Manchester Christmas Markets

Friday 8 November - Saturday 22 December 2025

From Friday 8 November until Sunday 22 December, our city will be transformed into a winter wonderland when the famous Manchester Christmas Markets

We are forecasting a busy transport network this festive period and are encouraging everyone making a journey to plan ahead.

We have highlighted some key dates over the next month when traffic and transport are expected to be at their busiest.

Opening times

The markets will be open every day between Friday 8 November and Sunday 22 December.

Craft and gift stalls will be open from 10am to 8pm.
Food and drink stalls will be open from 11am to 9pm.

All stalls on Market Street will close at 6pm every Sunday for the duration of the markets.

On the final day of the markets, Sunday 22 December, all of the markets will close at 6pm apart from the food and drink stalls at Cathedral Gardens, which will remain open until Tuesday 31 December.

Stall locations

This year's Christmas Markets will be spread across ten locations in the city centre, including at Albert Square for the first time since 2018.

Christmas market stalls will be found at:

Albert Square (Mini Market)
King Street West
St Ann's Square
Exchange Street
New Cathedral Street
Exchange Square
Corn Exchange
Market Street
Piccadilly Gardens
Cathedral Gardens

Opening times

Skate Manchester's covered ice skating rink will return to Cathedral Gardens again this year as part of our city's festivities.

The ice rink will be open every day from 24 October until Sunday 4 January 2025, except on Christmas Day when it will be closed.

The rink will be open from 10am - 8pm from 24 October to 6 November, 10am - 9pm from 7 November to 23 December and 10am - 5pm on 24 December and from December to 4 January.

You can read more on Skate Manchester's website.

Travel advice

With eight city-centre stops, tram will be the easiest way for you to get to the markets. Below you will find the closest stop to each location:

Albert Square: St Peter's Square (4 minute walk)
King Street West: St Peter's Square (10 minute walk)
St Ann's Square: Market Street (7 minute walk)
Exchange Street: Exchange Square (4 minute walk)
New Cathedral Street: Exchange Square (2 minute walk)
Exchange Square: Exchange Square (directly opposite the stop)
Corn Exchange: Exchange Square (directly opposite the stop)
Market Street: Market Street (2 minute walk)
Piccadilly Gardens: Piccadilly Gardens (1 minute walk)
Cathedral Gardens: Victoria (2 minute walk)

Tram services run frequently throughout the day, you can check the first and last trams on our tram schedule webpage.

To see which lines service the stop you need, take a look at the tram network map.

Metrolink are constantly improving the network for customers. Make sure you check the tram planned improvements webpage before you travel to see if any works will affect your route.

Park and ride

If you have to drive, did you know that there are 24 park and ride sites in Greater Manchester, where you can park your car for free and hop on the tram to your destination?

To find your closest park and ride site, visit our webpage to view the full list.

Tickets

Beat the queue at the machines and touch-in and out at the on-stop machines using contactless.

Save money and travel with the family using our family travelcard.

City centre tram stops are located in Zone 1. A return ticket from Manchester city centre costs £2.70 for an adult. Further information can be found on our tram ticket price webpage.

If you are intending to catch a bus to or from the markets, Shudehill Interchange and Piccadilly Gardens are a short walk away from all market locations. Bus services serving the whole of Greater Manchester operate from both Shudehill and Piccadilly Gardens.

With some of the services listed above saying 'yellow' to the Bee Network, you can stay up to date with any changes to your bus by visiting our Bee Network bus services webpage.

Journey times could also be impacted due to the increased levels of traffic, so be sure to plan ahead and allow extra time for your travel.

For more information, you can search your bus service and select your stop on our website or check with your bus operator before travelling.

Tickets

Get on board a bus with simple and clear low bus fares.

Adults will pay no more than £2 for a single bus journey. If you need to make several trips, a ticket covering a full day of bus travel in Greater Manchester costs just £5.

For more information, you can visit our dedicated webpage.

Manchester is well served by trains, connecting the city to all corners of the north. The nearest railway stations to the markets are:

Deansgate Station will be closed every Friday and Saturday from 6pm for the duration of the Manchester Christmas Markets to safely manage crowds.

Remember to plan your journey in advance of your trip by checking with your operator or on the National Rail website.

The lead up to Christmas is one of the busiest times in our city, more visitors and shoppers making their way into the centre.

With multiple events at the Co-op Live, AO Arena and home games at our city's football grounds taking place over the festive period, we anticipate there will be significant delays if you're travelling by car.

If driving is your only option, below are our travel tips for making your journey that little bit easier.

Traffic hotspots

See below some traffic hotspots which may help you plan your journey:

Travelling from the North - Cheetham Hill Road and Great Ducie Street.
Travelling from the East - Great Ancoats Street.
Travelling from the West - Chapel Street, Trinity Way and the Inner Ring Road.

Please be aware that travel times may vary dependent on a variety of factors, including whether there are other events taking place in Manchester. We will continue to update this webpage as our knowledge of journey times develops.

Since 5 August, Deansgate has changed and is now one-way southbound between Quay Street and Liverpool Road, customers who normally use Deansgate should seek alternative routes. Full details of the scheme and diversion information can be found on the Manchester City Council website.

Parking

If you do need to drive, there are car parking spaces available in the city centre, including car parks at the city's universities, such as Booth Street West car park off Oxford Road. Take a look at our city centre parking map (please note this map shows locations only).

If you want to beat the city centre congestion and save on parking charges, consider using one of our 24 park and ride sites and complete your journey by tram.

Parking at our park and ride sites is free when you purchase a tram ticket, saving you time and money this festive season!

The markets are easily accessible on foot, it will take no more than 10 minutes to walk between each location.

The city centre is also well serviced by the Starling Bike cycle hire scheme. With docks around the centre, simply hop-on and dock when you get to where you need to be.

You can find out more about Manchester's cycle hire scheme by visiting our active travel site.

More information

We’re bringing all bus services in Greater Manchester under local control as part of the Bee Network.

See a full list of current and future Bee Network bus services.

There may be some changes to the tickets you can use on Bee Network.

Be sure to download the new Bee Network app to plan any journey in Greater Manchester. 

On the app you can also see live bus tram and train departure times, buy tickets, get travel alerts and quickly Rate Your Journey to tell us how it went. 

Find out more about the Bee Network.

In Greater Manchester, we want everyone to travel safely and easily. We have a variety of accessibility guides suited to your journey on our accessibility hub and some key information for travelling by Metrolink and bus below.

Accessibility on Metrolink

Metrolink is a modern system with a range of accessibility features. All Metrolink trams and tram stops are accessible for wheelchair users.

Every tram stop has:

A ramp, lift, or escalator - for the latest service updates for lifts and escalators at your stop, visit our dedicated webpage.
Step-free access for wheelchair users and people with pushchairs
CCTV and emergency call-points
platforms with tactile edges for visually impaired passengers.

Every tram has:

An area for people who use wheelchairs
Space for pushchairs
Seats marked for people who have trouble standing
Emergency call points.

For further information on the accessibility of Metrolink, please visit the accessibility hub.

Accessibility on the bus

Many buses have ramps and can accommodate wheelchairs. Some new buses also have display screens, route numbers, destination displays and audio-visual ‘next stop’ announcements.

A lot of bus operators have low floor buses to make it easier for people who use wheelchairs, mobility scooters, and those with small children and pushchairs.

For further information, visit our accessibility hub and select your bus operator for their accessibility policies.