The Saranda Christmas Market’s biggest claim to fame is having been featured in Forbes as one of the “20 Best Christmas Markets in Europe.” (This did happen on its inaugural year, so one could be asking “how?” but that’s neither here nor there.)
The atmosphere in Saranda is quite special, as there aren’t a lot of Christmas markets right on the sea front. As of these early years, the market attracts mainly locals or tourists from inside Albania, which is nice if you like to feel like a fly on the wall, and less like a tourist. (Although amongst locals you may feel like a bit more of a tourist anomaly.)
There is something very fun about the lights, booths, and Christmas tree, being back lit by the fluorescent lights of a pirate party ship.
A Brief Modern History of Christmas in Albania
Albania was under a very strict Communist regime until the 90’s. The dictator outlawed religion, and therefore, all religious holidays such as Christmas and Easter. It’s very interesting to see how the Albanians have embraced any and all celebrations in this post-communist world.
Regardless of religion, (Albania has a large Muslim population) most holidays are observed and appreciated in a secular way. It is still considered quite rude and “off the table” to discuss religion in Albania. Many families have both Muslim and Orthodox members, and they all get along and celebrate together.
Where is the Saranda Christmas Market located?
The Christmas market is held on the waterfront promenade in the center of Saranda. You will want to be walking distance from here, because Saranda is not a car friendly city.
Definitely trust the map when choosing your accommodation, and not the listing. “5 minutes from the promenade” seems to be quite subjective.
Check out my Saranda post for more information about where to stay to avoid hills etc.
Saranda Christmas Market Live Entertainment
The entertainment at the Christmas market seems to be a surprise. Sometimes performances are cancelled or changed due to weather. Sometimes things are announced in advance on the Saranda Bashkia Facebook page. Mostly, you will hear about events after the fact!
Musical performances seem to run every evening, and sometimes during the day on the weekends.
If you stay close to the promenade in the city center, you will be able to hear the stage and you can run to catch the entertainment. (That is what we do!)
Food Stalls at the Christmas Market
Most of the booths at the Christmas market offer coffee or alcoholic beverages. The booths that offer food all seem to have variations of skewers. There were pork, beef, shrimp, and other skewers.
The signage for each booth’s offerings isn’t very good. Most have no signs at all, so you can guess from what you see if they offer coffee, orange juice, shisha, etc. Some did have signs for “wine” or “hot wine” at least.
Quite a few of the stalls have put sandwich boards out on the promenade to advertise, but since most of the stalls don’t have a sign for their name, this adds a little to the confusion. You can read the sandwich board, but there is no indication of where to go! I recommend entering the food and beverage area with an open heart.
Prices for coffee were normal. We paid 200 leke (approx 2 euros) for a cappuccino, which is the standard price in a cafe around the city.
There was also one stall that offers ice cream.
We ended up not trying any of the skewers, because our very good friends own the restaurant Marini, which literally overlooks the Christmas market. In the end, we opted to pretend we were in the Christmas market and instead munch on the best grilled shrimp in the universe just a few steps away. I suppose this might make us culture vultures.
Other Booths at the Christmas Market
There aren’t a lot of crafts, knick knacks, or locally produced items to take home from the Christmas market. There was just one stall this year that had some locally made jam and preserves, and also homemade soap and candles.
Word on the street is that booth rental is pricey, so it’s hard to recoup the investment with anything other than food and drink.
For the Kids
Behind the stage and Christmas tree is a small midway area. There is a big carousel, a swinging ship, a little train, and a couple of arcade games.
Many of the early evening performances (if not all of them) are geared towards – and feature – kids. So there is plenty of entertainment for the little ones.
There are also a few popcorn and cotton candy vendors scattered throughout the market area.
Christmas Lights in the Market and Around Saranda
Despite the market being in a relatively small area of the promenade, there are Christmas lights in the trees from one end to the other, which makes for a very pretty walk.
I recommend stepping off of the waterfront and strolling through a couple of the city center streets. The municipality hangs lights across the first few roads and it is very pretty over the cobbled streets.
Many local businesses really embrace the Christmas spirit, and decorate even the smallest and most innocuous shops with lights. The Bashkia (municipality) has an impressive light display over the front of their building.
I also recommend taking a break in the cafe Hashtag. Their decor is so picturesque, it looks like those AI generated Youtube videos!
Best Time to Visit for the Christmas Market
The city is decorated for Christmas starting in the first week of December, with the tree lighting typically planned for the end of that first week (approx December 6th – 8th).
However, December can be stormy and that delays some things. This year the Christmas tree lighting was post-poned until December 10th, and they were still hanging Christmas lights on the streets on December 17th.
For the full effect it would be best to visit anytime from just before Christmas until the first week of January.
Winter is a glorious time to visit Albania! Particularly if you come from a colder region. The weather is typically mild. Saranda tends to be much drier and sunnier than the rest of the country, and even though it does get winter storms, days of endless rain are rare. It’s not unusual to have sunny winter days that approach 20 C. (No promises though!) Nights are cool but not freezing.
Overall the Saranda Christmas market would be a great stop for an Albanian Christmas! We travel full time, but typically max out our tourist time in this little city. Maybe see you there!
Watch it instead: