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Say farewell to busy department stores and swap stressful Christmas shopping for something a little more laid back: come to Kyiv for it’s glittering Christmas Markets!
Covered in snow, Kyiv is a fairytale in winter. The city installs a huge real Christmas tree in St. Sophia square, brought in from the Carpathian mountains, which sits at the head of rows and rows of lights, leading the way to the Christmas markets.
Here you can shop for handmade gifts, or try delicious sweets and donuts sold from cute wooden huts. You’ll find foodie treats, creative crafts, arty offerings to live music, and everything else you’ll need to get your festive shopping done and dusted this year!
These markets get bigger and bigger every year, and this year they will spread over Kontraktova, Sofiyivska and Mykhaylivska squares. Most Christmas Markets in Ukraine start in mid-December and run until mid/end of January!
Lviv is one of the most visited cities during the Christmas holiday, and for a good reason! Charming at the best of times, visiting Lviv at Christmastime feels like walking into a winter wonderland.
With an ice rink on the main square, mulled wine booths dotted all around, and a wealth of markets to choose from, Lviv is the place to be when it gets chilly! Wander the wide boulevard leading up to Lviv’s stunning Opera House, while shopping for souvenirs and handicrafts from all over Europe, or eating fresh “chimney cakes” under the glistening lights!
Lviv’s Christmas Markets start in mid-December, on St.Nicholas’ Day through to mid-January. They run down the entirety of Svobody Avenue and all around the Town Hall on Rynok Square.
The seaside might not be your top choice at wintertime, but Odesa’s Christmas Markets might be enough to tempt you! Odesa holds a German-style market called the Kirche Christmas Fair.
Visitors have the chance to enjoy all the conventional attributes of European Christmas markets while strolling Odesa’s impressive boulevards. Listen to Christmas carols, try some sweet punch or fragrant mulled wine, while snacking on grilled German sausages.
The main market is held in the courtyard of the Lutheran Cathedral of St. Paul, but you can also wander down Derbasivskaya Street while sipping a mulled wine and enjoying the twinkling lights. Markets here run from the start of December until 27th December.
Wintertime in the Carpathian Mountains is magical… And made more so by the variety of beautiful gifts you can buy on the local markets! Artists come from all around to sell their wares in Yaremche and Kosiv, home to the two biggest markets in these parts.
The biggest market is the Kosiv Bazar – famous across Ukraine. Here you can find a whole host of unique items to bring home – choose from intricate wooden jewelry boxes, handcrafted pottery, delicate embroidery, quality leather goods and much more. And if you get chilly – you can get warm woolen socks and beautiful woolen blankets or “lizhnyky”, made in the same way for hundreds of years in the local village of Yavoriv.
You can take the time to sip hot mulled wine with a view of the mountains, and even take the chance to ski at the largest ski resort in Eastern Europe – Bukovel. They even have a few of their own markets!
The Kosiv and Yaremche Bazaars run all year. Get in touch to start planning your Christmas Shopping Trip to Ukraine – today!
OR we can plan a tour to suit you. Just get in touch.