The Most Beautiful Christmas Market in Varaždin, Croatia

Festive Varaždin has been on my bucket list for a while, everyone always raves about how beautiful the Christmas markets are there, so I had to visit it myself. 

Varaždin is a city in the north of Croatia and close to the Slovenian border, so it's not far from where I live but I would say it's worth visiting even if you don't live close to it. This year I have visited a few Austrian Christmas markets but this one in Croatia impressed me more. There is just so much going on everywhere: you have an ice skating ring, a main square market, a Santa Claus Village ("Čarobni grad Djeda Mraza") and also an advent ferris wheel (I think it costs 20€ for 4 persons). 

You have a lot of markets where you can buy hot dogs, hamburgers, mulled wine, etc., and of course, some markets where you can buy souvenirs (magnets, festive bulbs...). It was crowded, of course, but not as crowded as in Austria. One thing to keep in mind - Croatian Christmas markets are usually open till the first week of January, longer than Austrian and German ones, which usually end around the 23rd or 24th of December, so you have more time to visit them, especially if you can't get time off until after the holidays. In my opinion, Varaždin is totally worth visiting, especially in the festive season. You can see how magical it is through the photos below and also on my Instagram and TikTok. 

Thank you for reading!