J and I visited both Christmas Markets while visiting one another: Edinburgh in 2019 and Vancouver in 2022. Both of us enjoyed our experiences at each one, but one was definitely better than the other. Now, I will say as a disclaimer, that obviously we visited one before the other and therefore judged the second based on that. As well, we visited one pre-COVID-19 and the other in a world with (loosened) COVID-19 restrictions, which may have changed how the Markets ran overall.
From our experiences, J and I much preferred the Edinburgh Christmas Market. We found it to be more interesting, fun, and lively. It was free admission (which was a bonus!) and there was a lot of variety in the stalls and food being offered. We stayed at this Market for hours, finding enough to do to fill our day. We walked around the entire area of stalls, lights, rides, and food trucks multiple times. The designated area was quite large and we felt there was something for everyone. Being able to enjoy the ferris wheel was also a huge plus, as it allowed us to view the Market and surrounding areas from above! As well, the ability to come and go was awesome as we were able to walk across the street to local shops to warm up and explore before heading back to buy any last minute items.
The Vancouver Christmas Market, on the other hand, was slightly disappointing following our experience in Edinburgh. The admission was slightly pricey, there weren't very many shops or stalls participating, and it lacked the feel of a lively environment. As well, the lack of food vendors meant the one selling food available to everyone (e.g. vegetarian, vegan, etc.) was extremely busy. However, with all this said, J and I still enjoyed ourselves quite a lot in the moment and found some nice gifts to bring home with us. While we didn't stay as long as we did in Edinburgh, I feel like this is for multiple reasons. There wasn't as much to see or do, it wasn't located in a busy shopping area nor were we able to come and go, and we were in Vancouver for the day, meaning we had already been elsewhere before arriving at the Market, and would be driving home for dinner.
Overall, I think that while some of our experience was just that -our's - there were still aspects of the Vancouver Christmas Market that could have been better in general. Having been to the one in Edinburgh first obviously coloured our perspective of any Christmas Market after that, but the Vancouver one was just sad in comparison. Maybe a reduced entry price would benefit the Vancouver Christmas Market, or even a higher price if it meant more to see and do in terms of stalls, activities, and food choices.
Have you ever visited either of these Christmas Markets? Or one somewhere else? What did you think? J and I would love to hear your thoughts!
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