Odense Christmas Market 2026: 3 Weekends Only

Order a plate of æbleskiver first and you’ll find out why Danes call them apple slices with a straight face, even though there’s rarely any apple in them. They’re fluffy pancake balls, cooked in a dimpled pan and dusted with icing sugar. At the Odense Christmas Market, they come with a cup of gløgg, thick with raisins and chopped almonds. Eat them at the stall while they’re hot, because they don’t travel well.

Odense Christmas Market 2026

Dates

Status: Confirmed
Odense dates: 27th November to 12th December 2026
Last checked: October 2026

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

Source: Verified by Ultimate Christmas Markets via Visit Denmark.

Plan Your Visit

Location and Times

Location: Sortebrødre Torv
Opening times:
Friday: 10am to 7pm
Saturday: 10am to 5pm
Christmas Day: Closed

Travel and Accommodation

Recommended Tour: Hans Christian Andersen walking tour
Parking: Please take public transport to help limit congestion.
Where to stay: Hotel Odeon is 3 minutes from the market.

Amenities and Attractions

Admission: Free.
Tree lighting: Mid-November at Flakhaven, with free goodie bags for children. Full details.
Santa: Yes.
Ice skating: No.
Reason to visit: Hans Christian Andersen theme, historic setting, local Funen design and handicrafts.

Dietary Options

Vegetarian: Yes, plenty of options.
Vegan: Yes, plenty of options.
Gluten free: Yes, but limited.
Food specialities: Pancakes, waffles, glögg, traditional Danish pastries.

Accessibility

Accessible: Yes.
Pet-friendly: Yes.

Convenient Hotels

The old town, the shops and the best of the restaurants are all packed into Odense’s compact centre, so that’s where you’ll want to stay. Hotel Odeon is a popular choice in this area.

Recommended Tours

Ninety minutes around the streets Andersen grew up in, including the house he was born in and the corners of Odense that surface in the stories. Do the Andersen walking tour first, because the city has built itself around him and the market sits in the middle of it.

Event Location

Christmas in Odense

The market fills Blackfriars Square (Sortebrødre Torv) in the city’s oldest quarter, a few minutes’ walk from the house where Hans Christian Andersen was born. Low, brightly painted houses from his era line the lanes around it, which suits a market built around the 1800s rather than modern chalets.

The stalls are roofed in spruce branches and sell wool, wooden toys and handicrafts alongside æbleskiver and mulled wine. Horse-drawn carriages clatter over the cobbles and characters from Andersen’s stories wander between the stalls in costume. Once it’s dark, which in a Danish December is mid-afternoon, the lanterns and the smell of sugared almonds do the rest.

Specialties

• Æbleskiver (apple slices): Round, fluffy pancake balls cooked in a dimpled pan, dusted with icing sugar and served with jam. Despite the name, there’s rarely any apple involved.
• Gløgg (mulled wine): Spiced with cinnamon and cloves, served with raisins and chopped almonds in the cup, and sometimes spiked with a shot of rum or brandy.
• Flæskestegssandwich (roast pork sandwich): Roast pork with crackling, red cabbage and pickles in a soft bun, and the most filling thing on the square.
• Brændte mandler (sugared almonds): Almonds roasted in sugar and cinnamon and sold warm in paper cones.
• Pebernødder (pepper nuts): Small, crunchy spiced biscuits that Danes snack on all through December.
• Brunkager (brown biscuits): Thin, crisp biscuits spiced with cinnamon, ginger and cloves.
• Honninghjerter (honey hearts): Soft honey cakes, often glazed with chocolate and decorated with icing.

Gifts and Stocking Fillers

• Paper Christmas hearts (julehjerter): Woven and pleated paper hearts hang on almost every Danish tree. The oldest known pleated heart is credited to Andersen himself and is kept in Odense.
• Knitted woollens: Socks, mittens, scarves and jumpers, handy if the Funen wind catches you underdressed.
• Wooden toys: From simple building blocks to intricate puzzles, sold at specialty stalls.
• Odense Marcipan: The marzipan brand that carries the city’s name began here, and festive boxes and marzipan loaves are easy to find.

Sustainable Travel Tips

• Take the light rail: Odense’s tram line (Odense Letbane) stops at ODEON, a short walk from the old town quarter and Hans Christian Andersen’s House. Tickets are sold at the stops and in the FynBus app.
• Ride one of the orange bikes: Odense has more than 545 km of cycle lanes, and Donkey Republic bikes can be rented by the hour through the app and left at any of its drop-off stations.