The Bratislava Christmas Market features dozens of trees decorated by elementary school students and it is an absolute delight.
Visiting Europe at any time of year is a lovely occasion, but visiting around Christmastime is especially incredible. There are all kinds of Christmas markets across the continent, each with their own unique features and charms. One of the more underrated ones is the Bratislava Christmas market in Slovakia, which includes Vianočný les, a Christmas forest.
What makes Vianočný les so unique is that all the trees—36 of them in 2023—are decorated by elementary, art, and special school students. The students use nature and folklore to inspire their designs, and each school gets its own tree.
The decorated trees from the Bratislava Christmas market don’t go to waste, either. They’re donated to charitable organizations, homeless shelters, and families that don’t have the financial means to purchase a tree for their homes.
I stumbled across the Bratislava Christmas forest almost by accident. It’s not immediately visible from the Main Square, which is where the various food and souvenir vendors set up for the annual Christmas market.
Instead, you have to walk down a small pathway to get to the forest. But I actually think that’s a better setup. The forest is much more enjoyable to walk through at a leisurely pace, and because of its location, there are only a handful of people walking through at a given time. You can take your time to admire the different themes and designs without worrying about someone bumping into you.
And because you’re still close to the market, you could easily grab a mulled wine or a hot chocolate before walking around the Christmas forest. I’d recommend holding off on the Kapustnica, a cabbage and sausage dish that you can eat out of a bread bowl. It’s tasty, but trying to manage that while navigating through a forest of trees is a dangerous game.
This sidebar isn’t super relevant to the story, but here’s a popular saying about the dish: Kapustnica dobrá vára, ked sa naješ, riť otvára. That means: “Kapustnica is good for your gut. When you eat it, it opens your butt.” Beautiful.
Another neat thing about Bratislava’s historical old town is that it’s very walkable. You can see a lot of the city’s most popular areas all at once. I recommend getting lodging a bit outside of downtown—I had a fantastic stay at the Elegant Escape Apartments (with a complimentary bottle of wine!)—to see more of the city since you can tackle several touristy sights near the Main Square.
Learn more about the Bratislava Christmas forest. And if you’re taking a visit to Bratislava, you’re not SO far from Prague. These quirky Prague statues look even more majestic in the winter.
Vianočný les address: Next to Hlavné námestie (Main Square)
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