This Over-the-top Christmas Market Spans 3 Million Square Feet—and It’s One of Europe’s Biggest

While Americans were busy prepping their Thanksgiving meals, Europeans were immersed in readying their magical Christmas markets. And while there are fantastic ones sprinkled across the continent, there’s one in particular you shouldn’t miss, and it claims to be Europe’s biggest of all.

Tucked away in the southwest corner of Romaniatravelers will find Craiova, one of the nation’s larger cities. It’s also where they’ll discover one of Europe’s largest Christmas markets. And this year, the Craiova Christmas Fair has a special theme inspired by the Christmas classic “The Nutcracker.”

“Craiova will be illuminated with over two million lights, and the new gingerbread houses with snow roofs will bring the charm of a world taken from fairy tales,” the city wrote in a statementadding “Craiova becomes, again this year, the place where Christmas comes to life.”

The market is so renowned, it was just voted the best Christmas market in Europe by European Best Destinations.

“It’s an extraordinary rise for a destination that now hosts the largest Christmas event in Europe in surface area — more than 280,000 square meters transformed into a luminous, festive world,” the tourism site wrote about the designation. “Craiova’s attractions add to the magic: Eastern Europe’s highest-flying Santa sleigh, a glittering ice rink, a panoramic Ferris wheel, and charming hand-painted chalets that give the whole experience a handcrafted, fairy-tale touch.”

This year, visitors can expect to find six different thematic squares, including a “‘Candy Land’ kingdom of sweets,” a “traditional Christmas” area complete with carols, crafts, and tasty Romanian dishes, and “Santa Claus’s Country” where carousels, trains, VR films, and a Ferris wheel await.

A highlight is Santa’s Flying Sleigh complete with special effects, ballerinas from the Romanian Opera, and more.

In the market, guests can linger at the traditional wooden chalets and grab fantastic bites in the food stalls celebrating the flavors of Eastern Europe. There’s also plenty of entertainment to enjoy, including weekly concerts and carol performances.

But there is one key thing to remember: Romania can get rather chilly in the winter.

“This part of Romania gets a proper continental winter—December days are cold, nights are freezing, and frost (and the odd dusting of snow) is very common,” the winter travel specialists at Ski Vertigo told Travel + Leisure in an email. “We’d strongly advise visitors to wrap up warm—thermal layers, a proper winter coat, hat, scarf, gloves and decent boots—so you can stay out for hours, skating on the ice rink, wandering the stalls and soaking up the atmosphere, without having to duck indoors every 20 minutes to defrost.”