Gamla stan: Glögg Steam and 41 Wooden Stalls on Stortorget
Late afternoon on the first Sunday of Advent, the light has already gone blue over Gamla stan and the Stortorget square is packed shoulder to shoulder. Steam curls off copper pots of glögg, roasted almonds smoke in iron pans, and the ochre and terracotta gables above you are strung with lights. This is Stockholm's oldest Christmas market — it returned to the square in 1837 and has been held annually ever since, apart from 1907–1914 and 2020, and was revived on 20 December 1915 by the association Stockholms-Gillet, which still runs it today. In 2025 it filled the square with 41 stalls, open daily from 22 November to 23 December, 11am–6pm Sunday to Thursday and 11am–7pm Friday and Saturday. There is no ticket and no gate — you simply walk in off the cobbles. Dates for 2026 had not been published at the time of writing, so check before you book travel around it.
Skansen: A Christmas Market Running Since 1903
Take tram 7 from T-Centralen out to Djurgården — or bus 67 from Odenplan, or ferry 82 from Slussen to Allmänna gränd, a 400-metre walk — and you arrive at the open-air museum whose market has run since 1903, originally in the style of period charity bazaars. In 2026 it runs Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 27 November to 20 December: 10am–5pm Friday and Saturday, 10am–4pm Sunday. The stalls cluster on Bollnästorget and sell Christmas table food, marzipan, Christmas bread and local crafts in textile, wood, ceramics and wool, alongside kolbullar — salt-pork pancakes — waffles, glögg and roasted almonds. You need a Skansen museum entry ticket, which varies by season and is cheapest bought online; ages 0–15 go free but still need a free booked ticket. Entrances, shops and most stallholders are cash-free, so bring a card. Parking is very limited — come by tram, bus or ferry.
Advent Weekends Beyond the City Centre
The four Advent weekends in 2026 fall on 28–29 November, 5–6 December, 12–13 December and 19–20 December, and several smaller markets are built around them. Each is a half-day out of town and each has its own character.
- Sigtuna stads julmarknad — along Stora gatan and the town square on all four Advent Sundays (29 November, 6, 13 and 20 December 2026), 11am–4pm. Reach it by commuter train to Märsta then SL bus 570 or 575, or bus 579 direct from Arlanda.
- Wenngarn Castle, in Sigtuna municipality — more than 40 craftspeople in the orangery and park across three Advent weekends (28–29 November, 5–6 December, 12–13 December 2026), 11am–5pm, with free entry and parking.
- Torekällberget open-air museum in Södertälje — a 19th-century Christmas on 5–6 December 2026, 11am–4pm, closing with a Lucia procession at 4pm on the Sunday.
- Taxinge Castle — Kakslottet, "the Cake Castle", by Lake Mälaren at Nykvarn — draws more than 90 craftspeople and describes itself as one of Sweden's oldest Christmas fairs; 13–15 and 19–22 November 2026, admission SEK 100 Thursday and Friday, SEK 120 at weekends, under-12s free with an adult.
- Jul i Stenladan at Steninge Slottsby, Märsta — more Christmas shop than market, open daily; in 2025 it ran from 8 November to 23 December, with 2026 dates not yet published.
Two City Markets Worth Diarising
If you are in Stockholm on the right weekend, two central markets are easy to fold into a day of wandering. Schysst Jul takes over ABF-huset at Sveavägen 41 on 5–6 December 2026 — Saturday 10am–4pm, Sunday 10am–3pm — with fair-trade goods and crafts from aid organisations and small companies, free to enter, a short walk from Rådmansgatan on the green metro line. Julmarknad i Kungsträdgården, run by Ung Företagsamhet, is a single-day market on 28 November 2026, and Julverket konstmarknad runs across the weekend of 12–13 December 2026. Both sit in the middle of the city, so you can pair either with a walk through the lit-up streets.
Getting There and Paying Once You Arrive
From Arlanda, Arlanda Express reaches Stockholm Central in 18 minutes and runs roughly every 15 minutes. The SL commuter train takes 38 minutes and is cheaper, but adults pay a SEK 157 station fee at Arlanda — under-18s are exempt. Flygbussarna coaches take about 40 minutes to Cityterminalen, right beside Central Station. Once you are in town, contactless Visa, Mastercard and Amex work at metro gates and on buses; you do not need an SL card or app, and there is no cash on board. Across markets, museums and transport, plan on card rather than cash.
Book your travel around the Advent weekends — 28–29 November and 5–6 December 2026 put the most markets within reach at once — and check the Stortorget and Steninge dates as they are confirmed. With a contactless card, a tram ticket to Djurgården and an evening free for glögg on the cobbles, the first Sunday of Advent is one of the easiest winter city breaks you can plan.