UK's busiest and most expensive Christmas markets ranked - with top three lesser-known alternatives to visit

Christmas markets are often a must-do activity for those wanting to get into the festive spirit.

Offering tasty food, handmade gifts and fair rides, they’re great for catching up with family and friends over the festive period.

However, due to their popularity, the markets can be busy at times - making the experience not as enjoyable as it might otherwise be.

Togather has identified the top three lesser-known alternative Christmas markets - based on the number of positive reviews that mentioned the words “lovely”, “fun” and “great” vs the number of negative reviews featuring the words “busy” and “expensive”.

Winter Wonderland ranks as the UK’s busiest Christmas market

London’s Winter Wonderland ranked as the UK’s busiest Christmas market, with 918 reviews mentioning the word “busy”. The second and third busiest Christmas markets were Edinburgh and York - with 43 and 24 reviews saying “busy”.

Winter Wonderland ranks as the UK’s most expensive Christmas market

London’s Winter Wonderland also ranked as the UK’s most expensive Christmas market, with over 1,000 reviews mentioning the word “expensive”. Winter Wonderland was followed by Edinburgh with 80 reviews, Birmingham with 26 reviews and Manchester with 14 reviews mentioning the word “expensive”.

Top three alternative Christmas Markets to visit in the UK

Canterbury’s Christmas market has ranked as the best alternative Christmas market to visit this year. The market got 25 points out of a possible 26 in the ranking and only has 12% negative reviews, with 67% being positive.

Cardiff’s Christmas market is the second best alternative market to visit in the UK - receiving a score of 24 points. It has the highest percentage of positive reviews at 72%.

Glasgow’s Christmas market is in third place with 23 points. It had zero negative reviews and 50% of reviews included words such as “lovely”, “fun” and “great”.