Highlights: the Vienna Christmas Market on Rathausplatz, the Old Viennese Christmas Market on the Freyung, the Advent market Am Hof, the chandeliers above the Graben, Stephansplatz. Stories of St. Nicholas, Krampus, the Christkind and Vienna’s first Christmas tree. In 2026 bookable from 13 November to 23 December.
MEETING POINT | Rathausplatz, by the Christmas tree in front of the City Hall
Private tour. You walk with your own people and your guide, never with strangers. More than ten?
In December it gets dark in Vienna at four in the afternoon, and that is exactly when this tour begins. In front of the City Hall stands the great Christmas tree that a different Austrian province sends every year, the Freyung and Am Hof smell of punch and gingerbread, and above the Graben the chandeliers hang as if the whole street were a ballroom. We walk from market to market and tell you what lies behind it all: why in Vienna it was long St. Nicholas who brought the presents and not the Christkind, how the Krampus annoyed the reformers of the Enlightenment, and how the city’s first Christmas tree ended up in a secret police report in 1814, because the police were listening even in Fanny von Arnstein’s salon. With a mug of punch if you like, and roasted chestnuts from the bag.
Meeting at 4 pm on Rathausplatz by the Christmas tree. Through the Vienna Christmas Market and across the Ring to the Freyung, where a “St. Nicholas, Christmas and Nativity Market” was first recorded in 1722 and where the Old Viennese Christmas Market stands today. On to the Advent market Am Hof, where the nativity market had its place from 1842 for decades, via Bognergasse to the Graben with its chandeliers and to Stephansplatz, where a large Hanukkah menorah shines during Hanukkah. Finish in Kärntner Straße. With three hours we add the Art Advent on Karlsplatz with crafts in front of the Karlskirche.
Guide fee € 270 per tour for up to 2 hours (up to 10 guests) or € 350 for up to 3 hours. For two guests € 135 per person, for four € 68. Punch or children’s punch and chestnuts along the way can be added for € 12 per person.
Included: private Austria Guide
Excluded: punch and chestnuts (option), purchases at the stalls
Bookable while the Christmas markets are open, in 2026 from 13 November to 23 December, every day. Weekdays are quieter than the Advent weekends. The markets are open until 9 or 10 pm.
An Advent concert afterwards, for example in St. Stephen’s Cathedral or at the International Advent Singing in the City Hall, a coffeehouse with Christmas biscuits, or the Christmas market in front of Schönbrunn Palace in the morning. If you would like to see Vienna after dark without the markets, have a look at our tour “Vienna by Night”.
All prices net, valid for 2026. Admissions and tastings are set by the respective venues and may change at short notice. You select the add-ons in the booking request; the total is calculated there automatically.
Yes. Children get children's punch, hear about the Krampus and may browse the stalls. The walks are short, and in between we warm up at the punch stand.
Very, on Advent weekends. On weekdays and in the early evening it is much quieter, and we know the ways away from the main aisles.
Warm and comfortable: we are outdoors for two hours, often at temperatures around freezing. Gloves also help with the punch.
Yes, the large markets open at 10 am and are quieter then. The most atmospheric time, though, is dusk, when the lights come on.
For private tours our cancellation terms apply: up to 14 days before the tour we charge 20% of the price as a flat fee for organisation, from 14 to 7 days before 50%, after that or in case of a no-show the full amount. If your plans change, please let us know as early as possible and we will look for a solution together. You will find all details in our terms and conditions.
Yes, our tours take place in any weather. When it rains we adapt the programme wherever possible and gladly plan a break somewhere dry. In case of a storm we will contact you before the tour and agree together on how to proceed.
You book online and pay conveniently by credit card, PayPal, Klarna, SEPA direct debit, WeChat Pay or Alipay, or you choose payment by invoice. After booking you will receive a confirmation by email.
"I would like to thank you very much for offering our guests such a fantastic program and for bringing Vienna closer to them in such a wonderful way! The feedback was really great and ALL participants were very impressed and enthusiastic. "
"We would like to thank Martha for organizing this unforgettable day. Our guests and we were absolutely delighted with the process and the charming manner. We got so much positive feedback. That would not have been possible without artemezzo, we felt we were in very good hands. "
"We would like to thank you for the wonderful city tour, everything went really well! The guide managed to satisfy our curiosity about this city with a quiet walk, the wonderful explanations, the stories about Vienna. Thank you very much for that and I will definitely be back on your next visit.
"Like. Martha Tretter took care of our VIP customers on a perfectly organized tour through Vienna's old town with highlights of the Viennese way of life and made the tour an entertaining and exciting event thanks to her expertise. We will be happy to contact artemezzo again. "
