Brașov Christmas Market

The market is the reason most people come to Brașov in December. Wooden cabins fill Piața Sfatului around a tall natural tree — in 2025 it was a 31-metre fir, with around fifty stalls — and the Council House sits lit in the middle of it all. In 2025 the market also spread into Piața Sfântul Ioan and the streets towards the university; whether it does so again in 2026 has not been announced.

Weekday afternoons are the sweet spot. In 2025 the stalls opened at 14:00 on weekdays and 10:00 at weekends, closing at 22:00. Saturday evenings are crowded, and on the December weekends Brașov fills with visitors from Bucharest. Come at four, as the lights come on, and walk up to the Black Church before it closes.

What is sold is the usual Romanian market mix: mulled wine, chimney cakes, sausages, cozonac and handmade decorations, with a fair share of generic goods. The setting is the reason to come, not the shopping.

The city's free New Year's Eve party takes place in the middle of the Christmas market. For 2025/26 the programme was a radio-station concert and DJ sets, with a laser show instead of fireworks, and public transport running until 01:30. The 2026/27 line-up had not been announced when we checked in September 2026.

If you want a table rather than a crowd, book a hotel or restaurant New Year's dinner early — in the old town and in Poiana Brașov the good ones sell out weeks ahead.

Poiana is not a market but a resort at about 1,020 m, twenty minutes above the city — and at Christmas it is where much of Brașov's luxury is. Hotels run their own Christmas and New Year programmes; the pistes open when the snow and the snow-making allow, usually around mid-December. See our Poiana Brașov guide and ski guide for lifts, passes and where to stay.

Getting up: bus 20 from Livada Poștei runs to Poiana on the city's RATBV network, and transport is free on Fridays within the municipality.

If one market is not enough, Sibiu's in Piața Mare is the other famous one. It is a long day: about 142 km and roughly two and a half hours each way by car on the DN1 (the A13 motorway is still under construction), or a longer train ride. Stop at Făgăraș citadel on the way.

Honestly: it is worth an overnight, not a round trip. Leave Brașov after lunch, see the Sibiu market lit up, sleep there and drive back the next morning.