Tallinn Christmas Markets: What to Eat & Drink

The short version: the Tallinn Christmas Market on Town Hall Square (Raekoja plats) runs from 20 November 2026 to 6 January 2027, open daily from 10am to 8pm with hot drinks served later. The drink is glögi, Estonia’s spiced mulled drink, poured with or without alcohol. The foods to hunt down are verivorst blood sausage with sauerkraut, roast pork, piparkoogid gingerbread and cardamom buns, with a shot of Vana Tallinn liqueur for the cold. On a short visit, a guided food tour is the shortcut to the best stalls and the Old Town’s traditional kitchens.

At a glance

Question	Answer
Dates 2026/27	20 November 2026 to 6 January 2027, daily 10am to 8pm; hot drinks until 10pm, and 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays (official organiser and Visit Tallinn dates)
Drink	Glögi (alcoholic or non-alcoholic), spiced wine to a medieval recipe, Vana Tallinn liqueur
Street food	Verivorst (blood sausage), hapukapsas (sauerkraut), roast pork, venison sausage, pelmeni
Sweet	Piparkoogid (gingerbread), cinnamon and cardamom buns, kama
Best markets	Town Hall Square (Raekoja plats), Balti Jaam Market, Telliskivi Creative City, Põhjala Factory, Estonian Open Air Museum
Mug deposit	2 euros, refunded in full when you return the mug to a collection point
Best time to go	Weekday afternoons for space, after dark for the lights; Sunday 29 November 2026, the first Sunday of Advent, for the tree lighting

What to drink at the Tallinn Christmas markets

Glögi is Estonia’s Christmas drink: red wine or berry juice heated with cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and orange peel. The non-alcoholic version is taken seriously here. The organiser claims the widest glögi selection in Europe, including a spiced wine made to a medieval recipe. In 2025 a cup of glögi on Town Hall Square cost about 8 euros, glühwein 7 euros and the non-alcoholic glögi 6 euros, which makes this the priciest market in town.

Drinks come in a mug with a 2 euro deposit, refunded in full when you hand it back at a collection point, or keep it as a souvenir. The other local warmer is Vana Tallinn, a dark liqueur made in Estonia since 1960 from Jamaican rum, citrus, cinnamon and vanilla. Try it neat or in hot coffee. Glögi stalls stay open two hours after the food and gift stalls close, until 10pm, and 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays.

What to eat at the Tallinn Christmas markets

Food	What it is	Where to find it
Verivorst	Blood sausage made with barley, the classic Estonian Christmas dish, served with sauerkraut, potatoes and lingonberry jam or mustard	Hot-food stalls on Town Hall Square (about 16 euros a plate in 2025)
Hapukapsas	Sauerkraut braised slowly, often with pork and barley, the side dish at every Estonian Christmas table	Town Hall Square, with the sausage and roast pork plates
Seapraad	Roast pork, including slow-cooked pork side with crackling	Town Hall Square
Venison sausage	Grilled game sausage, a nod to Estonia’s hunting traditions	Town Hall Square; grilled game sausages also at III Draakon
Elk broth	A thick, peppery soup of elk meat, eaten with a hand pie	III Draakon, inside the Town Hall
Pelmeni	Small meat dumplings with sour cream, part of Tallinn’s Slavic food heritage	Town Hall Square (about 9 euros in 2025); Siberian dumplings at Moon
Piparkoogid	Thin, crisp gingerbread biscuits spiced with cinnamon, cloves and black pepper	Sweet stalls on Town Hall Square and at Põhjala Factory
Kaneelisai and kardemonisai	Soft yeast buns rolled with cinnamon or cardamom, very good with glögi	Bakery stalls on Town Hall Square
Kama	A roasted flour of barley, rye, oats and peas, stirred into kefir or whipped cream as a dessert	Estonian dessert menus and food shops; ask for kama with whipped cream
Rukkileib	Dense, dark Estonian rye bread, served with almost every meal	On the table at traditional restaurants such as Rataskaevu 16

The one thing not to miss is a plate of verivorst with sauerkraut and lingonberry jam. It is what Estonians eat at Christmas at home, and on Town Hall Square you can eat it standing under the tree with a hot glögi in the other hand.

The best Tallinn Christmas markets

Tallinn’s Christmas centres on one big market in the medieval Old Town, with smaller, more local markets in the converted factory districts to the west. Entry is free. The Town Hall Square market was voted the best Christmas market in Europe in the European Best Destinations poll for 2019.

Town Hall Square (Raekoja plats)

The Tallinn Christmas Market fills the medieval square below the Gothic Town Hall, with wooden stalls, a stage and a tall Christmas tree in the middle. Tallinn says a tree has stood here since 1441, when the merchants’ Brotherhood of Blackheads danced around one, a claim Riga disputes. The 2026 market opens at 6pm on 20 November 2026 and runs until the evening of 6 January 2027, open every day from 10am to 8pm, with hot drinks until 10pm (11pm on Fridays and Saturdays). Santa is in his cottage daily from noon to 6pm from 29 November. The tree is lit on the first Sunday of Advent, and you can see in the New Year on the square.

The 2026 market runs under a new city tender, with activity kiosks added to the food and glögi stalls and the season extended past New Year for the first time in recent years. Food is hearty and Estonian: blood sausage, sauerkraut, roast pork, venison sausage, lamb cutlets and duck confit, plus gingerbread and cardamom buns.

Balti Jaam Market

Next to the Baltic railway station, a short walk west of the Old Town, the Balti Jaam Market runs its own Christmas market from 20 November 2026 to 6 January 2027. Its kiosks focus on street food, and in 2025 glühwein here was cheaper than on Town Hall Square. It is the place for a cheaper, more local lunch.

Telliskivi Creative City

Telliskivi Creative City, the factory complex turned design district behind Balti Jaam, holds a one-day Christmas market on Saturday 19 December 2026, the weekend before Christmas. Guest makers join the resident shops and studios in the Green Hall and outdoor streets, selling handmade gifts, knitwear and jewellery, with music and hot drinks. In 2025 it ran from 11am to 5pm. Stay on for dinner at Moon in the same complex.

Christmas Wonderland at Põhjala Factory

The old Põhjala Factory in Kopli, now full of studios and small businesses, opens its doors for a Christmas Wonderland on Saturday 5 December 2026. In 2025 it ran from 2pm to 7pm with gingerbread stalls, workshops and handmade Estonian design. It is a good one if you want a market with almost no tour groups.

Christmas village at the Estonian Open Air Museum

West of the centre at Rocca al Mare, the Estonian Open Air Museum turns its old farm buildings into a Christmas village on 12 and 13 December 2026, with a fair around the museum inn and a visit from Santa. It is the best place to see an old-style Estonian Christmas.

Where to eat a proper meal near the markets

All of these are a short walk or tram ride from the markets.

• Olde Hansa, a short walk from Town Hall Square, is a candlelit medieval-style restaurant with staff in costume and dishes cooked to 15th-century recipes, including game such as bear and elk. Theatrical and touristy, but the food is taken seriously; Falstaff’s Nordics guide gave it 86 points for 2026.
• Rataskaevu 16, on the street of the same name just off the square, is a warm Old Town room for Estonian comfort food. Order the braised elk roast with potato and beetroot gratin (29.40 euros on the 2026 menu). Book ahead; its sister room Väike Rataskaevu at Niguliste 6 takes the overflow.
• III Draakon, inside the Town Hall itself, is a tiny candlelit tavern serving elk broth, large hand pies with six fillings and grilled game sausages, with the cheapest wine and beer on the square. Seats are few, so go early.
• Café Maiasmokk at Pikk 16 is the oldest working café in Estonia, founded in 1864, with a marzipan room next door. Come for coffee, cake and marzipan figures between market visits.
• Moon, in Telliskivi near Balti Jaam, serves flavourful Slavic dishes such as Siberian dumplings and carp in sour cream. Mid-priced (€€). (Michelin listing)
• Põhjala Tap Room, the Põhjala brewery’s tap room in the Noblessner harbour, pairs its craft beers with 12-hour smoked brisket. Mid-priced (€€). (Michelin listing)

Names link to Google Maps for directions. We checked these places in October 2026. Christmas opening days change, so check before you go.

Christmas market tours to book in Tallinn

The best Estonian food is spread between market stalls, medieval taverns and the food halls around Balti Jaam. A guided food walk links them in an afternoon, with tastings of blood sausage, black bread, glögi and Vana Tallinn and the stories behind the merchant town.

Experience	Length	Rating (reviews)	Best for	Book
Estonian Food, Drinks and History Tour	2 hours	4.6 (415)	Estonian food and drink	Check availability
Winter Legends and Christmas Market Tour	2.5 hours	New	The market and the Old Town	Check availability
Forest Lights and Sled Dogs, beyond Tallinn	2 hours	New	A winter outing	Check availability

Our pick: the Estonian Food, Drinks and History Tour, rated 4.6 from 415 reviews on GetYourGuide.

Ratings as shown on GetYourGuide in October 2026. Seasonal tours sell out in December, so check the listing for live dates and prices.

Tips for visiting

• Entry to all the markets is free; you pay only for food, drink and gifts.
• Keep the mug or return it: the 2 euro deposit is refunded in full at a collection point.
• Town Hall Square is the most expensive market in Tallinn. Eat one meal there for the setting, then go to Balti Jaam Market for cheaper street food.
• Gift and food stalls close at 8pm, but the glögi stalls stay open until 10pm (11pm on Fridays and Saturdays), so the square is liveliest after dinner.
• Go on Sunday 29 November 2026 for the tree lighting on the first Sunday of Advent, or on New Year’s Eve, when the market stays open to see in 2027.
• The Old Town’s cobbles are steep and icy in winter. Wear shoes with grip and dress for real cold.
• Telliskivi, Balti Jaam and Põhjala Factory are all in the north-west of the centre, so you can combine them in one afternoon on foot or by tram.

Frequently asked questions

When are the Tallinn Christmas markets 2026?

The Tallinn Christmas Market on Town Hall Square runs from 20 November 2026 to 6 January 2027, open daily from 10am to 8pm. Balti Jaam Market’s Christmas market runs on the same dates, and Telliskivi holds its one-day market on 19 December 2026.

What do you eat at the Tallinn Christmas markets?

Verivorst blood sausage with sauerkraut, roast pork, venison sausage and pelmeni, with piparkoogid gingerbread and cardamom buns for something sweet. For elk broth and game pies, step into III Draakon in the Town Hall.

What is glögi?

Glögi is the Estonian version of mulled wine, made with red wine or berry juice and warm spices such as cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. In Tallinn it is sold with or without alcohol, and the non-alcoholic version is just as popular.

Which Tallinn Christmas market is best?

Town Hall Square, for the medieval setting, the tree and the food. For lower prices and a local crowd, Balti Jaam Market. For handmade gifts, Telliskivi on 19 December or the Põhjala Factory on 5 December.

Is the Tallinn Christmas Market open on 25 and 26 December?

Yes. The organiser lists the market as open every day from 20 November 2026 to 6 January 2027, including Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Many restaurants close or change hours on 24 and 25 December, so book ahead.

Is a Tallinn Christmas market tour worth it?

On a short trip, yes. A guide takes you past the tourist stalls to the dishes Estonians actually eat at Christmas, adds a tavern or food hall and explains the drinks, all in a few hours.

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