Aurora Christmas Market 2026: Christkindlmarket by the River

For most of its run, the Aurora Christmas Market opens Thursday to Sunday only, so check the day before you set out. Get that right and you’re rewarded with space. The timber huts and glühwein mugs are the same as at the Daley Plaza original, but here they’re spread along the Fox River with room to move between them. I’d come on a Thursday afternoon and be gone before the Saturday night crowd pours over the footbridge.

Aurora Christmas Market 2026

Dates

Status: Confirmed
Aurora dates: 20th November to 24th December 2026
Last checked: October 2026

Update: Dates were announced in August. Sign up for our newsletter to be notified of changes.

Source: Verified by Ultimate Christmas Markets via Christkindlmarket.

Plan Your Visit

Location and Times

Location: RiverEdge Park, Aurora, Illinois
Opening times:
Thursday: 11am to 7pm
Friday and Saturday: 11am to 9pm
Sunday: 11am to 6pm
Thanksgiving Eve: 11am to 7pm
Thanksgiving: 11am to 4pm
21st to 23rd December: 11am to 7pm
Christmas Eve: 11am to 4pm
Christmas Day: Closed

Travel and Accommodation

Recommended Tour: Roundhouse ghost tour
Parking: Please take public transport to help limit congestion.
Where to stay: This hotel in Aurora is 6 minutes away.

Amenities and Attractions

Admission: Free, no tickets required.
Santa: The Christkind and St Nikolaus visit on lantern parade days.
Reason to visit: A roomy, riverside Christkindlmarket with handmade glass ornaments, a heated tent to warm up in and the yearly collectible mug.

Dietary Options

Vegetarian: Yes, plenty of options.
Vegan: Yes, plenty of options.
Gluten free: Yes, but limited.
Specialities: Raclette; potato pancakes; Leberkäse rolls; spit-smoked ham; pierogi; poffertjes; glühwein; hot apple cider.

Accessibility

Accessible: Yes.
Pet-friendly: Yes, but not recommended during busy periods.

Convenient Hotels

Downtown Aurora is the easiest base, with the stalls, restaurants and the old Paramount Theatre all within a few minutes’ walk. I recommend the Holiday Inn Express for comfortable accommodation in this area.

Recommended Tours

The Two Brothers Roundhouse is an 1856 railway building on the Fox River that now works as a brewery, and the guide covers what’s meant to haunt it. It runs two hours, and it’s a short walk from the RiverEdge market. Do the stalls first, then the Roundhouse ghost tour.

Visitor Feedback

What Visitors Loved

• Visitors who know Daley Plaza say there’s far more room to move here, and some city regulars now make Aurora their market instead.
• The raclette sandwich gets mentioned more than anything else on the menu, with the potato pancakes and Belgian hot chocolate close behind.
• The heated Timber Tent is a lifesaver on cold nights, and the glühwein queue inside is often shorter than at the outdoor windows.
• Real flushing toilets in a permanent building, which families with small children appreciate.

Common Complaints

• Food queues get long, especially on weekend evenings and in the last week before Christmas, so come early in the day or early in the season.
• The paid lots next to the park fill up, and the free lot on River Street is poorly signposted. It’s worth the walk across the footbridge.
• Some vendors only take cash, which catches people out at the front of a long queue.
• The wind off the river makes evenings bitterly cold, so wear more layers than you think you need.

Event Location

What to Expect

RiverEdge Park is a lawn and amphitheatre on the east bank of the Fox River, and for five weeks it fills with honey-coloured huts under red and white striped roofs. The lanes are much wider than at Daley Plaza, so you can actually stop and look at a stall without being carried along. Cross the footbridge from the car parks on the far bank and you get the whole market laid out in front of you, lit up against the water.

When the wind comes off the river, everyone retreats to the heated Timber Tent, where there’s live music, long tables and a glühwein bar. Children can pick up a Kinder Club passport there and work through a scavenger hunt around the stalls. On lantern parade evenings they follow the Christkind and St Nikolaus through the market with paper lanterns, and there are glassblowing sessions where you can make your own ornament to take home.

At the Food Stalls

• Raclette: Alpine cheese melted under a grill and scraped onto bread while you watch. It’s the stall with the longest queue for good reason.
• Potato pancakes: Crisp on the outside and soft inside, served with apple sauce or sour cream. Ask for them with everything on.
• Leberkäse roll: A thick slice of Bavarian meat loaf in a crusty roll with mustard, simpler and more filling than a bratwurst.
• Spit-smoked ham: Räucherschinken, slow-smoked and carved straight off the spit into a roll.
• Bratwurst: Grilled and served in a bun with mustard, with sauerkraut on top for a little extra.
• Pierogi: Polish dumplings, a nod to the Polish heritage of so many Illinois families, served alongside kielbasa and cabbage rolls.
• Poffertjes: Tiny, fluffy Dutch pancakes dusted with icing sugar, cooked in batches on a dimpled pan.
• Pan-fried mushrooms: Seared with garlic or herb sauce, one of the best vegetarian plates in the market.
• Glühwein: Hot spiced red wine, poured into a collectible mug with a new design every year. Bring last year’s mug back for a refill.
• Hot apple cider: Made with Honeycrisp apples and the same warming spices, for anyone skipping the wine.

Gifts and Stocking Fillers

• Hand-blown glass ornaments: Several stalls sell mouth-blown, hand-painted baubles, including pieces from Lauscha, the German town where glass tree ornaments began.
• Käthe Wohlfahrt: The German Christmas decoration specialist has a walk-in shop here, full of pyramids, nativity scenes and ornaments.
• Nutcrackers and incense smokers: Carved wooden figures in the Ore Mountains tradition, alongside wooden pyramids that turn with candle heat.
• Polish pottery: Blue and white stoneware from Bolesławiec, stamped by hand, in mugs, bowls and ornaments.
• Alpaca and felt winter wear: Scarves, hats, mittens and socks, some knitted in the Andes and some felted by hand.
• Honey: Gourmet and barrel-aged honeys, plus honey mustards and sauces, sold in jars that travel well.
• The yearly mug: The collectible mug changes design every season, and plenty of locals have a shelf of them at home. You can buy one empty at the information booth.

Sustainable Holiday Tips

• Take Metra: The BNSF Line runs from Chicago Union Station to the Aurora Transportation Center, and RiverEdge Park is a short walk north along Broadway.
• Reuse your mug: Drinks come in a souvenir mug, and bringing one from a previous visit means you pay for a refill rather than another mug.