hundred wooden chalets from around the world — bratwurst and mulled wine, crêpes and hog roast, handmade gifts, a bar, and a carousel for the children, all under the floodlit dome. Free to wander, best after dark, and the unofficial start of Christmas for most families here. Santa's grotto sits inside the market too, usually run by a local charity.
Half a dayFree to wanderSix weeks · far quieter on weekday evenings
Armagh city centre · 26 – 29 Nov 2026 · free entry
The most atmospheric festive market in the country, because it is wrapped inside a whole festival. Armagh's Georgian streets fill with artisan stalls, costumed characters in period dress and family entertainment across four days at the end of November. It is a proper day out rather than a shopping trip — you go for the streets and the theatre of it as much as for the stalls. Armagh being a small, walkable cathedral city makes the whole thing easy with children.
Half a dayFree to wanderA street festival, not just stalls
Guildhall Square, Derry · December weekends · free entry
Guildhall Square is one of the best-looking market settings anywhere on the island — the Guildhall floodlit on one side, the city walls on the other. The Walled City Markets run across selected December weekends with handmade crafts, local artisan food and a lot of very good things to eat. Derry does Christmas properly, so pair it with the walls, the Christmas lights and the Guildhall craft fair and you have a full day without spending much.
2 – 3 hoursFree to wanderWeekend dates — check before travelling
Enniskillen Castle, Co Fermanagh · November · free entry
A castle courtyard market, and one of the first of the season rather than a December event. Enniskillen Castle hosts artisan food producers, handmade crafts and local art with live music and festive food through the days it runs. The setting is the draw — a genuine seventeenth-century castle on the water in the middle of Fermanagh's lakeland. If you are in the west, this is your market, and it is a good excuse to go into the castle museums while you are there.
2 hoursFree to wanderEarly in the season — usually November
The Dark Walk, Hillsborough, Co Down · 12 – 13 Dec 2026 · free entry
Small, pretty and only on for one weekend, which is exactly why it is worth planning around. The market runs along The Dark Walk, the tree-lined path through Royal Hillsborough, with the village's Georgian main street and the castle gardens right there. It is a two-hour outing rather than a day, so build it into a wider Hillsborough afternoon — the castle, the forest park and the village cafés are all within a short walk.
2 hoursFree to wanderOne weekend only — 3–9pm Fri, 12–6pm Sat
Florence Court, Enniskillen · 1 – 24 Dec 2026 · National Trust
Three things in one visit: a Christmas market, the great Georgian house dressed for the season, and a festive trail around the Fermanagh estate for the children. That combination is what lifts the National Trust Christmas events above a straightforward market — you are buying a whole afternoon rather than a browse. National Trust membership covers entry, which makes it very good value if you already carry a card.
Half a dayNT members free · non-members payA market plus a decorated house and a trail
The Argory, Moy, Co Armagh · 5 – 6 Dec 2026 · National Trust
A long-standing December weekend fixture for families in mid-Ulster, held in the courtyard and grounds of a Victorian country house above the River Blackwater. Craft and gift stalls, festive food, and the house and gardens to walk around afterwards. It runs for one weekend only and it is well attended, so go early in the day if you want to browse the stalls rather than shuffle past them.
Half a dayNT members free · non-members payOne weekend only
Castle Gardens, Lisburn · late Nov – 22 Dec 2026 · free
A mini Christmas market sitting inside the best free Christmas outing in Northern Ireland. The light trail winds through Castle Gardens in the middle of Lisburn for over a month, and along the route you get market stalls, live music, funfair rides and a Santa's grotto — all with no admission charge. It is not a big market, but it is free, it is central, and you can go more than once without it costing anything.
Bangor, Co Down · November – December · free entry
Bangor spreads its Christmas shopping across several events rather than one big market — a Christmas Passport day around the town centre traders, a pop-up shop of local makers at North Down Museum beside Bangor Castle that runs for weeks, and stalls around the lights switch-on. Together they make a good, low-key festive afternoon, and the seafront and Castle Park are right there to walk off the mince pies.
2 hoursFree to wanderSeveral separate events — check the listing
Action Cancer Christmas Craft Fair, Brownlow House
Brownlow House, Lurgan, Co Armagh · 21 Nov 2026 · charity fair
One of the nicest buildings in Northern Ireland to hold a craft fair in, and the money goes to Action Cancer. Brownlow House is a great sandstone mansion in the middle of Lurgan Park, and its Christmas fair fills the rooms with vendor stalls of handmade gifts. It is a single day in late November, which makes it a proper outing to plan for rather than a drop-in, and Lurgan Park is right outside for a walk afterwards.
2 hoursSmall entry · in aid of Action CancerOne day only — 21 November
Granshaw Presbyterian Church, Newtownards · 28 Nov 2026
The classic Northern Ireland church Christmas fair, and there is nothing better for finding an actual present. Craft and gift stalls, tea and traybakes, and festive activities across one Saturday afternoon at Granshaw near Newtownards. Bring cash. Fairs like this one are where the handmade wreaths, the knitting and the home baking are, at prices no continental market will match.
2 hoursUsually free or a small donationOne afternoon only — 28 November
The local craft fairs: Coleraine, Dungannon and Antrim
Across NI · 19 – 29 Nov 2026 · mostly free
The last week of November is craft fair season everywhere in Northern Ireland. Confirmed for 2026: the Christmas Craft Fair, Pre-loved and Pudding Party in Coleraine on 19 November, the Drumglass Parish Craft Fayre and the Dungannon Craft Fayre both on 21 November, and the Antrim Craft Fair on 29 November. There will be a dozen more in church halls and community centres near you that never make a listings site — worth asking locally, because they are the best-value gift shopping of the whole season.
1 – 2 hours eachFree or a small donationCash is safer than card at these
When does the Belfast Christmas Market open in 2026?
The Belfast Christmas Market runs in the grounds of Belfast City Hall from 14 November to 22 December 2026 — about six weeks. It is free to walk into, and it is far quieter on weekday evenings than on December Saturdays.
What Christmas markets are there in Northern Ireland?
The main ones are the Belfast Christmas Market at City Hall, the Festive Artisan Market at the Armagh Georgian Festival, the Walled City Markets in Derry's Guildhall Square, the Enniskillen Castle Christmas Market, the Royal Hillsborough market on The Dark Walk, and the National Trust Christmas markets at Florence Court and The Argory. Lisburn also has a market inside its free light trail.
Are Northern Ireland Christmas markets free to get into?
Almost all of them are. You pay for food, drink and whatever you buy, not for entry. The exceptions are the National Trust events at Florence Court and The Argory, where normal admission applies unless you are a member, and some charity craft fairs that ask for a small donation at the door.
When is the best time to go to the Belfast Christmas Market?
A weekday evening. Saturdays in December are shoulder-to-shoulder and the food queues can run to half an hour. The same market on a Tuesday or Wednesday from about 5pm is calm, the lights are on, and you can actually get to a stall.
Which NI Christmas market is best for buying handmade gifts?
The local craft fairs rather than the big continental markets — Brownlow House in Lurgan, the Granshaw fair near Newtownards, and the Coleraine, Dungannon and Antrim fairs in late November. Bring cash, as many of these stalls do not take cards.
Is the Belfast Christmas Market good for children?
Yes. There is a carousel, plenty of food they will actually eat, and Santa's grotto is inside the market. Go at opening time if you are pushing a buggy, because the chalet aisles get very tight once it fills up.
Which market is right for us?
Pick your market in one line
Want the big Christmas feeling? Belfast City Hall — six weeks, a hundred chalets, best after dark on a weekday.
Want a proper day out? The Armagh Georgian Festival or the National Trust markets at Florence Court and The Argory — a market plus a house, a trail and a walk.
Actually buying presents? Brownlow House in Lurgan, Granshaw near Newtownards, or your nearest church-hall fair in late November. Bring cash.
Spending nothing? The Lisburn Light Trail market is free for over a month, and every market above is free to walk into.
