Christmas Markets on the German-Austrian Border: Kufstein, Rosenheim, Chiemsee & Inn Valley (2026)

Updated 3 November 2026. Every date, opening time and price below was checked on the organizer’s or tourist office’s own website on 3 November 2026.

Short answer: The best Christmas markets on the German-Austrian border in 2026 are Rosenheim (27 November to 24 December, daily), Kufstein in Tyrol (town park market 20 November to 20 December, fortress market on Advent weekends), the island market on the Fraueninsel in the Chiemsee (26 to 29 November and 3 to 6 December) and candle-lit Rattenberg (Fridays to Sundays).

Servus (hi)! 👋 We live in a small German village near the Austrian border, south of Rosenheim, so this stretch of the Inn Valley is home for us. Most visitors only see it from the train between Munich and Salzburg or Innsbruck. It’s worth getting off: the markets are smaller, the mountains are right there, and you can visit two countries in one afternoon. In December we like doing things like a town market one weekend and a tiny village market the next.

Which Christmas markets are on the German-Austrian border?

Market	Where	2026 dates	Open
Wasserburg Christkindlmarkt	Wasserburg am Inn	27 Nov to 23 Dec	Fri to Sun, plus Thu 3, 10, 17 Dec and Wed 23 Dec
Rosenheim Christkindlmarkt	Rosenheim	27 Nov to 24 Dec	Daily
Fraueninsel Christkindlmarkt	Chiemsee	26 to 29 Nov and 3 to 6 Dec	Thu to Sun, two weekends only
Priener Christkindlmarkt	Prien am Chiemsee	27 Nov to 20 Dec	Fri to Sun on the four Advent weekends
Oberaudorf Christkindlmarkt	Oberaudorf	12 and 19 Dec	Two Saturdays, 15:00 to 22:00
Weihnachtsmarkt im Stadtpark	Kufstein (Austria)	20 Nov to 20 Dec	Wed to Sun, plus 8 Dec
Weihnachtszauber auf der Festung	Kufstein (Austria)	28 Nov to 20 Dec	Sat and Sun only
Rattenberger Advent	Rattenberg (Austria)	20 Nov to 20 Dec	Fri to Sun, plus 8 Dec

All the German ones are also in our 2026 Christmas market calendar, and our German Christmas markets guide covers the big city markets.

Rosenheim: the classic Bavarian market of the region

The Rosenheim Christkindlmarkt is the one we know best, and the photo at the top of this post is our own, from an evening there in December 2024. About 50 decorated stalls fill Max-Josefs-Platz and Ludwigsplatz in the pedestrian old town, with pastel townhouses all around.

Dates: Friday 27 November to Thursday 24 December 2026
Hours: daily 10:30 to 20:00. On Fridays and Saturdays the food and drink stands stay open until 21:00. Christmas Eve 10:00 to 13:00.
Opening day: stalls open at 13:00, the children’s fairy-tale parade leaves the Salingarten at 16:00, and the official opening follows at about 16:30.
St. Nicholas: Saturday 5 December at 16:00 he arrives in a carriage on Max-Josefs-Platz, with the Krampus and his angels.

If you have kids, go on a Wednesday. On 2, 9, 16 and 23 December there’s a family day with Kasperl puppet shows at 14:00 and 15:00, lower prices on the carousels and stalls, and free horse-drawn carriage rides from Heilig-Geist-Straße between 13:30 and 16:00. The carriages also run on the Advent Sundays from 12:00 to 15:00. On the four Advent Saturdays, two free shuttle bus loops run through town every 30 minutes.

Look for a Steaksemmel (steak in a roll), Flammbrot and Schmalzkuchen (fried dough). Our Christmas market food guide explains the mug deposit.

Kufstein: two Christmas markets in one Tyrolean town

Kufstein is our neighbor across the border, a small town on the Inn with a huge fortress above the old town. Its two markets are very different, and you can do both in one day.

The town park market (Weihnachtsmarkt im Stadtpark)

This is the cozy, local one. Punch and Glühwein come in ceramic mugs, there’s a carousel and a nostalgic little train for kids, and the snacks are Tyrolean: Kiachl (fried dough, sweet or with sauerkraut) and Zillertaler Krapfen.

Dates: 20 November to 20 December 2026
Hours: Wednesday to Friday 16:00 to 20:00, Saturday and Sunday 13:00 to 20:00. Also open on the 8 December holiday from 13:00. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.

Christmas Magic at Kufstein Fortress (Weihnachtszauber auf der Festung)

Up at the fortress, the market fills the old casemates and courtyards. You’ll find traditional crafts made live, a Christmas workshop where kids can make things, an “angel post office” for their letters, and wind players and Anklöpfler (traditional Advent carol singers).

Dates: Saturdays and Sundays only: 28/29 November, 5/6, 12/13 and 19/20 December 2026
Hours: 11:00 to 19:00, last entry 18:00. Closed on Tuesday 8 December.

Ticket (2026)	Price
Adults	€7.00
Kids, school pupils and students aged 12 to 24 (with ID)	€5.00
Family: 2 adults and up to 4 kids under 16	€16.50
Kids 0 to 5	Free

My tip: walk up the Kaiserjägerweg, as the fortress itself recommends. It’s about 10 minutes from the town square, and you pay cash at the top. The panorama railway runs (card payment works there), but it doesn’t stop inside the market, and the fortress lift doesn’t run during the Christmas Magic. Strollers and dogs aren’t allowed in the casemates.

Chiemsee: the island market and Prien

Fraueninsel Christkindlmarkt

The Fraueninsel market is the one people remember. The island is only 12 hectares, the smallest municipality in Bavaria, and you can only get there by boat. More than 90 sellers bring handmade things, and the island restaurants do the food.

Dates: Thursday 26 to Sunday 29 November and Thursday 3 to Sunday 6 December 2026
Hours: Thursday 15:00 to 20:00, Friday to Sunday 12:00 to 20:00
Boats from Prien/Stock: every 30 minutes from 10:00 to 18:30. Back to Prien every 30 minutes from 12:00 until 21:00.
Boats from Gstadt (the shorter crossing): every 30 minutes from 9:50 to 18:50, plus an extra shuttle to the island’s north pier between 12:00 and 19:00.
No reservations on the boats. Just turn up.

From Prien station, the historic Chiemsee-Bahn runs down to the harbor on the Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays of the market weekends, with a steam locomotive on most Saturday and Sunday runs. Ask at the Chiemsee-Bahn ticket desk for the combined train and boat ticket: €16.80 for adults and €8.40 for kids aged 6 to 15. Bus 481 also goes from the station to the harbor.

Saturdays are the most popular days, so if you can, go on the Thursday or Friday and take a boat by mid-afternoon. You see the island in daylight and then again with the lights on. And try a Renkensemmel, a roll with smoked whitefish from the lake.

Priener Christkindlmarkt

Back on the shore, the market in Prien is on the Marktplatz, a few minutes’ walk from the station. It runs Friday to Sunday on all four Advent weekends (27 November to 20 December 2026), with local schools and music groups on stage. The 2026 program and hours aren’t out yet, so check closer to your trip.

The Fraueninsel and Oberaudorf are both on our list of weekend-only Christmas markets in Bavaria.

Wasserburg am Inn: an old town on a river loop

North of Rosenheim, the Inn makes a tight loop around the medieval old town of Wasserburg, and the Christkindlmarkt spreads through its streets and squares.

Dates: Friday 27 November to Wednesday 23 December 2026
Hours: Fridays 15:00 to 21:00, Saturdays 12:00 to 21:00, Sundays 12:00 to 20:00. Also Thursdays 3, 10 and 17 December from 16:00 to 21:00 and Wednesday 23 December from 15:00 to 21:00.
Getting there: regional train to Wasserburg station, then town bus 431 to Heisererplatz or Marienplatz.

Rattenberg: the candle-lit market in Tyrol

If you only add one Austrian market besides Kufstein, make it Rattenberg. It’s a tiny medieval glass-making town in the Lower Inn Valley, and in Advent it does without most electric lights. The lanes are lit by candles, torches and open fires instead. There are only a few classic stalls. The town’s own shops, including the glass shops, open their doors, and you can try the local Rattenberger Adventwein.

Dates: 20 November to 20 December 2026, Fridays to Sundays, plus Tuesday 8 December
Fridays from 16:00: a free guided Advent walk (register with Alpbachtal tourism) and wind players from 17:00 to 19:00
Saturdays from 14:30: the biggest program, with a fairy-tale trail, glass-ball blowing, a nativity procession at 16:30 and the main program from 17:00
Sundays and 8 December: quieter, with carol singers and wind players from 15:00 to 18:00
Entry: free

On Sunday 6 December the town hosts its traditional Perchten run instead of the quiet Sunday program, with heavy costumes, drums and a witches’ dance around a fire. Our Krampus run guide has tips if you’re bringing kids.

Getting there: ÖBB regional trains go from Kufstein to Rattenberg-Kramsach station in about 22 to 25 minutes. You need an Austrian ticket for this part, because German tickets stop at Kufstein.

Small village markets worth a stop

Oberaudorf, in the Kurpark, on Saturdays 12 and 19 December 2026 from 15:00 to 22:00, free entry, with the local brass band. It’s a 10-minute walk from the station on the RB 54.
Bad Endorf, at the church square on the first two Advent weekends (27 November to 6 December), a 7-minute walk from the RE 5 station.
Thiersee, near Kufstein: the new Mitterlandler Advent on Saturday 28 November from 16:00, free entry.

How do you get around without a car?

Easily. Two BRB regional lines do most of the work: the RE 5 from Munich via Rosenheim, Bad Endorf and Prien to Salzburg, and the RB 54 from Munich via Rosenheim and Oberaudorf to Kufstein. No reservations needed.

Bayern-Ticket: a regional day ticket that’s valid all the way to Kufstein. 2026 prices (second class): €34 for 1 person, €44 for 2, €54 for 3, €64 for 4 and €74 for 5. Up to three kids aged 6 to 14 ride free. On weekdays it’s valid from 9:00, and on weekends and holidays from midnight, until 3:00 the next morning.
Deutschlandticket: €63 a month in 2026 (€66.80 from 1 January 2027). It covers the BRB trains into Kufstein station, but not Kufstein’s town buses or trains further into Austria. Here’s how the Deutschlandticket works for visitors.
Not covered by either: the boats on the Chiemsee and the historic Chiemsee-Bahn. Buy the combined ticket at Prien.

A weekend plan for the border region

The weekend of 4 to 6 December lines up well, because almost everything is open:

Friday 4 December: the Fraueninsel in the afternoon, back to Prien for the shore market in the evening.
Saturday 5 December: Rosenheim, with St. Nicholas arriving at 16:00.
Sunday 6 December: Kufstein’s fortress market by day and the town park market in the evening, or Rattenberg’s Perchten run.

Rosenheim makes an easy base. Heading east? Our guide to Christmas markets near Salzburg covers Berchtesgaden and Bad Reichenhall, and our Christmas market day trips from Munich include Salzburg too. For more Tyrol, our sister site has Austria’s Christmas markets.

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Pfiat di (take care), Brian

FAQ

When is the Kufstein Christmas market in 2026?

The market in Kufstein’s town park runs from 20 November to 20 December 2026, Wednesday to Friday 16:00 to 20:00 and Saturday and Sunday 13:00 to 20:00, plus 8 December. The Christmas Magic at Kufstein Fortress is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 28 November to 20 December, 11:00 to 19:00.

When is the Chiemsee Christmas market on the Fraueninsel in 2026?

The Fraueninsel Christkindlmarkt runs on two long weekends: 26 to 29 November and 3 to 6 December 2026. It’s open Thursday 15:00 to 20:00 and Friday to Sunday 12:00 to 20:00. Boats leave Prien/Stock and Gstadt every 30 minutes and can’t be reserved.

How much does the Kufstein Fortress Christmas market cost?

In 2026, entry to the Christmas Magic at Kufstein Fortress costs €7 for adults, €5 for kids and students aged 12 to 24, and €16.50 for a family of two adults and up to four kids under 16. Kids up to 5 go free.

Can I use the Deutschlandticket or Bayern-Ticket to Kufstein?

Yes, on the regional trains from Germany into Kufstein station. Neither covers Kufstein’s town buses or trains further into Austria, such as to Rattenberg.

When is the Rosenheim Christmas market in 2026?

From 27 November to 24 December 2026, daily 10:30 to 20:00 (food stands until 21:00 on Fridays and Saturdays), and 10:00 to 13:00 on Christmas Eve.

Sources

Checked on 3 November 2026:

Top photo: our own, Rosenheim Christkindlmarkt, December 2024.