Want to enjoy the sights, sounds, tastes, and excitement of the Christmas season in Italy and also get to explore some incredible Christmas markets? Well, then you’ll need our guide to some of the amazing examples that can be found across the country and, while Italy is not as famous as some places for Christmas markets, there are some brilliant ones to enjoy while savouring all of the regular and seasonal delights on offer on vacation in Italy.
28th of November 2025 to the 6th of January 2026
A pretty Alpine town with medieval roots set against the Dolomites, Bolzano is a perfectly picturesque spot to enjoy a day wandering around, taking in the twinkling lights and pretty old streets, sipping mulled wine, and shopping in a Christmas market.
The market in Bolzano stretches from Piazza Walther, through the streets, and to the Christmas Park that will be set up near the cathedral. A long-standing event and the biggest Christmas market in Italy, it has remained charmingly traditional but has continued to expand and evolve over the years. Now, in addition to the regular market – where you can browse the wares of sellers at dozens of stalls set within charming wooden Alpine huts, eat local foods, listen to live traditional music, bring kids to events just for them and play areas – you can also enjoy a stretch of craftsmen’s huts along Via Isarco. One of the best things about the Bolzano market, in particular, is that strictly local handmade decorations and gifts are sold, ensuring that the things you buy are unique and special.
So, find a vacation rental in Trentino and come spend a wonderful festive day enjoying the biggest Christmas market in Italy in Bolzano for the day!
Arezzo
15th of November 2025 to the 6th of January 2026
Arezzo’s Città del Natale, meanwhile, is Tuscany’s largest Christmas market and another of the biggest and most exciting offerings in Italy. Similarly to Bolzano, the market is part of a larger Christmas takeover that sees this beautiful medieval town also transformed into a festive wonderland. The Tyrolean-style Christmas market is held in the Piazza Grande and also features merchants who come from all over Italy, Austria, and Germany selling everything from handcrafted Christmas decorations to beer to clothes from Alpine-style wooden huts.
In addition to this market at the core of the event there are also more stalls in Piazza San Jacopo and Piazza Risorgimento, an ice-skating rink, Santa’s house, a special light event and walk through Il Prato Park, lights and decorations all throughout the town, plenty of other special festive events, and much more besides.
Book a holiday rental in Arezzo and enjoy the major festive extravaganza on offer in this perfectly pretty town in Tuscany!
Rome, Milan, and Florence
While perhaps not reason enough to choose any of these destinations in particular, each of these major cities in Italy have several interesting Christmas markets to explore from ones with Alpine huts and traditional Christmas market offerings, to art fairs, craft fairs, and much more besides. Book a vacation rental in Rome, a holiday rental in Milan, or a villa in Florence over the Holiday period and you’ll be able to enjoy the beautiful streets of these great cities made lovelier by lights and decorations, the concerts, choirs, events, shopping, food, wine, and more as well as the various markets – it’s a wonderful time of the year for a city break!
So, whether you’re heading to a scenic medieval town that is Christmas obsessed like Bolzano or Arezzo to experience their renowned markets or you’re going to fit some markets into a winter break in Italy, we think it’s a pretty magical place for a holiday during the Holidays!
