Bath Christmas Market 2026: Dates, Crowds and How to Actually Enjoy It

For just over a fortnight each winter the streets between the Abbey and Milsom Street fill with wooden chalets, and Bath has its busiest stretch of the whole year. The 2026 market runs from Thursday 26 November to Sunday 13 December. Entry is free and there is nothing to book. What decides whether you enjoy it is mostly when you go and how you get there.

Dates and opening times

• Dates: Thursday 26 November to Sunday 13 December 2026.
• Monday to Wednesday: 10am to 7pm.
• Thursday to Saturday: 10am to 8pm.
• Sunday: 10am to 6pm.
• Cost: free to walk round; you pay for what you buy, and contactless works almost everywhere.

The chalets are spread across the centre rather than in one square: Abbeygate Street, Bath Street and the Abbey Quarter, up through Union Street to Milsom Street, and, new this year, New Bond Street. The official market map shows which streets carry which stalls.

When to go

Weekends, and Saturdays above all, are when the narrow streets round the Abbey slow to a shuffle, trains arrive full and hotel prices peak. If you have any choice, come on a weekday and come early: Tuesday or Wednesday from opening is the calm version of the market. Thursday to Saturday evenings stay open until 8pm and look their best once the Bath stone is floodlit, but they are also when the crowds are thickest.

A midweek morning also leaves the afternoon free for the rest of the city. The Mayor of Bath's Honorary Guides run free two-hour walks from outside the Pump Room at 10:30am and 2pm, Sunday to Friday (10:30am only on Saturday), with no booking for individuals and no tips accepted; see our listing for the details.

Getting there

By train is the easy answer. Bath Spa station is a five-minute level walk from the Abbey, and direct GWR trains run from London Paddington in around 80 to 90 minutes and from Bristol Temple Meads in 11 to 15. Advance fares from Paddington are far cheaper than walk-up ones, and market weekends are exactly when the walk-up price stings.

By car, use Park & Ride and treat it as compulsory on market weekends, because the central car parks fill by mid-morning. The three sites are Lansdown (route 31) to the north, Newbridge (21) to the west and Odd Down (41) to the south. The buses run extended hours while the market is on; check the market's plan your journey page for this year's times before you set off. Private cars are not charged in Bath's Clean Air Zone, whatever their emissions.

There is more on trains, coaches and parking on our getting to Bath page.

Eating away from the chalets

Market food is fine for walking about, but on a busy day a proper sit-down is worth a few minutes' detour. Walk-in options help most, because restaurants near the Abbey book up on market weekends.

• The Raven, Queen Street: cask ale and pies, no bookings, no telly.
• The Star Inn, the Vineyards: a 1760 heritage pub and the Abbey Ales tap, walk-in, ten minutes uphill from the crowds.
• Landrace, Walcot Street: the bakery downstairs is walk-in; the small restaurant upstairs needs booking.
• The Scallop Shell, Monmouth Place: fish and chips and a seafood grill on the quieter west side; book for supper.
• Corkage, Chapel Row, off Queen Square: wine and small plates, closed on Sundays.

Our Bath eat and drink page has the rest.

Staying over

This is the most expensive fortnight of the year for Bath rooms. If you want to stay a market weekend, book as early as you can, or stay midweek, or stay in Bristol, which is a quarter of an hour away by train.

Where these details come from

Market dates, opening hours, streets and the extended Park & Ride service are from the Bath Christmas Market's own site, checked 18 October 2026. Train times and Park & Ride routes are from our Bath transport records, and the Clean Air Zone rule is from Bath and North East Somerset Council, checked 4 October 2026. The guided walks and restaurant details are from our Bath listings, last checked 4 October 2026. If anything here differs from the market's site, the market's site is right.