I was extremely lucky that during my visit in Manchester, the Christmas Marketss had just begun. There were a bunch of stalls spread out around the city but the great thing was they were all within walkable distance. I’m not sure exactly which ones I went to since my friends took me around, but it felt like we saw a lot! On their website, it says the markets were located at Albert Square, Brazennose Street, St Ann’s Square, Exchange Street, New Cathedral Street, The Corn Exchange, and Corporation Street. I believe Albert Square was the largest one with the Manchester Town Hall also situated there. The market wasn’t just about the British, but you would find stalls with international food and drinks. Here, the stall is hot chocolate with a choice of adding alcohol. After visiting many markets around Europe, it seems to be a trend to drink your hot chocolate in a mug that is customized for the event and city. A nice keepsake if you’re into collecting mugs.

Other than food, there are also a variety of arts and crafts, but of course we were drawn into the food. We came across this stall that sold hot food that smelt delicious!

We ended up getting half a plate of Garlic Mushrooms and half of Mustard Chicken. They were actually pretty good, but it seemed a bit pricey for what it was. The chicken were really tender and the sauce was sort of like a honey mustard. The mushrooms were decent but again, they didn’t seem too difficult to replicate at home.

Then we came across a German sausage stall. I love how they grill the sausages on this huge circular barbecue.

We decided to share two hot dogs between the four of us, and the man kindly helped us cut the sausage in half. The sausages were good, but I felt like I had better in Germany. The bun was also cold so that wasn’t that great.

Here is the Manchester Town Hall. The city was filled with lights and they put up this giant Santa. I visited in mid November, so their market was put up quite early actually. If you’re in Manchester during the holidays, it’s worth checking out the Manchester Christmas markets since there aren’t too many other attractions. Also, entry is free whereas in Vancouver, we need to pay. A good selection of food and goods from all over Europe. I even found these caramel waffle cookies that I craved for after having them in Amsterdam!