Important information
Christmas Towns of Vilnius – a magic feast at the heart of the city
Colourful fairs attracting thousands of visitors have been held all over Europe to make waiting for the most beautiful holiday of the year more exciting. Compared to the largest European capitals, Christmas Towns in the Cathedral and the Town Hall Square of Vilnius are still very young, but have already become a part of the festive capital culture, with their own traditions and a distinctive face.
Christmas period is a celebration not only for residents of Vilnius, but also an important opportunity for the city to attract foreign visitors. 61% of tourists chose Vilnius as their travel destination for celebrating Christmas and New Year’s Eve (a survey of arriving foreigners conducted in 2017-2018). Foreign tourists appreciate the Christmas atmosphere in Vilnius: more than 90 percent of them rated city fairs and decorations as excellent or very good.
Nearly five dozen festively decorated wooden houses at the Cathedral Square, shining domes at the Town Hall of the city, Christmas carols, visitors’ smiles and an abundance of delicacies add to an exciting and thrilling adventure.
“This is where time simply flies by. Everyone is in a good, festive mood and smiling in the city. There are many visitors from different countries. Talking to them is very interesting and lots of fun,” says Kamilė, selling handmade soaps and cosmetics at the fair.
Two curious ladies from France consented saying “Your Christmas tree is really charming, and the Christmas Town underneath it is very cosy and lots of fun. Very beautiful!”
Christmas souvenirs and gifts offered at the Christmas Town can really make you dizzy.
Darius, who makes unique jewellery from exotic trees (sequoia, eucalyptus, bamboo, beech) together with his family, tells us that each piece of jewellery of a different colour and shape has a certain meaning and can become a unique gift.
The house at the fair selling men’s accessories offers a variety of shapes, colours and materials – bow ties, scarves, cufflinks decorated in herbs and berries, fancy ties and even printed plastic 3D bow ties.
For the first time at the Christmas Town of the Cathedral Square there is a house offering a collection of tapestry, namely, tablecloths, napkins, table runners, aprons and cushions, decorated in Christmas motifs highly appreciated by foreigners.
The house of organizations of people with disabilities operating in the city of Vilnius, which sells handmade Christmas souvenirs, invites visitors to share their kindness. The funds raised selling the souvenirs will be used to support various activities for the disabled.
Christmas toys and interior decorations, wooden and glass Nutcrackers, amber jewellery and souvenirs, handmade candles, wax and rubber stamps, custom designer jewellery and ceramic accessories, manually decorated bone chinaware, Christmas decorations and silver fir compositions, sewn dolls and educational wooden toys as well as many other great gifts are truly inviting.
Extraordinary scents of spices and baked goods add to the special magic of the Christmas Town.
Warm and freshly baked traditional Transylvanian cakes “kurtosh kalach” invite to stop by and taste them, complementing them with a white or a black chocolate drink, hot wine, cranberry kissel or a fragrant raspberry tea with honey.
An abundance of handmade lollipops of various shapes and traditional gingerbread and ginger cookies that smell of cinnamon and cloves will also make your head spin.
“Children are attracted by colourful glazed gingerbread cookies, their parents and grandparents prefer gingerbread cookies with names glazed on them, while foreign guests choose gingerbread decorated with Lithuanian accents”, the seller from “Meduolių Šalis” (English: Gingerbread Land) observed.
A true isle of joy is a house offering red glazed apples and a variety of chocolate-covered fruits: grapes, tangerines, strawberries, bananas, pineapples, and spicy chili peppers. Apples with a caramel glaze is a must-try of this year.
The town smells of hot donuts, Dutch waffles of 7 flavors, hot ice cream of 4 flavors and coffee, and apple cheese of more than 20 flavours, including cheese with cannabis or garden rhubarb. Cheese Advent Calendar is this year’s news.
Each Christmas fair features roasted chestnuts, a traditional delicacy from Italy.
An abundance of hot drinks, including Christmas and herb teas, fruit kissel, hot cider and wine, cocoa, hot chocolate, coffee and Lithuanian acorn, dandelion or carrot coffee made following traditions of our ancestors, will warm you up while walking around the fair.
“There are no coffee trees in Lithuania, so our ancestors used roots and seeds of plants that grow in Lithuania to make hot beverages. They roasted seeds and made healthy drinks that have many special properties,” says Laisvė, a Lithuanian tea connoisseur.
It’s high time to visit Vilnius Christmas Towns with less than two weeks remaining until Christmas!
For more information on the opening hours of the Christmas Town: https://www.kaledossostineje.lt/lt/kaledu-miestelis/
Photos by Saulius Žiūra.
Marketing and Communication Division, vrt@vilnius.lt
Also read:
Vilnius calls Lithuania to celebrate the 16th of February
Vilnius invites to special events to celebrate the Statehood on the 16th of February: new and traditional events to celebrate the restoration of the State of Lithuania will be held in main squares and streets of the capital. In addition to the traditional events valued by all, the visitors will... ❯❯❯
2022-02-10
2023 Will Be Big for Vilnius: Capital Starts Countdown Till 700th Anniversary
Vilnius started year-round preparations for its 700th anniversary in 2023. The countdown till the grand birthday includes cultural, art, educational events, and a beloved Light Show. January 25, 2022. On January 25th Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, started the official countdown till its... ❯❯❯
2022-01-27
Fusion of classical and modern works of light art on the route of the 4th Vilnius International Festival of Lights
On Tuesday, 25 January, Vilnius will celebrate its 699th birthday with the traditional lighting of the installations of the Vilnius International Festival of Lights. For five days until 29 January, an unprecedented number of light artists from around the world—France, the Netherlands,... ❯❯❯
2022-01-25
Counting of the days left to the 700th anniversary of Vilnius starts this 25th of January
As one year precisely is left until the capital’s anniversary, the symbolic clock will be set off in Vilnius. It will be calculating the days left until the 700th anniversary of Vilnius. We are going to celebrate the holiday of the entire country – the 700th anniversary of the Lithuanian... ❯❯❯
2022-01-13
Vilnius belfry is going to shine in video projections when year 2022 is welcomed
The belfry of Vilnius Cathedral Basilica is going to revive on the New Year’s Eve – the festive installation of video projections will invite you to take a journey in time that will shine symbolically during the conversion of years and time. Modern installation is already the third during the... ❯❯❯
2021-12-29
Final Days of December in Vilnius: a Comeback of a Marvellous Christmas Fairy Tale
On Christmas, after a year-long hiatus, Vilnius welcomes back one of its traditional events – Christmas Fairy Tale, shown on the Grand Stage at the Cathedral Stage. This year, spectators will see A Christmas Carol, based on a novella of the same name by Charles Dickens. ‘Each year we try to... ❯❯❯
2021-12-23