market

The award-winning York Christmas Market will return from 14 November to 22 December 2024. 

The 75 famous alpine chalets will line Parliament Street and St Sampson’s Square, once again, creating a festive wonderland of local traders and artisan products. To add to the festivities, families, and all visitors alike, can enjoy a ride on the vintage carousel on King’s Square.  

York Christmas Market won the ‘Best Large Speciality Market’ category at the Great British Market Awards, organised by The National Association of British Market Authorities (NABMA). We share this alongside Stratford-upon-Avon.   

The York Christmas Market showcases the city at its very best and is a brilliant example of how both residents and visitors support Yorkshire based businesses. With 80% of this year’s traders being Yorkshire based businesses, including street food and the traditional mulled wine options. 

Consideration for environmental sustainability and accessibility is a constant priority every year. 

Sustainable traders were prioritized to ensure a positive environmental and social impact. These traders are committed to ethical practices, using eco-friendly materials, and supporting fair standards. By prioritizing them, we aim to promote a more responsible and conscious market that benefits everyone.  

As per last year, the market will designate a quieter period from 10am to 12pm daily, so visitors can enjoy the atmosphere music-free and with fewer people.

The Virtual Market will return, enabling attendees to plan their visit in advance. Visitors can easily locate the chalets beforehand and map out their route for convenient access. 

Involvement in the Take A Seat Initiative will also allow a rest for those in need. The initiative is all about making the city more accessible to older people who may have reduced mobility but want to get out and about. 

Ensuring safety is always at the forefront with standard measures in place, and this year, this includes being part of the Safe Space Scheme. This is a community of businesses that provide a safe and secure place for women to go to if they feel under threat in any way. 

Other considerations for the market include encouraging visitors to use the online Toilet Map finder when they need to locate a restroom.   

Public transport will always be favoured to travel to the city centre, including York Park & Ride, which has regular services into the city across its six sites.   

Sarah Loftus, Managing Director of Make It York, said: 

“We are thrilled to announce the return of our award-winning Christmas Market! The team works hard to implement numerous measures to ensure a delightful and inclusive experience for all. We are always dedicated to creating a festive environment that everyone can enjoy.” 

For full details and events, visit visityork.org/christmas 

END 

PRESS RELEASE: 15 August 2024 

Notes to Editors 

Download images – CREDIT: Make It York. For more images, register for the Visit York Media Library. 

Contact: comms@makeityork.com   

About Make It York  

Make It York’s purpose is to develop and promote the city and its surroundings – nationally and internationally – as a vibrant and attractive place to live, visit, study, work and do business. Its mission is to grow the economic prosperity and wider wellbeing of York and its citizens. In practice, this means delivering a range of projects and programmes based around our corporate strategic priorities. These are: City positioning and profile-raising; Ensuring an exciting city centre; Delivering the city’s ground-breaking Cultural Strategy. MakeItYork.com 

About Visit York 

Visit York is a part of Make It York and is the leisure tourism brand. Under the brand Visit York, Make It York’s aim is to market York as a must-see world-class destination to the leisure and business visitor and ensure investment to develop the quality of tourism in York. Activity covers all aspects of tourism marketing and PR, including market intelligence, as well as providing business support through the membership programme. Visit York operate the Visit York Pass, York’s city-sightseeing card, and run the Visitor Information Centre. VisitYork.org