As Christmas is fast approaching, it’s the perfect time to start mapping out your visits to the various festive markets that spring up across the nation.
Thankfully, the specialists at Christmas Tree World have assessed all the markets in eight distinct categories to determine their quality.
These categories encompassed social media mentions, distance from the train station and Google search volume.
In the final tally, Birmingham achieved a score of 7.86 out of 10, Edinburgh garnered 7.5, while Manchester secured a score of 6.55, according to the Manchester Evening News.
Birmingham clinched the top spot owing to its Frankfurt Christmas Market – the biggest genuine German market outside Germany and Austria.
This market boasts an extensive array of food, beverages and gifts, and is also one of the most Instagram-worthy markets in the UK. It racked up 20,300 mentions on Instagram and two million TikTok tag views, with 346,200 searches for the markets over the past year, reports the Mirror.
Edinburgh’s breathtaking Scottish markets are located on Princes Street, a mere eight-minute stroll from the train station, and offer a broad range of holiday delights.
Despite surpassing several well-known festive hotspots such as York, London and Newcastle, Manchester has slipped down the rankings from last year when it was crowned the country’s second-best Christmas market.
Interestingly, Manchester’s market emerged as the most popular on Instagram, with a staggering 62,173 posts, and also dominated Google searches with an annual search volume of 782,000 in 2024.
The researchers revealed: “Despite falling from second to third place since last year’s study, Manchester Christmas markets are the most popular markets in the country – with 782,800 total Google searches over the last 12 months.
“The markets are spread across various locations including Market Street and Exchange Square. Manchester’s markets have also attracted the highest number of Instagram posts out of all the locations we reviewed, with 62,173 posts.”