Did you know that you can experience the German Christmas markets right here in Pennsylvania? Bethlehem, PA is known as the “Christmas City” for its holiday magic, events, light displays, and their annual Christkindlmarkt. The market is hosted in a unique location at the Bethlehem SteelStacks, a historic site that was once home to the Bethlehem Steel Corporation. You will find German-style wooden stalls that feature thousands of unique handmade gifts made by local and regional artisans. It is a fun shopping experience that will get you into the holiday spirit! The market typically opens in the middle of November and runs through December. In this post, I will be sharing all the details about my experience at the Bethlehem PA Christkindlmarkt.
Exploring the Christkindlmarkt
Vendors
Bethlehem’s Christkindlmarkt has 150 artisans and vendors selling a wide array of handcrafted goods and unique gifts. You can spend an entire day exploring each of the stalls. To give you an idea of the variety of items, we bought tea, salsas, ornaments, flavored peanut butter, jewelry, a chocolate merlot cake, and Carl got a University of Michigan painting. There is something for everyone! I love that many of the products are handmade with care and attention to detail which adds a personal touch to your holiday shopping experience.
Check out their list of vendors here!
Market Layout
The Bethlehem PA Christkindlmarkt consists of four tents that you can explore. One of the tents is a food haul where you can find traditional German food, as well as pizza, hot dogs, sandwiches, burgers, etc. The food didn’t “wow” me, but they did have tons of options. They have a bunch of tables where you can sit and eat lunch. The market also has a little outdoor village with more food vendors and igloos to sit inside and keep warm. They even have a bar at each of the tents that offer beer and other beverages.
Events
There is more than just shopping at the Bethlehem PA Christkindlmarkt. They hold fun events and performances each day at the market. You can watch an ice block being sculpted into a work of art, create your own glass artwork, and bring the kids to visit with St. Nicholas and make holiday crafts. They even have ice skating at the The Ice Rink at SteelStacks.
Tips for Attending
Schedule
The Bethlehem PA Christkindlmarkt is open Thursdays to Sundays from mid-November through mid-December. The market is open 10am to 8pm on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. On Sundays, they are open from 10am to 6pm.
Tickets
Tickets are sold at the door or you can purchase online. On Thursdays and Fridays, tickets purchased in advanced are $11 and $12 at the door. On Saturdays and Sundays, they are $14 in advanced and $15 at the door. Children under 5 are free. You should definitely purchase your tickets ahead of time to save a few dollars.
Last year (in 2023), they actually had free admission every Friday evening from 5-8pm which was pretty cool!
Parking
Free public parking for the Bethlehem PA Christkindlmarkt is available adjacent to the market, located at PNC Plaza at SteelStacks, 645 East First Street. There was a hockey event on the day I visited the market so I had to park in one of the public parking garages.
Public parking is available at:
- Polk Street Garage, 418 PA-412
- North Street Parking Garage, 85 West North St.
- Walnut Street Parking Garage, 44 West Walnut St.
- Riverport Parking Garage, 17 West 2nd St.
- South New Street Parking Garage, 3rd & New Streets
My Thoughts
We had a great time at the Bethlehem PA Christkindlmarkt. It was really cool checking out all the different vendors. However, I feel like it could have been way more enjoyable if it wasn’t for the crowds. We went on a Friday in early December and got there right when it opened and it was pretty crowded. I was surprised at the number of people there since it was a Friday morning. The market started getting empty towards mid-afternoon so I would maybe recommend going later on in the day. But overall, it was a fun experience and I would definitely recommend it!
Check out more things to do during the holiday season in these blog posts!
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