Saxon Zittau, Germany, lies so close to the Czech border that you can reach it from the Liberec region in half an hour. If you enjoy a more intimate Advent atmosphere and don’t want to fight crowds in giant metropolises, this corner of the Czech-German-Polish tripoint shouldn’t be missed in December. You do need to watch the calendar carefully, though, because the local market lasts only nine days and unlike larger cities doesn’t start on the first Sunday of Advent.
The local celebrations don’t kick off until Saturday, December 5, when the Lichterfest takes place and shops in the center invite visitors from 4:00 PM to shop by candlelight, and the market stalls close as early as Sunday, December 13. Even in such a short time you can explore local crafts, warm up with a hot drink, and easily combine the trip with a ride on the narrow-gauge steam railway into the Zittau Mountains. If you’re planning broader pre-Christmas travels this year and are interested in other Christmas markets in Germany, Zittau serves as a very pleasant and peaceful stop just across the border.
Summary
- When: December 5–13, 2026 (the market lasts only 9 days and doesn’t start on the first Advent weekend).
- Opening hours: Monday to Thursday and Sunday 11:00 AM–7:00 PM, Friday and Saturday 11:00 AM–8:00 PM.
- Lichterfest: Saturday, December 5, 2026 (shops in the center invite visitors from 4:00 PM to shop by candlelight).
- Admission: was free in 2025; check zittau.de for current conditions before your visit.
- Getting there from the Czech Republic: by car from Liberec approximately 26 km (25–30 minutes via Hrádek nad Nisou) or by direct Trilex train (lines L7 and RE2, journey takes about 30 minutes).
- Parking: inside the Stadtring ring road €1.20/hour (Mon–Fri 9 AM–6 PM, Sat 9 AM–1 PM), on Breite Straße €1/hour (Mon–Fri 9 AM–4 PM), free outside these hours and on Sundays.
- Where to stay: in Zittau’s city center, in Oybin, or in Liberec.
- Combine with: Oybin Castle and monastery with narrow-gauge steam railway, Christmas markets in Görlitz with the Polish-German Brückenadvent, Herrnhut stars in Herrnhut, or Bautzen.
The full destination guide: Germany — guide and what to see
All 2026 Christmas markets: a calendar of dates and tips on markets across Europe
When is the Zittau Christmas Market 2026
When planning a trip to Zittau, the most important thing is to check the dates so you don’t arrive to an empty square. The official name of the event is Zittauer Weihnachtsmarkt mit Lichterfest and this year the stalls in the historic center will be open from Saturday, December 5, to Sunday, December 13, 2026. This means the entire event lasts only nine days.
Pay special attention to the fact that the Zittau market does not start on the first Sunday of Advent, which this year falls on November 29, 2026. At the turn of November and December, you won’t find stalls in the center yet, and they won’t be there in the week before Christmas Eve (Thursday, December 24, 2026) either. Last year the market ran December 6–14, 2025.
| Market | Dates 2026 | Opening Hours | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| :— | :— | :— | :— |
| Zittauer Weihnachtsmarkt mit Lichterfest (Zittau) | Dec 5–13, 2026 | Mon–Thu & Sun 11 AM–7 PM, Fri & Sat 11 AM–8 PM | historic center (Markt / Rathausplatz) |
| Brückenadvent Görlitz–Zgorzelec (nearby tip) | Dec 11–13, 2026 | Fri 2–9 PM, Sat 11 AM–9 PM, Sun 11 AM–8 PM | Untermarkt, Altstadtbrücke, Zgorzelec |
Opening Hours
The market gates open every day at eleven in the morning, so you can head here for lunch or an afternoon stroll. From Monday to Thursday and on Sunday, the stalls operate 11:00 AM–7:00 PM, while on Friday and Saturday the opening hours extend to 11:00 AM–8:00 PM. If you like to combine strolling among stalls with shopping for gifts in brick-and-mortar stores, it’s worth knowing that on the final weekend of December 12 and 13, 2026 (Saturday and Sunday), shops in the city center stay open until 6:00 PM.
Lichterfest December 5, 2026
On the first day of the market, Saturday, December 5, 2026, the Lichterfest (Festival of Lights) takes place. During this evening, merchants in the city invite visitors from 4:00 PM to shop by candlelight. We recommend arriving in town with a bit of advance time during Saturday afternoon for the festival.
What the Market Looks Like and Who It’s For
The Zittau Christmas market is a smaller, intimate event in the historic center around the town hall. The stalls are concentrated in the area of Markt and Rathausplatz squares, though the city hasn’t yet published the exact layout for 2026. Don’t expect a big-city market like those you’ll find in the overview of best Christmas markets in Europe, but rather a quiet, bourgeois setting.
The stall selection focuses on regional specialties and traditional crafts, complemented by an accompanying cultural program. The city will publish a detailed schedule of individual performances for 2026 later, but simply browsing among handcrafted goods has its own charm. Also inseparable from German Advent is Glühwein, or mulled wine; the organizer hasn’t yet announced prices for mulled wine or the mug deposit.
Where to Stay in Zittau and the Surrounding Area
Although Zittau, Germany is easily accessible from northern Czechia for a day trip, spending one or two nights makes sense if you want to enjoy the Saturday Lichterfest with a glass of mulled wine or combine the market with a mountain excursion. Depending on what kind of weekend you’re planning, you can choose from three main areas ranging from the historic city center through mountain resorts to accommodation on the Czech side of the border.
Zittau City Center
Accommodation right in Zittau’s historic center allows you to walk to Markt and Rathausplatz squares comfortably in just a few minutes. After the evening Festival of Lights ends, you won’t have to worry about catching a train or finding your car in a parking lot, and in the morning you can explore the town before the stalls open.
- Hotel Sonne: Markt 9, right on the square, closest to the market.
- Hotel Dreiländereck: Bautzner Straße 9, in the city center.
- Hotel Schwarzer Bär: Ottokarplatz 12 in Zittau.
- Hotel Zittauer Hof: Neustadt 28 in Zittau.
Oybin and Jonsdorf
If you want to turn your market visit into a full two-day Christmas trip, focus on Oybin and Jonsdorf, which are quiet spa towns in the nearby Zittau Mountains. Staying overnight in this area allows you to combine the evening market in Zittau with winter walks around sandstone rocks, a visit to Oybin Castle and monastery, and a ride on the historic narrow-gauge railway.
- Hotel am Berg Oybin: Friedrich-Engels-Straße 34 in Oybin, practical for combining with a trip to Oybin.
Liberec
For travelers who want to stay on the Czech side and would like to combine Saxon Zittau with a visit to Liberec’s markets, Liberec itself is a natural base. Trilex trains shuttle between the two cities with a journey time of about 30 minutes, so you can get from central Liberec to Zittau’s square very easily even without a car.
💡 Compare what’s currently available on this map — you’ll immediately see how much the price changes a few blocks away.
How to Get to Zittau and Where to Park
Thanks to its location just beyond Hrádek nad Nisou, transportation to Zittau, Germany from Czechia is a matter of several dozen minutes. You can choose between driving your own car and very convenient train connections that save you from hunting for a free space in the center.
By Car from Liberec, Prague, and Ústí
The quickest journey is for those from the Liberec region, because Zittau lies approximately 6 km beyond the border at Hrádek nad Nisou. From Liberec via Hrádek nad Nisou it’s about 26 km, which without traffic takes roughly 25 to 30 minutes of driving. If you’re coming from Prague, you’re looking at a route of approximately 131 km via the D10/R35 to Liberec and then via Hrádek nad Nisou, which with smooth traffic you can manage in about 1 hour and 40 minutes.
From Ústí nad Labem, the route via Děčín and the Šluknov Panhandle or Varnsdorf measures approximately 87 km depending on your chosen route, and you’ll spend approximately 1 hour and 35 minutes in the car. All stated times and kilometers are based on route calculations from the center of the given city without accounting for heavy traffic, so check the route beforehand in apps like Mapy.cz or Google Maps.
By Trilex Train from Liberec
A carefree option is traveling by Trilex train, which is a cross-border railway operator. Two lines run from Liberec to Zittau: L7 (on the Liberec, Zittau, Varnsdorf, Seifhennersdorf route) and line RE2 (Liberec, Zittau, Dresden; direct trains from Liberec to Dresden run mainly on weekends, otherwise with a transfer in Zittau). After earlier track reconstruction, these connections have been running at full capacity again since December 24, 2025.
The journey itself from Liberec to Zittau station takes about 30 minutes and trains depart approximately every hour (these are approximate figures; check specific times before traveling on idos.cz or trilex.de). If you’re traveling from Prague, you can first take a bus to Liberec (about 1 hour and 15 minutes) and transfer there to Trilex, or go by train via Rumburk and Varnsdorf (look up connections on idos.cz). Buses also run between Liberec and Zittau; check idos.cz for current direct connections. The train is faster.
From Zittau railway station you can walk to Markt square on foot in approximately 15 minutes according to the map.
💡 Tip: You can buy tickets in the cross-border ZVON/EURO-NISA (EURO-NEISSE) tariff; check zvon.de for current prices.
Parking in Zittau
If you do decide to drive, Zittau has a clearly defined system of municipal parking zones. Right in the center on Markt and Rathausplatz squares, parking normally costs €2/hour (charged Monday to Friday 9:00 AM–6:00 PM and Saturday 9:00 AM–1:00 PM), but during the market expect restrictions because the squares serve as the market venue.
Much more practical is to use other parking lots inside the Stadtring ring road (apart from Markt and Rathausplatz themselves), where you’ll pay €1.20/hour with the first 15 minutes free. These spaces are charged Monday to Friday 9:00 AM–6:00 PM and Saturday 9:00 AM–1:00 PM. Even a bit cheaper is the Breite Straße parking lot, where an hour costs €1/hour (again with the first 15 minutes free) and is charged only Monday to Friday 9:00 AM–4:00 PM.
💡 Tip: On Saturday afternoon after 1:00 PM (on Breite Straße even all Saturday long) and all day Sunday, you can park in the mentioned municipal areas outside the charged hours without paying.
The city also offers free parking lots outside the center, which are marked on the official parking map (downloadable PDF document). You can find the exact location of areas and current tariffs on the city’s official page Anreise & Parken on the zittau.de website.
Day Trip Extension: Oybin, Narrow-Gauge Railway & Zittau Mountains
You can easily turn a visit to the intimate Zittau market into a full-day experience by heading out to the neighboring Zittau Mountains. About 10 km from town lies Oybin, a picturesque spa village dominated by a castle and monastery perched on a sandstone rock. A walk through the winter landscape among the rocks creates a lovely contrast to the evening bustle around the stalls in the town square.
A major draw on this route is the Zittauer Schmalspurbahn, a historic narrow-gauge railway that departs from Zittau and runs daily with a steam locomotive, carrying passengers to the mountain stations at Oybin and Jonsdorf. The train travels through the winter landscape between Zittau, Oybin, and Jonsdorf. The operator has not yet published the specific timetable for the 2026/27 Christmas season (for reference, last year the main winter season ran from December 20, 2025 to January 4, 2026), but steam trains operate on the line in daily service.
Combine It with Görlitz and Bautzen
Zittau’s location in the tri-border area makes it perfect for comparing several Advent towns in the region during a single weekend. If you’re drawn to the famous Christmas markets in Dresden, you can continue there from Zittau by direct RE2 train, but you’ll find interesting destinations much closer as well. For more inspiration for trips in the region, check out our comprehensive guide to Christmas markets in Germany near the border.
Görlitz and Brückenadvent Across the Neisse
About 35 to 40 km from Zittau lies the historic town of Görlitz, which hosts the Schlesischer Christkindelmarkt (Silesian Christ Child Market) from December 4–20, 2026. On December 11–13, 2026, the Brückenadvent takes place—the only weekend when the market crosses the Neisse River into Poland, creating a joint cross-border Advent celebration.
It’s the only weekend of the year when the Christmas market physically extends across the Neisse River from Untermarkt square over the Altstadtbrücke bridge into Zgorzelec. During Brückeadvent, the stalls follow the main market’s opening hours, so you can visit on Friday, December 11 from 2:00 PM to 9:00 PM, Saturday, December 12 from 11:00 AM to 9:00 PM, and Sunday, December 13 from 11:00 AM to 8:00 PM. Since these dates overlap with the final weekend of the Zittau market, you can combine both towns in a single trip.
Bautzen and the Wenzelsmarkt
Another stop could be Bautzen, about 60 km from Zittau. The local Wenzelsmarkt (Wenceslas Market) runs this year from November 27 to December 22, 2026, so it’s open during weeks when Zittau is still closed or already finished.
About 25 km from Zittau you’ll also find the small town of Herrnhut, home to the Herrnhuter Sterne (Moravian stars). Check the manufactory’s website for opening hours before your visit. You might also want to stop by the Liberec Christmas market if you’re traveling through the area.
Tips for Visiting with Children
The intimate scale of the Zittau market is easy for families with children to navigate. To make sure even the youngest travelers enjoy the trip, you can combine a stroll through the center with a ride on the steam train and prepare properly for December weather.
- Combine with the steam narrow-gauge railway: pair your visit to the stalls on the square with a ride on the Zittauer Schmalspurbahn steam train to Oybin, which runs with a steam locomotive daily.
- Warm clothing: December afternoons in the foothills of the Zittau Mountains and an evening walk during Lichterfest require waterproof boots and plenty of warm layers.
- Check your return train: if you’re traveling by Trilex train from Liberec, look up the exact departure time for the evening service in advance and allow about 15 minutes to walk from Markt square to Zittau station.
Frequently Asked Questions
When are the Christmas markets in Zittau in 2026?
The Christmas markets in Zittau take place from Saturday 5 December to Sunday 13 December 2026. The entire event therefore lasts only nine days and does not start on the first Advent weekend.
What are the opening hours of the market in Zittau?
From Monday to Thursday and on Sunday the stalls are open from 11:00 to 19:00. On Friday and Saturday the opening hours are extended and the market runs from 11:00 to 20:00.
What is the Lichterfest?
The Lichterfest is a festival of lights that takes place on Saturday 5 December 2026 on the very first day of the markets. Shops in the town centre invite visitors from 16:00 for early-evening shopping by candlelight.
How do I get to Zittau by train from Liberec?
Direct Trilex trains run from Liberec to Zittau (line L7 and line RE2, which runs directly from Liberec to Dresden mainly at weekends, otherwise with a change in Zittau) and the journey takes about half an hour. Check current departure times before your trip in the timetable at idos.cz.
Where can I park in Zittau?
Car parks inside the Stadtring ring road cost €1.20 per hour (charged Mon–Fri 9:00–18:00, Sat 9:00–13:00, in Breite Straße €1/h Mon–Fri 9:00–16:00) and right by the town hall you’ll pay €2 per hour, where you should however expect restrictions because of the market. Free car parks outside the centre are shown on the town’s official parking map at zittau.de.
How far is Zittau from the border?
Zittau lies approximately 6 km beyond the Czech border near Hrádek nad Nisou. From the centre of Liberec it’s about 26 km by car to Zittau.
What can you combine with the Christmas markets in Zittau?
You can combine your visit to Zittau with a trip to Oybin Castle on the narrow-gauge steam railway, with markets in nearby Görlitz (4–20 Dec 2026, including the cross-border Brückenadvent 11–13 Dec) or with the Liberec Christmas markets.
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