Nottingham Winter Wonderland named among top 5 UK Christmas markets to visit in 2023

Nottingham's Winter Wonderland has been scoring big in the Christmas market rankings this year
By Abigail Rabbett
Published 7th Dec 2023, 10:25 GMT
7 November – 31 December. Nottingham’s highly acclaimed Winter Wonderland is back again for 2023. Consistently ranked as one of the best Christmas markets in the UK, this year’s Winter Wonderland will see the return of last year’s hugely popular sky rink, as well as ski bar, festive stalls, and observation wheel. Entry to the markets is free with additional activities costing extra.7 November – 31 December. Nottingham’s highly acclaimed Winter Wonderland is back again for 2023. Consistently ranked as one of the best Christmas markets in the UK, this year’s Winter Wonderland will see the return of last year’s hugely popular sky rink, as well as ski bar, festive stalls, and observation wheel. Entry to the markets is free with additional activities costing extra.
7 November – 31 December. Nottingham’s highly acclaimed Winter Wonderland is back again for 2023. Consistently ranked as one of the best Christmas markets in the UK, this year’s Winter Wonderland will see the return of last year’s hugely popular sky rink, as well as ski bar, festive stalls, and observation wheel. Entry to the markets is free with additional activities costing extra.

A new ranking has revealed which of the UK’s Christmas markets are the most worthwhile this festive season and Nottingham ranks fifth.

The ranking from JeffBet considered markets’ availability (opening dates/times), accessibility (closest car park and train station), affordability (food/drink prices, entry fee, ice rink tickets), attractions (traders, food stalls, and ice rink) and appeal (online popularity and reviews).  

Each market was awarded a ‘must-visit’ score out of 10 based on their performance across these metrics - and Nottingham Winter Wonderland was hailed one of the best!

Read more: Christmas in Nottingham

Manchester Christmas market took the top by spot scoring  7.4 out of 10, largely due to its sheer volume of food stalls and traders, with over 225 stalls across nine sites throughout the city centre - including around 75 food vendors - and a public outdoor ice-skating rink. (That's pretty hard to compete with...)

However, Manchester could have performed better for visitor appeal, as although it’s attracted an impressive 33.2 million views on TikTok, it has a visitor rating of just 4 out of 5 and has a far lower monthly search volume (6.9k) than Nottingham (10k).

This should come as no surprise given the plethora of star rankings Nottingham's Winter Wonderland has received this year, also ranking in the top 10 for affordability, popularity and Instagram-worthiness.

In this study Nottingham had an overall score of 6.4 out of 10, ranking best for availability. Winter Wonderland runs from November 7 until December 31 in the Old Market Square.

Top 10 UK Christmas markets to visit in 2023

1. Manchester - 7.4/10

2. Birmingham 7.3/10

3. Glasgow - 6.9/10

4. London - 6/7/10

5. Nottingham 6.7/10

6. Edinburgh - 6/10

7. Sheffield- 5.8/10

8. Belfast - 5.7/10

9. Southampton - 5.7/10

10. Leeds - 5.5/10

Related topics:ChristmasNottinghamAccessibilityManchesterTradersBirmingham