Christmas Morning on the Riva
The Riva is quiet at nine, the sea just past the moorings, the whole promenade scented with mulled wine and frying oil. Wooden huts line the seaside promenade selling olive oil, lavender and cured meats, and the market is spread across several sites, each with its own lights, stalls and performances. The city has been at this since late November, and it will keep going until 6 January, so Christmas Day itself is a chapter in a long Advent season rather than a single event.
Everything worth doing is walkable. The Old Town, wrapped inside the Roman palace, crosses on foot in about ten minutes, so you can move between the market venues without planning transport. Booths generally run 11:00–23:00, staying open later on Fridays and Saturdays when there is live music.
Skate Beneath the Prokurative Arcades
The 600-square-metre ice rink on Prokurative square is the closest thing to a fixed point in the city's Christmas calendar, open daily from 09:00 to 23:00. Around it, food stalls are run by named local restaurants: Bajamonti, Restaurant Adriatic, Pizzeria Skipper, Adriatic Sushi & Oyster Bar, Pizzeria Sette Sorelle, Konoba Laganini, Chops Grill, Portofino, Paradiso bar, Pizzeria Portas and The Fat Boar. Weekends bring live music and DJs to the square. If you skate in the morning you will have the ice largely to yourself; by evening it is the busiest corner of the city.
Advent Fjera at Zvončac
Ten minutes on foot from the centre, near ACI Marina and Sustipan park, Advent Fjera Zvončac is the newer addition to the city's Christmas map and its most weatherproof: an enclosed space that shelters you from the cold and rain. Expect fast-food stalls, mulled wine, and a music programme that in past seasons has included Senidah, SARS, MORT and Vesna Pisarović. Because it sits slightly away from the core, it makes a good second stop after the Riva rather than a substitute for it.
Free Concerts, Carriage Rides and the Living Nativity
- Concerts on the Riva: free performances every weekend in December with local bands and DJs, with bars pouring mulled wine alongside. Arrive 30–60 minutes early if you want a table or a clear view.
- New Year's Eve on the Riva: the city's largest celebration, headlined by Bosnian band Dubioza Kolektiv.
- Kids' programme: festive workshops, storytelling, concerts, carriage rides in Žrnovnica, and a living nativity.
- Further afield: Trogir and Solin hold their own Advent festivities if you want a second town's version of the season.
Individual venues post their programmes on their own Facebook and social accounts, so check those closer to your dates rather than relying on a single city-wide schedule.
What to Eat, and When to Come
Eat fritule — small fried doughnuts dusted with icing sugar or dipped in chocolate sauce — while they are still hot, and drink mulled wine or rakija to keep your hands warm. Carry cash in euros for small market purchases; cards are widely accepted elsewhere.
December daytime temperatures sit around 7–12 °C with nights at 2–7 °C, and you should expect roughly eight rainy days, sometimes as heavy showers; January is a degree or two colder. Pack thermal layers, a waterproof jacket, hat, scarf, gloves, comfortable shoes and a compact umbrella. Snow is rare except on the mountains. The crowds peak from mid-December through Christmas, so early December, early January and weekdays are noticeably calmer. Flights arrive direct from London, Frankfurt and Amsterdam, or via Zagreb, Zadar and Dubrovnik with a bus or car onward. From the airport, bus 37 leaves from the main road outside the terminal every 20–30 minutes for €2–3 (cash to the driver or via the Promet app), taking about an hour to Sukoišan bus station, though the last bus does not run on major public holidays including Christmas; a shuttle timed to flights costs €8. Within the city, a single bus journey is €1 via the Promet app, and Uber generally undercuts street taxis.
Book accommodation one to two months ahead and stay in or near the UNESCO-listed Old Town, so the rink, the Riva and the Zvončac site are all within a short walk. Pick your dates, book the room, and let the season do the rest.