Your Complete Guide to Food And Drink at Vienna’s Christmas Markets
Vienna’s Christmas markets are all about atmosphere, and delicious food and drink. While there is also shopping, many people meet in the evening to socialize, and that means food and drinks!
You’ll find lots of options at the Vienna Weihnachtsmärktes, but we’ve pulled together a list of our favorites. Traditional punch-style drinks are served both with and without alcohol, as well as beer and hard spirits.
If you’re hungry, you’ll find hearty meals ranging from noodles to potatoes, and even soup in bread bowls, often with meat or cheese included. Don’t forget to bring cash to pay for your food and drink, as credit is often not accepted.
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Our Favorite Christmas Market Foods
These are some of our favorite traditional foods that you’ll find at most Christmas markets in Vienna. The markets aim to be sustainable, so they serve everything with paper and bamboo products, or other recyclable materials.
Keep in mind there are no chairs, so you’ll be eating standing up, either holding your food or at a high table.
Most Christmas markets open around 11 am, so you can visit during the day for shopping and lunch, but they really get going after dark when you can enjoy the Christmas lights and decorations. It gets dark around 4:30 in December in Vienna, so it’s easy to arrive after dusk. It does get cold, but many of the traditional dishes (and drinks) are hot, and help to keep you warm.
Trying to decide which markets to go to? You don’t need to visit them all, choose a few from our complete list of the best Christmas Markets in Vienna and spend your time enjoying them rather than racing between them.
We are particularly partial to enjoying our Austrian food at the markets of the Schonbrunn Palace or the Belvedere Palace.
Best Christmas Market Tour
in Vienna
Learn about Austrian Christmas Traditions on a Walking Tour
Spaetzle or Nocken
Spaetzle is the German word for a traditional style pressed dumpling or egg noodles, made by pushing dough through a strainer to make short odd-shaped pieces. Kaese Spaetzle or Kasnocken (Austrian) is the original mac and cheese, usually served with caramelized onions on top.
You can also find Kasnocken served with meat and cheese (like bacon), pulled pork, or a red sauce or pesto. However you have it, you really cannot go wrong. Hot, hearty, and cheesy, it’s sure to warm you up on a cold winter’s eve.
Wurst and Hot Dogs
Another favorite, Vienna-style sausages and hotdogs are typical Viennese market fare. Wurst is a thick sausage, and there are literally hundreds of kinds, and typically served on a sliced roll, with mustard, sauteed onions, and other toppings.
Hotdogs are thin and longer than in the United States and are either served in a link or stuffed into a hollowed-out roll with mustard, ketchup, and mayo.
You may also see hotdogs listed “mit brot”, or “with bread”, this does not mean that it comes on a roll. You will literally get a hotdog and then be handed a separate piece of bread.
These are terrific “fillers” in that they are nutritious, and filling, and the bread soaks up all that Glühwein!
Gross Krapfen
This translates literally to “large donut” and they are as big as your face. They are similar to a yeast donut, without a hole in the middle. You may also see these called Riesenkrapfen.
You can sometimes choose the filling and then watch them fill it right in front of you. Common flavors include marille (apricot), schoko (chocolate), and vanille (vanilla) Watch your kid’s face light up when you hand them this one!
Baked Potatoes
Called an Ofenkartoffel, baked potatoes are a hearty meal- they are large potatoes that come stuffed with all sorts of ingredients including cheese, corn, and even ham. They are served in a paper bowl with a fork.
Soup in Bread Bowls
Another hearty, warming option is soup! Available in a cup, or as a larger serving in a bread bowl. You’ll find options from tomato soup to goulash, to garlic soup, to potato and corn chowder.
Schaumbecher
This is a cone filled with marshmallow creme, but light, and not so sticky. They come in several flavors, including chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, and coconut. You’ll see these in places with other treats for kids including cotton candy, and chocolate covered fruit. These are a delicious treat for kids and adults!
Langos
These are like a large, flat fried dough, but often served covered in garlic butter. Fresh, they are delicious.
Raclette
This tangy, melty cheese is often associated with Switzerland, but you’ll find it in various iterations in the Viennese Christmas Markets. You can get it with ham or bacon on top of a slice of bread, or as we prefer, drizzled over boiled potatoes. Very rich, very delicious.
This dish is very popular, so you may have to wait in line for it. If you want some, we advise getting it when you arrive, as they can sell out!
Pretzels
Again, expect these to be as big as your head. You can choose traditional with salt, apple cinnamon, donut-style, white chocolate, poppyseed, and more. We love the traditional best, but the other flavors are always tempting.
Our Favorite Christmas Market Drinks
There are a lot of drink options at most Christmas markets in Vienna, especially if you like sweeter, alcoholic options. Here are some of the ones we recommend.
All drinks are served in reusable, souvenir mugs. The mug is usually marked with the name and image of the specific market, as well as the year. You pay a deposit for the cup and are free to take it with you if you like or return it for your deposit (4 to 6 Euros).
A few varieties of beer are usually available, though these are not as popular, as they don’t keep you warm. You will also find shots of alcohol available, from apricot schnapps (marillenscnaps) to vodka.
Glühwein
This mulled wine is the most traditional drink you’ll find in a Vienna Christmas market. This is the most famous and most popular drink and a great place to start exploring all of your options.
Sometimes it is simply called “Glühwein”, other times you’ll have your choice of Glühwein “Roser”, “Weiss” or “Uhudler”(a wine unique to Austria), meaning red, white, or rosé! Red is the most traditional, but all are delicious. A mug of Gluwein is around 5€, plus a deposit for the cup.
You’ll also see Glühwein Alkoholfrei (alcohol-free), as well as “bio” versions that use organic wines.
Kinderpunsch
This is the Glühwein version for the kids! It’s basically a hot fruit punch with a slice of fruit in it. It can be quite sweet, but it’s hot and lets the kids get into the Christmas drink action.
A lot of kids adore it and look forward to it all year, our kids thought it was ok, but a bit too sweet. Mugs of Kinderpunsch are usually around 3€.
Feuer Zangen Bowle
This is a traditional drink that involves lighting a sugar cube soaked in rum on fire and letting the caramelized sugar drip into the mulled wine below. More rum is added until all the sugar has melted. There is a special contraption to do this, and the ceremony of creating it is half the fun.
Other Traditional Drinks
You’ll see lots of other drinks on the menu including Sisi Punsch (cherry punch with Amaretto), Marillenpunsch (apricot punch with rum), as well as apple and chocolate versions.
These are generally sweeter than the traditional glühwein punch, but the various flavor combinations can be fun to try.
Take a Christmas Market Tour
If this is your first time at Vienna’s Christmas Markets, choosing where to go, and what to try can be overwhelming. How about a Christmas Market Tour to lead the way?
On this three-hour tour, you’ll visit four markets, and food and drink samples are included so you can try out some local specialties while learning more about these foods and Austrian Christmas traditions.
Dress warmly as you’ll be standing, and walking between markets.
Book Now: Vienna Christmas Market Group Tour
P.S. If you prefer a private tour instead of a group tour, this one comes highly recommended.
There You Have It
There are so many delicious things to eat and drink at Vienna’s Christmas markets, we hope this list gives you a few things to look for and look forward to trying!
Don’t miss our Top Tips for visiting the Vienna Christmas Markets.
Christmas markets are a lot of fun and are easy to enjoy. Vienna is a very safe city, so don’t hesitate to stay out late and either walk or take public transportation to and from the markets.
If you love walking around Vienna, consider taking a walking tour to learn more about the history of this fabulous city.
