Bath Christmas Market

Bath's long-running council-run Christmas market, with wooden chalets spread through the streets of the historic city centre around the Abbey and Roman Baths.

Bath Christmas Market fills the streets of the World Heritage city centre with wooden chalets, stretching roughly from Abbeygate Street in the south up to Milsom Street, with clusters on Bath Street, Union Street and around the Abbey. It began in 2001 as a gathering of local businesses and makers and is now run by Bath & North East Somerset Council.

The organisers say more than 250 traders and caterers take part over the run, in around 180 chalets, and most of them come from the South West. Expect handmade gifts, decorations and plenty of hot food and mulled drinks, with entertainment programmed through the season.

Entry is free. Weekends get very busy, and the organisers suggest midweek visits for a calmer time; on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings (10am–12pm) there is a quiet-shopping period with no large-scale entertainment. Some areas, such as Abbey Green, are cobbled. Park & Ride and the train are recommended for getting in, and some road closures affect Blue Badge parking on Cheap Street, Westgate Street and Upper Borough Walls.