Vancouver Christmas Market

It's a fun place to go and check out Artisan shops, have great food and enjoy the fresh air. Unfortunately it was raining when I was there.

The Christmas market was like an absolute feast for the senses! The vibrant atmosphere filled with people from all around the world, offering their traditional foods and handicrafts, was truly mesmerizing. Each corner of the market showcasing a kaleidoscope of colors and an array of tantalizing flavors was a dream come true for any lover of culture and cuisine. Your description makes was an immersive experience where visitors can transport themselves to different parts of the globe without ever leaving the market.

Paying 22 CAD to enter this world of wonders feels like a ticket to a magical journey where one can indulge in the richness of various cultures. It's unfortunate that the weather wasn't on our side, as the cold and rain can definitely put a damper on such a lively event. I do hope the cold I caught doesn't linger for too long.

Go ahead and see the sights and experience the market through my update pictures and videos. They would surely add an extra layer of vividness to this description. So take a look and immerse yourself in the festive ambiance of the Christmas market!

No, we didn't even enter, they charge you 20 dollars to enter a market that sells Christmas things and has a carousel, I tell the truth, it's not worth the trouble.

Are you a tourist or your bored or need to cool off your head <>> well it’s one of the best Choice to be in Vancouver

Super spacious rooms, gorgeous views. Adorable bee viewing spot
Lovely place with great practices

It was freezing cold when we went during christmas. This time around its summer.and the christmas market wasn't set up. But its always nice to go to waterfront.

In comparison to Christmas markets in Europe, it was not that much of a Christmas market! I expected something more cool than what I saw!
And it was also directed by German groups. So where were the BC people? I expected to buy lots of local stuff and support local businesses, which did not happen!
And one more thing: entrance fee? ! Why? !? !

Amazing experience.the mulled wine is exceptional. The setup is so romantic. Its for everyone.couples, families, friends.

Entrance to this market should be free for everyone to enjoy and cheer on Christmas. You can go elsewhere to pay for overpriced mulled wine and hotdogs

The only Christmas market in the world that has a fee to enter. It is located on public property. Everything to buy inside is overpriced. There is a free viewing area above Cactus club to see everything and listen to their music.

Not a huge fan of this annual market. Great for tourists and first time visitors, but not worth revisiting as it’s the same thing every year. Lineups are terrible, and you are paying to gain entry so you can wait in lines to pay for food or purchase highly overpriced “artisan” products.

It's outdoor so dress yourself accordingly. I feel it's expensive (food + entrance ticket). Not worth the money! It's My opinion!

Used to love this place but just like the Chinese Night Market gets worse every year and smaller every year including the mulled wine. The lineups/ queues were so ridiculously long because the servers were so freaking slow. I had no time to wait I had somewhere to be. You will at least wait 20 minutes in line. Got ripped off from the mushroom place they say 20 grams is 250ml look it up it's 20 ml. I paid $14 for lobster mushrooms and I wouldn't recommend them because the texture is awful and I'm not picky with food so that says something. Also the pretzels aren't German pretzels they are Mister pretzel they just in golf it in butter. It's awful! Doesn't even taste like a pretzel!

The Vancouver Christmas Market is a very very nice place. The only problem is that it’s extremely overpriced. If they could lower the price to $10 an entry it would already be a lot better. The food and drinks are pretty expensive for what you get, which would be fine if you did not have to pay to enter in the first place. Otherwise, it’s very well done and beautiful. My girlfriend is german and her eyes were glowing the whole time. The staff is also very friendly!

Pretty nice place, comfortable furnishings great views. Food is a little higher priced but seems well prepared. I had the blackened tilapia and it was a pretty thick hunny piece of fish, great seasoning. It was accompanied with key lime shrimp that fell a little short in comparison to the fish. The rice was nice but not as fragrant as one would expect Jasmine rice to be.

I didn’t buy anything special for chirstmas, but it was fun to go there and enjoyed a lot! It’s better to buy ticket through website so that you can get seasonal pass!

The food was good (main reason I came) but the the little shops were not what I expected. I wish they had more vendors.

The market was wonderfully organized and the layout made it easy to walk around and browse. The variety in both food and craft offerings was good. The prices were fair. Would love to visit it again.

This is surprisingly one of the least pretentious Christmas events in downtown Vancouver. Lots of awesome food and a reasonable entry price.

I’ve gone to the Christmas Market every year for the past 8 years - it’s a Christmas tradition that me and my partner look forward to every year. That being said - I feel like the market has declined since its gained popularity and since moving to its new location at Jack Poole Plaza. It is simply WAY too busy/crowded for its current location, and the layout does not allow for people to get around easily or line up for food. There are insanely long line-ups that are 50 people long, with no way to organize anyone. The lines cut through the whole market and make it a) impossible for people to walk around and b) impossible to figure out where the end of the line actually is!

The atmosphere just didn’t seem right this year - the music playing was just.off, and it sounded just “jazzy” instead of Christmasy. Honestly, it kind of ruined the holiday mood. Most of the vendors are the same every year, and while they are nice, it would be good to breathe some fresh ideas into the market.

If I could make some recommendations to organizers for improvements, it would be:
- have ropes (or tape on the ground?) to designate where people should stand for each line.
- spread out some of the food vendors, so they aren’t all stuffed in one area making it even more jam packed.
- play more classic Christmas music.
- perhaps limit the # of people that can enter at one time; this might help with people not being packed in there like sardines and not being able to actually see anything.

Looking forward to hopefully seeing some organizational improvements for next year:)

It is must do for spending Christmas in Vancouver. The German themed market has something for everyone. The long lineups for food are worth the wait!

Everything is pretty pricey but if you're looking for that merry holiday ambiance this is the place to be.

I used to LOVE this market. Its entry fee used to be $2, season's pass included. It has gone downhill from there. The vendors got worse (used to be way more German ornament stands). The price keeps going up but what's inside stays the same. And yes, you are not publicly funded neither are most other businesses and they don't hijack their prices to that extent. Honestly, $15 to get in? I used to tell everyone they must go there, I would make several visits a season myself and bring new people with me but over the last few years, this year especially, I found it harder and harder to defend their price increases and the need/want to actually go there. Honestly, I don't recommend it anymore. I feel bad for the vendors as they pay to be there and only have a month to sell off their goods, it's hard for them to keep their prices steady. Some travel in from Europe. Vancouver German Christmas Market, you need to do better. Go back to a smaller venue if needed but prices need to come down if you wish to keep your client base. Sure tourists may go there but the locals are definitely opting out.

The best: pork hock was great with decent value, nice live music. Not so good: long wait times over priced food on less attractive items. Sometimes bad: terrible weather, line ups going around the shop, large crowds.

Great place to visit with a small group! Can be very romantic as well ;)

Beautiful, i really loved all the lights a lot of interesting stuff to buy/see the food is also great but the line to get anything to eat is soooooooo long!

Beautiful decorations, crafty store for xmas shopping, delicious street food and excellent entertainment.

Looks lovely and the atmosphere is awesome but first of all you have to pay for the entrance (personally think 11$ are too much) and second of all the only things you can do is buy/eat food buy some souvenirs and listen to music. Expected more

Nice atmosphere for holiday, beautiful lights and a little bit play land for kids and people in love, beautiful

It's ridiculous to charge entrance fee to a market! I've seen so many Christmas markets around the world with way more varieties and decorations but I've never seen them charging people to just get into it.

I see some reviews are unreasonable complaining about prices been high in here. This place takes you back to real Germany and even better and I'm really happy to see such a place exists in Vancouver and will support them as much as I can.
THANK YOU TO GERMAN MARKET TEAM

You pay money for the privilege of buying overpriced food and drinks. No atmosphere whatsoever. If you've ever been to a European Christmas market you'll be disappointed.

Little expensive but you get to experience very unique things, whether it’s cookies bakery stuff, food, decorations etc.