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Seasonal travelBy Clever Tourists · Published · Last updated
Sibiu's Christmas market in Piața Mare runs from 13 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, according to the organiser, and Brașov's market in Piața Sfatului runs from 27 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, according to the 2026 city calendar reported by Wall-Street.ro. Both carry on past Christmas, which makes Transylvania one of the few places in Europe where you can do markets between 25 December and New Year. Romania is mostly Orthodox, but the Romanian Orthodox Church keeps Christmas on 25 December, the same day as Western churches. Plan around 24 to 26 December: carol singers on Christmas Eve, then two public holidays when much of the country stays home. We spent 2 days in Sibiu and 4 days in Brașov in late October and early November 2022, so the Christmas details below come from organisers and official sources, not from a December there.
Sibiu's market is the best known in Romania and fills the Piața Mare (Great Square) in the upper town. The organiser's site (targuldecraciun.ro) gives these details for 2026:
• Dates: 13 November 2026 to 3 January 2027. The Sibiu tourism portal lists an end date of 31 December in one place; the organiser and the national press both say 3 January.
• Hours: Monday to Friday 11:00 to 22:00, weekends 10:00 to 22:00. The organiser had not published special hours for 24, 25 December or 1 January when we checked, so confirm closer to the date.
• Entry: free.
• Attractions: a panoramic wheel about 22 m tall, a 600 m² ice rink with skate hire, Santa's house reached by a lift (booking recommended), workshops for children, a stage for concerts and carols, and more than 120 stalls.
• Golden Ticket: 100 lei for a day of unlimited rides on the wheel, carousel, mini-train and lift, with part of the money donated.
• Parking: the city's barrier car parks at Cazarma 90 and Piața Teatrului charge 3 lei an hour.
The market holds the European Christmas Market Association's "Excellent European Christmas Market" label for 2026. The 2026 stage line-up had not been announced in late October. Our Sibiu guide covers the old town around the square.
Brașov's market fills Piața Sfatului, the old council square below Mount Tâmpa, with the 15th-century Black Church on one side.
• Dates: 27 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, per the city's 2026 calendar as reported by Wall-Street.ro (3 October 2026). Romania Insider, citing Mediafax, reports that stalls open on 27 November ahead of an official opening and lights ceremony on 30 November.
• Hours and programme: not announced when we checked.
• Last year: the 2025 edition ran from 30 November 2025 to 11 January 2026 and spread across Piața Sfatului, Piața Sfântul Ioan and the area by the Transilvania University rectorate, with a New Year's Eve concert in Piața Sfatului. Expect a similar layout, but treat it as last year's pattern, not a promise.
Brașov is also the base for Bran Castle; see Bran Castle tickets and hours before you plan a 24 to 26 December visit, since opening hours change over the holidays. Coming from the capital, our Bucharest to Brașov transfer guide compares trains and buses. For combining Romania with other markets, see our Europe Christmas markets planner.
Colinde (carols). On Christmas Eve, groups go house to house singing colinde, old carols about the Nativity, and the hosts give them food, small gifts or money. The men's group version, colindat, has been on UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage since 2013 (shared with Moldova). In Sibiu and Brașov you are most likely to hear carols on the market stages and in churches; the door-to-door custom is strongest in villages. If carollers come to your guesthouse, listen, thank them, and a small tip or sweets is the normal response.
• Steaua ("The Star") is one of the best-known religious colinde, often sung by children carrying a star on a pole.
• Moș Nicolae brings small gifts in children's boots on the night of 5 to 6 December, and Moș Crăciun (Father Christmas) brings presents at Christmas.
The fast. Observant Orthodox Romanians keep a 40-day Christmas fast from 15 November, with no meat or dairy, and Christmas Eve is the strictest day. That is why the big meat dishes appear on Christmas Day, not before. On 20 December, Ignat (St Ignatius' day), families in the countryside traditionally slaughter the pig for the Christmas table.
The Christmas table. Expect sarmale (cabbage rolls with minced pork and rice), piftie (pork aspic), sausages and roast pork, salată de boeuf (a mayonnaise salad that usually has no beef) and cozonac, a sweet bread with walnut, cocoa or poppy-seed filling. Market stalls sell versions of most of these plus mulled wine (vin fiert). More in our Romanian food guide.
Romania has a long run of public holidays over the season. For 2026 to 2027 they fall like this:
• Monday 30 November (St Andrew) and Tuesday 1 December (National Day): public holidays, so the Brașov opening weekend is a four-day weekend for Romanians.
• Thursday 24 December: not a public holiday, but families are home for the evening and carollers are out. Book dinner ahead if you want one.
• Friday 25 and Saturday 26 December: public holidays. Offices and many independent shops close, and some restaurants do too; malls and supermarkets may run shorter hours. Churches are full on Christmas morning.
• Friday 1 and Saturday 2 January 2027: public holidays.
• Wednesday 6 January (Epiphany, Boboteaza) and Thursday 7 January (St John): both are public holidays in Romania.
Check CFR Călători timetables for the holiday dates before you travel by train. Our general what's open on Christmas Day abroad explains the pattern across Europe.
Visitors are welcome at Orthodox services, including the long Christmas morning liturgy. Dress modestly (covered shoulders and knees; many women cover their hair in village churches), stand quietly at the back, do not photograph during the service, and do not walk in front of the iconostasis. Many Orthodox churches have few seats; people come and go.
December weather in Transylvania is cold: daytime temperatures near or below freezing are normal and the squares can be icy, so bring boots with grip. Check our best time to visit Romania for the month-by-month picture, and tipping in Romania for restaurants.
From 13 November 2026 to 3 January 2027 in Piața Mare, according to the organiser. It opens 11:00 to 22:00 on weekdays and 10:00 to 22:00 at weekends, and entry is free.
Stalls open on 27 November 2026 in Piața Sfatului, with an official opening and lights ceremony reported for 30 November. It is scheduled to run until 3 January 2027.
On 25 December. Romania is mostly Orthodox, but the Romanian Orthodox Church follows the revised calendar for Christmas. 25 and 26 December are public holidays.
Much is. 25 and 26 December are public holidays, so most independent shops and offices close and malls and supermarkets cut hours. The Sibiu and Brașov markets are scheduled to keep running through the season.
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