Opening just under a week ago, Manchester and its annual Christmas Markets have already received a fair few accolades for its festive offerings, including being a staycation hotspot this winter. But one title Manchester has been awarded is officially being home to the best Christmas markets in the UK, beating the likes of Liverpool and Edinburgh for the top spot.
Research by cinch has revealed the UK’s best Christmas markets based on a number of factors including TikTok popularity, average hotel costs, predicted days of snowfall and market duration. If you’re looking for the ultimate Christmas market experience, cinch’s data suggests Manchester is the place to be, and it’s not the first time the city’s markets have been ranked so highly either.
The top 10 Christmas markets in the UK:
- Manchester
- Edinburgh
- Liverpool
- Glasgow
- Aberdeen
- Birmingham
- Hyde Park (Winter Wonderland)
- Leicester
- Belfast
- Canterbury
The data also found that London Southbank’s Christmas markets run for the longest amount of time with a duration of 72 days, having opened on October 28. And we thought Manchester Christmas Markets were early opening on November 10…
For TikTok views, Manchester took the top spot with 13.3 million views, followed by Edinburgh with 12.8 million views. Another TikTok favourite is Hyde Park’s Winter Wonderland in London, with videos featuring the #winterwonderlandhydepark hashtag amounting to a total of 4.9 million views.
Cinch found the most cost-effective locations for accommodation were Leicester and Dundee, where you can expect to pay £85.35 and £88.11 per night on average. However, outside of London, Manchester was one of the most expensive cities to stay in at an average of £246.84 per night.
If you want to visit the festive market with snow then Liverpool is your city as according to Weather Atlas, it has the highest chance of snow in the country, averaging four days of snowfall in December each year. But you’re still more likely to experience snow in Scotland than in most places in the UK. Specifically, Aberdeen and Glasgow get about 2.5 days of snowfall every December, which makes them the second- and third-strongest contenders for a white festive season.