Riga Christmas Market: Dates, Where It Is and What to Combine It With
3 min read
The Old Town Christmas market on Dome Square runs from 27 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, according to the organiser’s website (vzt.lv). The city’s own event page on riga.lv still shows the previous season, 28 November 2025 to 4 January 2026 (riga.lv event page), so go by the organiser for the dates.
What the market offers
The riga.lv page for last season describes more than 80 traders on Dome Square: crafts such as wickerwork, wooden toys, knitwear, amber and silver jewellery and sheepskin goods, plus honey, gingerbread, hemp products, jams and hot drinks. On weekends and holidays there was a programme for children with Santa and the elves, a carousel, pony rides and sheep, and on Friday evenings DJs played. Over Christmas the hours changed: on 24 and 25 December the market opened from 10.00 to 20.00, on 26 December until 22.00. These details are from the 2025/26 season; check the 2026 programme and hours on vzt.lv before you plan around them.
A festive walk to go with it
The Old Town Legends and Christmas Spirit walking tour lasts 1.5 hours and costs €20. The booking page lists a hot Riga Christmas drink, a tasting of Riga Black Balsam and a visit to the Christmas market among what is included, and names Dome Square, the Three Brothers, the narrowest street and Town Hall Square on the route. It starts at Torņa iela 15, is guided in English or Spanish, and is marked as not suitable for wheelchair users. It has only 6 reviews so far, so the rating of 5.0 out of 5 rests on very few opinions. Check the booking calendar for the days it runs.
If you would rather see the Old Town in a more general way, the two-hour Old Town walk with a local guide costs €10 and has 550 reviews. See also our article on whether to walk the Old Town guided or on your own.
Winter extras
The heated historic boat tour with audio guide costs €7.20 and lasts 30 to 50 minutes. Its page says the boats run every day from 10 am until sunset and calls the boat heated. In December the sun sets in the middle of the afternoon, so this is a daytime trip, not a way to see the lights. The page also says the tour does not run when the wind exceeds 18 to 20 metres per second.
| Option | Length | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| Old Town Legends and Christmas Spirit walk | 1.5 hours | Hot drink, Black Balsam, market visit |
| Old Town walk with a local guide | 2 hours | General Old Town sights |
| Heated historic boat tour | 30–50 minutes | Canal and river from a heated boat, in daylight |
Our recommendation
Go for the market itself and add the festive walk if you want a guide and the tastings. It is a small offering with few reviews, so treat it as a pleasant extra, not a reason to travel. For the standard sights, see the Old Town tours page.
