Overview
Experience the old-world charm of Christmas in Germany right here in Indiana at the Carmel Christkindlmarkt. This open-air holiday market was founded as a nonprofit organization in 2017 with support from the City of Carmel and Mayor James Brainard.
With the festive ambiance of an authentic German market, guests can peruse a vast variety of products sourced from Germany and other German-speaking European countries. A blend of traditional German foods, drinks and gifts are sold from small wooden huts, and a beautiful outdoor ice skating rink forms the center of the market.
The Carmel Christkindlmarkt is the premier holiday offering in Indiana, attracting well over a million people since the opening. An extensive poll by USA Today’s 10BEST travel media group named Carmel Christkindlmarkt the number one winner in the 2022, 2021 and 2019 USA TODAY 10Best Readers' Choice travel award contest for Best Holiday Market. Additionally, the market received the distinction of being the top Christmas market in the state of Indiana by Taste of Home Magazine in 2017, and it was named a top holiday market by Fox News in 2021.
Each year, the Carmel Christkindlmarkt hosts world-renowned woodworkers from the Erzgebirge region, who share their craft and culture through demonstrations. And in 2018, the Carmel Christkindlmarkt brought another German tradition to the market: the iconic Glühwein Pyramid. It’s the first of its kind in the United States.
