Tub Christmas Market 2026: A Former Native’s Information (Dates, Ideas and Is It Value It?)

Jess and I lived in Tub for 4 years, and we went to the Tub Christmas Market yearly it ran whereas we lived there, which wasn’t yearly, due to the pandemic. We’ve been to a couple Christmas markets across the UK, Edinburgh’s most notably, and Tub’s is our favorite by a great distance.

So sure, it’s price going. The chalets are unfold via the streets round Tub Abbey, so that you’re wandering one of many best-looking cities in England with a mulled wine in hand, and as soon as the lights come on all of it feels a bit Dickensian, in a great way. The one actual draw back is the crowds, and they’re critical. Come on a weekday, early within the run in the event you can, and also you’ll get the model of the market we liked.

Fast take for 2026:

• Thursday 26 November to Sunday 13 December 2026, 18 days in complete
• Open 10am to 7pm Monday to Wednesday, 10am to 8pm Thursday to Saturday, and 10am to 6pm on Sunday
• Free to stroll round, with no ticket wanted
• Unfold throughout town centre round Tub Abbey, from Abbeygate Avenue as much as Milsom Avenue
• Quietest on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, busiest on Saturdays
• It opens on US Thanksgiving and closes on 13 December, so it’s over properly earlier than Christmas week

 

Tub Christmas Market 2026: Dates, Opening Hours and Necessities

The 2026 Tub Christmas Market runs for 18 days, from Thursday 26 November to Sunday 13 December, and it’s free to stroll round.

Tub Christmas Market 2026	Particulars
Dates	Thursday 26 November to Sunday 13 December 2026
Monday to Wednesday	10am to 7pm
Thursday to Saturday	10am to 8pm
Sunday	10am to 6pm
Entry	Free, no ticket
Dimension	As much as 210 chalets and items
The place	Metropolis centre streets round Tub Abbey, from Abbeygate Avenue to Milsom Avenue
Run by	Tub & North East Somerset Council
Official website	bathchristmasmarket.co.uk

There’s additionally a residents’ night on Wednesday 25 November, the evening earlier than it opens, however that one’s for locals solely.

On dimension, the council’s planning page says there can be not more than 210 chalets and items in 2026, so consider it as round 200 chalets.

The market has run since 2001, and today it’s run by Tub & North East Somerset Council. It didn’t happen in 2020 or 2021 due to the pandemic, and it has been again yearly since 2022.

 

Why Is the Tub Christmas Market So Quick?

The 18-day run goes again to a call in 2017. Go to Tub, which organised the market on the time, had proposed stretching it to 25 days, however dropped the concept after a four-month session. As its chief govt advised the Tub Chronicle then, “on the finish of the day now we have to take heed to residents.”

The council now has everlasting planning permission to run the marketplace for as much as 25 days a yr. In September 2026, although, it stated it has “no present plans” to increase it past the present 18 days (you’ll be able to learn the council statement on the market’s length). Having seen how busy these 18 days get, I can see the residents’ level.

 

Is the Tub Christmas Market Value It?

Sure. It’s our favorite Christmas market within the UK, though we could also be a little bit biased.

What makes it’s the setting. The chalets run via the streets across the Abbey and up in the direction of Milsom Avenue, so the backdrop to each stall is Tub itself, all honey-coloured Georgian stone. Tub is, in fact, price a visit in December with no single chalet, and the market provides lights, mulled wine and roasted chestnuts on high.

My favorite spot is Abbey Inexperienced, the little cobbled sq. with an unlimited outdated London airplane tree in it, which is lit up after darkish. Jess got here with me yearly, and for her it was all about how cosy it feels.

The draw back is the crowds. Go to Tub says the market will get round 440,000 guests a yr, and on a Saturday afternoon the narrower streets sluggish to a shuffle. If you happen to hate crowds and may solely come on the weekend, go early within the day or take into consideration skipping it. If you happen to can come midweek, it’s a a lot nicer expertise.

Loads of different folks fee it too. In 2024, Which? put Tub on the high of its checklist of 9 UK Christmas markets, drawn from its survey of UK cities. The market’s personal web site additionally carries a “Finest UK Christmas Market 2024” badge from European Finest Locations, a journey website that ranks markets by public vote. (The identical website says Edinburgh has hosted one of the best Christmas market within the UK three years operating, so take your decide.)

If you happen to’re coming from additional afield, bear in mind the market is a bonus on high of Tub itself. The Roman Baths, the Abbey and the Royal Crescent are all right here whether or not the chalets are or not, and our information to issues to do in Tub covers the remaining.

 

When to Go (and When Not To)

Go on a weekday, and go early within the run in the event you can.

Visit Bath‘s recommendation is that “Tuesday and Wednesday mornings (10am to 12pm) are the quietest. Evenings and weekends are the liveliest.” From our years of going, I’d add that earlier within the run is calmer than afterward, so a weekday morning in late November is about as quiet because it will get.

Mornings are the quietest time, however the market is at its most magical after darkish, when the lights come on and the crowds construct. As sundown in Tub in early December is round 4pm, you’ll be able to have a little bit of each. On a weekday, I’d arrive within the early afternoon, wander whereas it’s calmer, discover a mulled wine, and keep on because the lights take over. If you happen to’d relatively keep away from the crowds than see the lights, come within the morning as an alternative.

Wrap up heat, too. As you’ll be able to see from our images, it will get chilly in December.

Saturdays are the busiest days. GWR even runs a queuing system at Tub Spa station on Saturday afternoons through the market, from 1pm to 6pm, to cease the platforms overcrowding. If Saturday is your solely possibility, come within the morning, and anticipate to queue for the prepare in the event you head dwelling within the afternoon.

 

Visiting From the US? Watch the Dates

The market opens on US Thanksgiving, Thursday 26 November, and closes on Sunday 13 December. If you happen to’re planning a visit to England for Christmas week, you’ll miss it by about ten days.

If the market is the rationale you’re going, come within the first two weeks of December as an alternative. London is all lit up for Christmas by then, and Tub is a simple day journey or in a single day from the capital. In case your dates fall after 13 December, Tub continues to be a beautiful place to be at Christmas, and Tub on Ice runs till 3 January (extra on that beneath).

 

The place Is the Tub Christmas Market?

The market is unfold throughout Tub metropolis centre, from Abbeygate Avenue within the south to Milsom Avenue within the north.

Most of it sits round Tub Abbey, in what the organisers name the Abbey Quarter, with extra chalets alongside Tub Avenue and Union Avenue. Abbey Inexperienced, simply south of the Abbey, is cobbled, so it’s more durable going with a pushchair or wheelchair.

There’s no single entrance. The organisers give Stall Avenue (postcode BA1 1QH) because the market’s central level, and the southern finish is only some minutes’ stroll from Tub Spa station, so you’ll be able to step off the prepare and stroll straight in. Tub’s centre is fairly compact, and the crowds will set your tempo way over the gap does. For this yr’s precise format, the official site has an interactive map.

 

What to Eat, Drink and Purchase

For me, it’s not Christmas till I’ve had a mulled wine (or a scorching cider) and a few roasted chestnuts! I all the time make a beeline for these stalls first, Christmas jumper non-obligatory. After that, we prefer to wander and see what we discover.

The organisers say the merchants come “from the South West and past”, and the stalls are a mixture of scorching meals, drinks, items and crafts, so that you received’t go hungry. Jess goes for a bratwurst (that’s one in her hand within the photograph in entrance of the Abbey, additional up), and it’s one other of our highlights.

It’s a superb searching floor for Christmas presents, too. In 2019 we discovered every part from felt gnomes and paper star lanterns to cashmere scarves and gloves.

We got here dwelling with one in every of these gnomes, and he takes pleasure of place at Christmas yearly. He’s referred to as Gnorbit.

 

Attending to the Tub Christmas Market

The prepare is the simplest option to get there from each London and Bristol.

 

By Prepare From London

Direct GWR trains run from London Paddington to Tub Spa in round 1 hour 20 to 1 hour half-hour, and the station is a couple of minutes’ stroll from the market. E-book forward for one of the best fares, both on the GWR London to Bath web page or via Trainline, which is helpful in the event you’re not used to purchasing UK prepare tickets.

In the marketplace’s first weekend, Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 November 2026, GWR is operating an amended timetable due to engineering works, and trains to and from London will use London Euston as an alternative of Paddington. If you happen to’re planning a day journey that weekend, test GWR’s Bath Christmas Market travel page earlier than you set off.

Bear in mind the Saturday-afternoon queuing system at Tub Spa, too. GWR itself says journey is more likely to be extra comfy on weekdays.

 

Day Journeys From London

If you happen to’d relatively not organise it your self, the London Move features a Bath Christmas Market Day Trip, run by Evan Evans from Victoria Coach Station. It’s included on each the London Move and the London Move Explorer, and runs on daily basis of the market besides Tuesdays. It’s good to guide your seat upfront.

It’s an extended day, at as much as 11 hours, with round two and a half hours on the coach every means, and neither Roman Baths entry nor meals is included. With no move, London Move lists the journey at as much as £79, so it makes most sense in the event you’re already shopping for a move for sightseeing in London. You possibly can, in fact, simply get the prepare and do it your self.

If you happen to’d prefer to see Stonehenge as properly, this Stonehenge and Bath day trip from London covers each, though splitting the day means much less time on the market. Now we have extra concepts in our guides to a day journey to Tub from London and a Stonehenge, Tub and Cotswolds day journey from London.

 

Driving and Park & Experience

I wouldn’t drive into the centre through the market. The organisers shut roads across the market website whereas it’s on, so use Park & Experience as an alternative.

There are three Park & Experience websites, at Odd All the way down to the south, Lansdown to the north and Newbridge to the west, and the buses run seven days every week, till 11.30pm Monday to Saturday and till 6pm on Sundays. Go to Tub says the companies run longer into the night, with additional buses, through the market. As issues stand, the Sunday buses end at 6pm, the identical time the market closes, so don’t linger on a Sunday.

 

From Bristol

From Bristol Temple Meads, there are frequent trains to Tub Spa, and the journey takes round quarter-hour.

 

The place to Keep for the Tub Christmas Market

If you happen to’re staying over, guide as early as you’ll be able to, particularly for a Friday or Saturday evening through the market, as a result of central Tub fills up quick on market weekends.

As we lived in Tub, we by no means wanted a resort there ourselves, however these three are all properly positioned for the market:

• The Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa if you wish to splash out. It’s within the Royal Crescent itself, with its personal spa, and it’s a simple stroll downhill into the market.
• Hotel Indigo Bath, a boutique resort in a Georgian terrace on South Parade, only some minutes’ stroll from the Abbey.
• The Z Hotel Bath in the event you’re on a price range. The rooms are compact, however it’s proper by the Theatre Royal and a brief stroll from each the station and the market.

For extra choices, take a look at hotels in Bath on Reserving.com.

 

Tub at Christmas Past the Market

There’s loads to do in Tub at Christmas past the chalets, and most of it carries on after the market closes on 13 December, which is nice information in case your dates don’t line up.

 

Tub on Ice

Bath on Ice is an outside ice rink in Royal Victoria Park, open from 20 November 2026 to three January 2027. We’ve been skating there ourselves, and it’s the plain reply in the event you’re in Tub for Christmas week and missed the market. You guide your session via the official website.

 

Thermae Tub Spa

Thermae Bath Spa is open via December, and its open-air rooftop pool stays open after darkish, with views throughout town. The swimming pools are open till 9pm. A two-hour session prices £44 on weekdays and £49 at weekends, and it’s adults solely (16 and over).

The spa is closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Yr’s Day, with shorter hours on Christmas Eve and New Yr’s Eve.

 

The Roman Baths

The Roman Baths keep open through the market. Advance tickets for 1 November to 18 December 2026 value £23.50 on weekdays and £26.50 at weekends, they usually’re £2 extra in the event you purchase on the day, so guide forward, both direct or via GetYourGuide.

On chosen days in December, the torches across the Nice Tub are lit because it will get darkish, so goal for a late-afternoon ticket. Test the Roman Baths web site for this yr’s festive dates.

 

Tub Abbey at Christmas

Bath Abbey holds Introduction carol companies and a Pageant of 9 Classes and Carols every year. They’re free, however you want a ticket, and demand is excessive sufficient that every one runs twice in a night.

There are additionally quick, casual Buyers’ Carols through the market which you could simply drop in on, plus paid Christmas concert events. Test the Abbey’s web site for this yr’s dates and when tickets are launched.

 

Christmas Lights and Mild Trails

The town’s Christmas lights make a night stroll across the centre worthwhile even with out the market. A number of the images on this information are from a lights stroll Jess and I did in December 2020, the primary yr the market was cancelled.

Two greater gentle trails are inside driving distance of Tub. Longleat’s Festival of Light, themed Legendary Worlds this yr, runs on chosen dates from 7 November 2026 to 10 January 2027, so guide forward.

Christmas at Westonbirt, the after-dark gentle path on the Nationwide Arboretum, runs on chosen evenings from 27 November to 31 December 2026. It’s timed entry, advance reserving is crucial, and in the event you’re driving you’ll must pre-book parking as properly.

 

Photographing the Tub Christmas Market

The very best time to {photograph} the market is the half-hour or so after sundown, when there’s nonetheless some color within the sky and the chalet lights have come on.

Sundown in Tub in early December is round 4pm. The nightfall images on this information have been taken on 15 December 2019, between about 4.30pm and 4.45pm, round Abbey Inexperienced and the streets close to the Abbey. Abbey Inexperienced, with its lit-up airplane tree above the chalets, is an efficient place to start out. Go away it a lot later and the sky goes black, which is okay for the lights however loses the blue.

Within the crowds, neglect a couple of tripod. Most of my market images have been taken on a Canon EOS 6D with the EF 16-35mm f/4L, lots of them on the extensive 16mm finish, which will get the chalets, the folks and the buildings above them into one body.

For the nightfall photographs I used to be at f/4 and round 1/30 to 1/40 second, and I let the ISO climb as excessive as 6,400. The 6D is an outdated digicam now and it coped positive, and a little bit of noise beats a blurred photograph each time.

Canon EOS 6D, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 16mm, 1/40 sec, f/4, ISO 5000

I additionally took an 85mm f/1.8 lens, which is beneficial for choosing out particulars on the stalls with out pushing to the entrance, and for photographing one thing apart from the backs of individuals’s heads.

A tripod comes into its personal as soon as the crowds have gone. My images of Tub’s Christmas lights have been taken on the night of 19 December 2020, a yr the market had been cancelled, with exposures of between one and 20 seconds at ISO 100 to 125. That wants a tripod, or at the least a wall to relaxation the digicam on.

Canon EOS 6D, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 20mm, 20 sec, f/8, ISO 125

We went into city that evening on objective to {photograph} the lights. After months of Covid restrictions, it was principally about doing one thing that felt vaguely regular.

 

Tub Christmas Market FAQs

 

Is the Tub Christmas Market Value Visiting?

Sure. It’s our favorite Christmas market within the UK, principally as a result of it’s unfold via the streets of such a handsome metropolis, with Tub’s Georgian structure because the backdrop.

Simply keep away from Saturdays in the event you can, as a result of it will get extraordinarily busy. A weekday early within the run is way more relaxed.

 

When Is the Tub Christmas Market 2026?

The 2026 market runs from Thursday 26 November to Sunday 13 December. It’s open 10am to 7pm Monday to Wednesday, 10am to 8pm Thursday to Saturday, and 10am to 6pm on Sunday.

 

Is the Tub Christmas Market Free?

Sure. It’s an open-air market on town’s streets, and it’s free to stroll round, with no ticket wanted. You solely pay for what you eat, drink and purchase.

 

Do You Want Tickets for the Tub Christmas Market?

No. There’s no ticket for the market itself, as a result of it’s on town’s streets and free to stroll round.

The stuff you would possibly wish to guide forward are the extras, just like the London Move coach day journey from London, a session at Tub on Ice, or a ticket for the Roman Baths.

 

Why Is the Tub Christmas Market So Quick?

The 18-day run dates again to 2017, when Go to Tub, the organiser on the time, dropped a plan to increase it to 25 days after a public session, saying it needed to take heed to residents.

The council, which runs it now, has permission for as much as 25 days however says it has no present plans to increase it.

 

How Lengthy Do You Want on the Tub Christmas Market?

Two or three hours is sufficient to stroll the entire market, eat one thing and have a mulled wine or two.

I’d make a day of it, although. See among the remainder of Tub through the day, then come again to the market because it will get darkish.

 

Is the Tub Christmas Market Open Over Christmas?

No. The market closes on 13 December, so it’s completed properly earlier than Christmas week.

If you happen to’re in Tub later in December, Tub on Ice in Royal Victoria Park runs till 3 January 2027, and town nonetheless appears to be like festive with its Christmas lights.

 

Additional Studying

If you happen to’re planning a visit to Tub, these ought to assist:

And in the event you’re planning a wider journey across the nation, the Rick Steves England guidebook covers Tub and many extra.