Carmel sets 60 wooden huts around an ice rink for nearly five weeks. Cumberland closes U.S. 40 for one afternoon of street vendors, marionettes and St. Nick’s reindeer. Indiana’s outdoor Christmas markets run Nov. 21 to Dec. 24, 2026, and four of them fall on the same Saturday, Dec. 5, 2026.
A Christkindlmarkt is a German-style Christmas market: booths or wooden huts set up outside, hot mulled drinks, sausages and ornaments, and often the Christkind, the Christ Child figure who brings gifts in German tradition.
This guide covers five Christkindlmarkts and four other holiday markets where the shopping happens outside, on a street or a town green, with Santa, parades, live music or food alongside it. Fairgrounds shows such as the Christmas Gift and Hobby Show are indoors and stay in our guide to holiday fun in Indianapolis.
Christkindlmarkts near Indianapolis | Christkindlmarkts elsewhere in Indiana | Outdoor holiday markets
Indiana Christmas Markets 2026: Dates at a Glance
- Nov. 21-Dec. 24, 2026: Carmel Christkindlmarkt
- Nov. 27-Dec. 20, 2026, Fridays through Sundays: Athenaeum Christkindlmarkt, Indianapolis
- Nov. 27-Dec. 20, 2026, Fridays through Sundays: Berne Christkindlmarkt
- Dec. 4-6, 2026: Brown County Christkindl Market, Nashville
- Dec. 5, 2026: Cumberland Weihnachtsmarkt; Franklin Winter Market; Christmas Under the Stars, Brownsburg; Fortville Winterfest
- Dec. 12, 2026: A Merry Main Street Market, Lafayette
Carmel and Berne use the same weather rule. Both stay open rain or shine and close for sustained winds or gusts of 40 mph or more, temperatures of 20 degrees or lower or a declared state of emergency, with closings posted on social media.
Christkindlmarkts Near Indianapolis
Carmel Christkindlmarkt
The Carmel Christkindlmarkt fills Carter Green for nearly five weeks with 60 wooden huts, an ice rink and a 33-foot Glühwein pyramid. Crafts at the Kinderecke are free any time the market is open, and Santa is at the Spielhaus on Sundays from noon to 6 p.m., with a free photo.
Skating at The Ice at Carter Green is a separate 90-minute ticket, $11 for ages 11 and up, $9 for 10 and under and $4 for rental skates. Tickets are sold online only, not at the rink. Weekends are the market’s busiest days, and pets stay home unless they are service animals.
Beyond the regular hours, the market is open noon to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 25, and Dec. 21 to 23, 2026, and noon to 4 p.m. on Christmas Eve. It is closed Thanksgiving. A free weekend shuttle runs about every 15 minutes during market hours from the former CNO Financial campus on College Drive, and the free Carmel Holiday Trolley runs Fridays from 5 to 9 p.m. and Saturdays from 2 to 9 p.m. through Dec. 19, 2026.
- Where: 10 Carter Green, Carmel
- Dates: Nov. 21-Dec. 24, 2026
- Hours: Wed.-Thu. 4-9 p.m.; Fri.-Sat. noon-9 p.m.; Sun. noon-8 p.m.; closed most Mondays and Tuesdays
- Cost: Free admission and garage parking
Athenaeum Christkindlmarkt
Downtown’s market is the Athenaeum Christkindlmarkt, four weekends in the outdoor Biergarten on Mass Ave. Food comes from the Rathskeller’s windows and a raclette hut, with Glühwein and Plätzchen, and live music runs in the Biergarten. In past seasons a Kinder Krafts hut has run a different children’s craft each weekend. The market goes on rain or shine and shuts only for severe weather.
- Where: The Athenaeum Biergarten, 401 E. Michigan St., Indianapolis
- Dates: Fridays through Sundays, Nov. 27-Dec. 20, 2026
- Hours: Fri. 4-8 p.m.; Sat. 11 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sun. 11 a.m.-5 p.m.*
- Cost: Free admission*
- Parking: Block 20 Garage, 428 N. East St.
*2025 hours and admission. The Athenaeum has not posted 2026 hours yet.
Cumberland Weihnachtsmarkt
The Cumberland Weihnachtsmarkt, in its 15th year, shuts East Washington Street to cars for an all-weather German-style market about 25 minutes east of downtown Indianapolis. The stage runs all afternoon, including a marionette show at 2 p.m. and the Fort Wayne Tanzer at 3 p.m.
Reindeer games, letters to St. Nick and free face painting are indoors at Scoop’s Early Learning Schoolhouse. St. Nick is at the Gap Meeting House the whole time, and his reindeer appear from 3 to 5 p.m. Lunch can be pierogies, pretzels or sandwiches from the street vendors. Leashed pets are welcome outside.
- Where: East Washington Street (U.S. 40) from Muessing Street to South Heflin Street, Cumberland
- Date: Saturday, Dec. 5, 2026
- Hours: Noon-5 p.m.
- Cost: Free admission
- Parking: Cumberland Baptist Church, Cumberland Christian Church, Meijer and Town Hall
Related Article: 6 Best Christmas Towns in Indiana (2026)
Christkindlmarkts Elsewhere in Indiana
Drive times are from downtown Indianapolis.
Brown County Christkindl Market
Decorated vendor booths fill Coachlight Square for the sixth Brown County Christkindl Market, one weekend in downtown Nashville, about an hour south of Indianapolis. Santa and Mrs. Claus and a Christkindl Market Angel are part of the weekend, along with live music and painted nutcrackers set out around the market. Kidscommons, the children’s museum in Columbus, hosts the family booth.
Parking around Nashville fills up, and the visitors bureau says to arrive early.
- Where: Coachlight Square, 211 S. Van Buren St., Nashville
- Dates: Dec. 4-6, 2026
- Hours: Fri. 3-6 p.m.; Sat. 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sun. 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
- Cost: Free admission
Berne Christkindlmarkt
The Berne Christkindlmarkt, about two hours northeast of Indianapolis, sets 21 chalets along North Church Avenue downtown. They sell raclette, Bavarian pretzels, bratwurst, schnitzel, potato cakes and spätzle, along with Swiss and German ornaments, cuckoo clocks and lace. Santa has a chalet of his own.
Saturday is the long day, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., so a family driving up from Indianapolis can arrive in daylight and see the market lit after dark. The market opens early, at 2 p.m., on Friday, Nov. 27, 2026, for the town’s tree lighting at Muensterberg Plaza, which starts at 6:30 p.m., and the Glow Parade steps off at 6 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 4, 2026.
- Where: N. Church Avenue, downtown Berne
- Dates: Fridays through Sundays, Nov. 27-Dec. 20, 2026
- Hours: Fri. 5-8 p.m.; Sat. 11 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sun. 1-6 p.m.
Outdoor Holiday Markets Around Indiana
These markets skip the German theme and set up outside, on a street or a green, as part of a bigger holiday event.
Downtown Holiday Lighting and Winter Market, Franklin
The Downtown Holiday Lighting and Winter Market puts vendors along North Main Street in Franklin, about 35 minutes south of Indianapolis, with more upstairs at the Elks Lodge. The lighted parade starts at 5:30 p.m., and the courthouse square lights come on at 7 p.m.
- Where: North Main Street, downtown Franklin
- Date: Saturday, Dec. 5, 2026
- Market hours: 1-8 p.m.
Christmas Under the Stars, Brownsburg
Christmas Under the Stars puts more than 30 vendors on Town Hall Green, and Santa’s reindeer are at the market. The parade starts at 6 p.m. on Main Street, and the tree is lit at 7:15 p.m. Bring cash for the vendors, food trucks and beer and wine stands. The parade goes on in ordinary bad weather, but cold of 25 degrees or below, ice or heavy snow can cancel the night.
- Where: Town Hall Green, 61 N. Green St., Brownsburg
- Date: Saturday, Dec. 5, 2026
- Market hours: 4-8 p.m.
- Cost: Free admission
Fortville Winterfest
Street vendors and downtown merchants share Main Street at Fortville Winterfest, which also has Santa, ice skating, children’s games, live music and a 1 p.m. parade. The community tree and downtown lights come on at 6 p.m.
- Where: Main Street, downtown Fortville
- Date: Saturday, Dec. 5, 2026
- Hours: Noon-6 p.m.
A Merry Main Street Market, Lafayette
The Downtown Lafayette Business Owners Association puts local artisans, boutiques and seasonal treats on Main Street for one Saturday afternoon, about an hour and 20 minutes northwest of Indianapolis. The downtown parking garages are free all day. The Purdue Exponent counted more than 90 outdoor vendors in 2024, with Main Street closed from Fifth to Eighth streets.
- Where: Main Street, downtown Lafayette
- Date: Saturday, Dec. 12, 2026
- Hours: 2-7 p.m.
- Parking: Free in the downtown garages
Prefer a parade and a tree lighting to a market? Our list of free holiday festivals around Indianapolis has 24 of them.
