With Advent now upon us, hundreds of Christmas markets are opening around Europe, providing holiday cheer with mulled wine, festive ornaments and all kinds of delicious treats, as the countdown to 25th December begins. From Prague's wintry walkway in Old Town Square to Father Christmas' grotto in Berlin, Strasbourg's glittering lights and Edinburgh's Christmas Tree Maze, IBTimesUK presents some of the best photos from Christmas markets across the world:
An ice rink is set up at the Christmas Market in Naumburg an der Saale, GermanyJan Woitas/ AFPChildren consult with Father Christmas, while their mother take a photo at the annual Christmas market at Alexanderplatz on the market's opening day in Berlin, GermanySean Gallup/ Getty ImagesA merchant selling stollen, a traditional German Christmas fruit cake loaf, allows a visitor to taste a sample at the annual market at Alexanderplatz on the market's opening day in Berlin, GermanySean Gallup/ Getty ImagesSugared balls of dough and curd, in German called Quarkbaellchen, await visitors at a stall at the annual Christmas market at Alexanderplatz on the market's opening day in Berlin, GermanySean Gallup/ Getty ImagesAn artist dressed as Puppet Queen poses at the opening of the Christmas market at Gendarmenmarkt square in Berlin, GermanyHannibal Hanschke/ ReutersA girl, dressed as the 'Nuremberg Christ Child', stands at the balcony of the Frauenkirche Church during the opening of the traditional Market in the Bavarian city of Nuremberg, GermanyDaniel Karmann/ AFPVisitors walk among stalls at the annual Christmas market at Alexanderplatz on the market's opening day in Berlin, GermanySean Gallup/ Getty ImagesVisitors walk among stalls at the annual Christmas Market in Schlitz, GermanyHannelore Foerster/ Getty ImagesThe effigy of a giant candle stands at the annual Christmas Market in Schlitz, GermanyHannelore Foerster/ Getty ImagesIlluminated Christmas stars hang from a booth of the Christmas Market in Jena, GermanyMartin Schutt/ AFPPeople visit the Christmas market at Gendarmenmarkt square in Berlin, GermanyFabrizio Bensch/ ReutersA Christmas Market is seen in front of the historic town hall of Wernigerode, GermanyJens Kalaene/ AFPChristmas shoppers browse stalls at the traditional market that has opened close to the historic Roman Baths and Bath Abbey in Bath, EnglandMatt Cardy/ Getty ImagesPeople walk around a Christmas Tree Maze in Edinburgh, ScotlandJeff J Mitchell/ Getty ImagesPeople walk under trees decorated with Christmas lights as the traditional market opens at the Old Town Square in Prague, Czech RepublicDavid W Cerny/ ReutersPeople walk by the illuminated entrance of the the Christmas market in Strasbourg during the opening day in FrancePatrick Hertzog/ AFPPeople stand by the decorated Christmas tree at the market in Strasbourg during the opening day in Strasbourg, FrancePatrick Hertzog/ AFP
