Dublin At Christmas Market

I know Dublin tried, so they get points for that. I havent been to many Christmas markets in my time, but the ones I have been to have been far better organised than this. I know this is the first year it’s on so there are bound to be snags, but I think a lot could be improved with a better space and more variety of stalls (not 6 identical hamburger stalls). I hope the market is on next year and I look forward to seeing improvements if it is.

Very much a three star experience.
The market stalls certainly look the part, and it has a Christmas feel. The food and drink are expensive but that is to be expected. It would be unfair to compare this to an actual German Christmas market, but a comparison with the London and Belfast markets seems fair. And in comparison with the London and Belfast markets, the Dublin one falls short.
The two main issues for me are 1) the layout, its a straight line, you walk from one end to the other and back again. A market like this really needs a square to set itself up in. Inside Stephens green park would have been better. And issue 2) not enough Christmas crafts.
It is year one, and this has potential, so hopefully it can only improve as the years go buy.

It’s a festive tradition of my friend and I, that we normal would go down to George’s dock for the market, and to be honest this one at Stephen’s green is not that much better. Hopefully if they continue von over the years they will be ever to mirror the German markets better.
Price wise for drinks George’s dock much better. Stephen’s green € 4 for a small paper cup of spiced apple kopparberg I’m guessing about 150ml. Same for a mulled wine which came in a small plastic less than half a glass of wine.
We walked around passed wok n roll, got the classic noodles € 8 (not great price) they were nice. Large frankfurter € 5 worth every penny. Small € 3 long hotdog.
This seems to be a more food orientated market, I’d recommend getting a few people to go along so you can try out a bit of everything by sharing, most of the boots had smaller trays to take for splitting, at least there will be no food envy going on:)
There was a few stalls with nice bits of jewelry, scarfs, wooden creations nice prices.

It’s a lovely idea… really, I have spent years wandering around the Christmas markets in Vienna wondering why we didn’t have something similar in Dublin… and now we have.
But ‘Swing and a Miss’ probably covers this one.
Great that they tried but while quite a lot of planning has obviously gone into the market, all those hours of effort seem to have been a little misguided.
I counted 6 or 7 identical hot-​dog stalls… all in a row, all identical, serving identical produce — the only difference being the first two were mobbed, the others, further from the main entrance — completely devoid of customers. there was definitely something lacking there around crowd management and direction.
I think the main issue I had was the lay-​out; all stalls in a long row, probably unavoidable given the location but to be avoided next year!
Definitely worth a visit despite my moaning, lovely to have it there and it really does help to add to the Christmas atmosphere.

Firstly… Having a Christmas Market in Dublin is absolutely a great decision and I hope it builds on year after year. There is a selection of crafts as well as plenty of food and drinks shells however my little disappointment comes in the set up, it’s just a straight line, I know we don’t have a grand square or plaza to carry off what some international capitals are doing however it just doesn’t lean itself to happy folk coming together, instead people trying to push past in either direction. On 2 ocassions, they have music playing over speakers but it’s volume must be 1 on the dial, so hard to hear it so frankly it distracts from the atmosphere it’s meant to be inspiring… Ok, and my last little gripe about the set up, unaware you will be a hot cider, whiskey or mulled wine only to start your market wandering and find you can’t bring the alcohol past a mid way point… Ok, I get it because of the frontage and easier access out to the street from that end of the market but I’ve just spent € 10 and now forced to knock it back or abandon it. None of the shalls bring this to your attention nor is there signage about the market so I think it’s rather annoying!
Individually some of the stalls have great unusual offerings and I think supporting local craft makers and independent business is awesome! Shop local, Shop Irish!

This is a really cool idea and it works very well, great Christmasy feeling and plenty of food an drink to satisfy!
The only negative is that there is not enough variety of food, seemed to be mostly burgers or hotdogs. there were other stalls selling pies and popcorn but they are a bit washed out by all the burgers and hotdog.
apart from that I think its great. supper cool to grab a nice hot drink on a frosty christmas evening.

Finally the wooden-​chalets, hotdogs and mulled wine (with brandy shots) have arrived from the continent :) Must have been back ordered for the last 30 years.
I was delighted to hear one Sunday evening that one of my favouritest things in the world would soon arrive in town. Always loved to visit these little gems on the mainland, whenever possible, whilst always wishing one day they’d soon visit a town near me. Such a happy place to wander while sipping a mulled wine and a great spot to stop by for a delicious bratwurst. Now obviously in comparison, this market may not compare to the well established ones on the continent. Although one must consider that this is only its first year to be hosted in such a central location on the green and that I can appreciate. Think it used to take place a little out of the way, in the IFSC, years prior.
Pros: A Christmas market at Stephens Green, strong mulled wine, hotdogs, chalets, Christmas decorations, Christmas vibe, outdoor, security…
Cons: Closed at 8pm on most weekdays, 5 euro for hotdogs and wine, 6 euro for burgers (I think), lack of choice and stalls, no music, no sheltered seating areas…
Still really enjoyed it though!

I love Christmas markets. But really DCC? You can do better.
The location at Stephen’s Green is lovely — but results in a narrow cattle-​herding experience up and down the small pathway. Would have been much better had they had it in the park, or at least closed off the street and spread it out a bit more. There was a 20 minute queue to get in… with stewards not mentioning that there was another entrance at the other side of the green where people could walk freely in without any queue at all. Luckily we discovered this before waiting, and spread the news to a few families with cranky and cold kids waiting in the queue at the other side when we got out.
There’s nothing to this market: a few of the same stalls repeated for the length of the street. I got two glasses of mulled wine at € 4 a pop. I asked for a paper cup because the crowds were making drinking out of the cute little flute a bit difficult and was told a paper cup was € 1. For a paper cup?! Ridiculous. Walking up and down was pretty uncomfortable in such a narrow space, and it being Sunday evening all the tables were taken so we decided to stroll down to the other end of the market and have a browse. But no, because the alcohol licence only extends halfway down the street and we couldn’t bring our drinks to the shopping section with us. I couldn’t wait to get out of the place — avoid at all costs.
No christmas music, no atmosphere and a complete and utter rip off. I’ll be checking out the Lidl market at CHQ this weekend instead-​guaranteed to be a much better experience, if only because it can’t be any worse.

Finally a Christmas Market in city centre Dublin that’s a handy location for me. And for tourists too for that matter.
Arriving early, the market wasn’t open yet, so we strolled around the green until it was. Then when it was open, there was quite a few stalls still not open. I reckon a good few of these were still to be taken up by a business.
That said there was a huge amount of people here for the market today, in mid-​November. It’s going to be very popular indeed.
Of the ones that were open, there was the usual suspects: Seaweed products, scarves and wood carvings. To be honest, stuff I will never buy, either for myself nor as presents. But I could be wrong and some treasures might open up in the coming weeks. Lets hope so.
The food and drink stalls are the winners here for me. Pulled pork rolls, pies, crepes, burgers, hot chocolate, hot toddys and mulled wine.
I look forward to going back in the coming weeks to see what other stalls have opened up. I will also be back to try the food, drink mulled wine and be merry!