Manchester Christmas Markets

The weekend trip to Cologne for the Christmas Markets last year was without a doubt one of the most delicious and memorable trip. My friends and I still constantly dream and rave about the food and all the fun we had.

We were meant to organise this year's Christmas Market trip to Berlin but things got in the way and it didn't happen. Slightly crestfallen and disheartened but nevertheless, there is always next year! I had to head to Manchester for work at the last minute and a google search and reading about Guan's recent trip to Manchester for their Christmas Markets came at just the right time.

I love Christmas markets and being able to attend one even if it's not in Germany is better than nothing I suppose. With my Manchester Christmas Markets map in hand, I was all ready to start exploring. Did I mention how freezing cold it is at the moment?

On the first night, it was raining and I wasn't keen on walking around and having to bear against two adverse weather conditions. Things were looking good the next night and I rugged myself up nice and warm and headed for the European christmas market. There are a total of 8 different markets, each differing in their offerings and sizes dotted all around the city centre. You can download a map from this link or from the picture attached.

The most interesting with more food related stalls are in the European Christmas Market at Albert Square.

Fancy a wooden clock, literally?

Or what abut sweets? Check out the sizes of this slabs and sticks.

I did a double take when I saw the jewellery on display at Helen Odor. Aren't they lovely?

Now onto the more unusual items.

The variety of cheeses available is just mind blowing, would you fancy some wasabi cheese? I tried it and it is quite mild actually.

What about hazelnut salami? It wasn't really my cup of tea.

There were stalls selling macaroni and cheese to sausage to raclette and strudels. One edge that this market has is you can get food from different parts of Europe rather than just the one variety of cuisine if you just head to the markets in Germany.

There was even a stall selling Sicilian sweets with many being either dairy free or gluten free.

Though I've been warned, I couldn't help myself when I saw the sign selling Manchester Egg.

My first bite was a spoonful of the black bean and it was disgusting. Mixed with vinegar, I couldn't see what was so great about eating vinegared black beans. The egg is also vinegared. Eating them individually by themselves was bad, but if you mix a bite of everything together, it isn't so bad.

While macarons are the rage at the moment, they do get confused with a sweet treat of an almost similar name, the macaroons. While I should know better than to believe every sign that says they are the best, I was happy to be gullible this time to the sign saying 'The best macaroons in the world' and bought one.

I don't know if it is the best but it was delicious.

I wandered around to check the other markets until it got too cold and the comfort of some warmth was calling out to me.

It definitely makes for a great day out going around the Christmas Markets in Manchester and can be easily as a day trip or weekend from London. However, it might be really packed during the weekends.


Please click here for more photos.