Manchester Christmas Markets named third best in the UK

Manchester’s Christmas Markets have been named the third best in the UK in a new study. It was beaten by Brimingham, which bagged the number one spot, and Edinburgh, which came in second place.

The city managed to rank higher than a host of popular Christmas market destinations, including York, London and Newcastle, which all featured in the top ten list. But Manchester has dropped down in the rankings compared to last year, when it was crowned the second best in the country.

It was found to be the most popular market on Instagram, with 62,173 posts, and it’s also the most searched-for on Google with an annual search volume of 782,000 in 2024. However, Edinburgh has nearly double the number of TikTok posts - 2,726 - compared to Manchester, which has 1,562.

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Manchester’s Christmas Markets were also found to have a shorter run, compared to several in the top ten, being open for 41 days, while Birmingham is open for an impressive 54 days. A hotel stay will set you back more in Manchester than in Birmingham, with a an average three-star hotel costing £115 per night, compared to £88 in Birmingham.

The research, conducted by Christmas Tree World, analysed the markets across eight different categories, including social media posts, the distance from the train station and Google search volume. Overall Birmingham achieved a score of 7.86 out of 10, while Edinburgh received a score of 7.5. Manchester bagged a score of 6.55.

Researchers said: “Despite falling from second to third place since last year’s study, Manchester Christmas markets are the most popular markets in the country - with 782,800 total Google searches over the