Each year Manchester has its German style market with lots of hot mulled wine Bavarian beer and bratwurst, but it can be a bit pricey and if shopping for your Christmas dinner, the range of food is limited.
For just £3.50 you can hop on a tram and get a return ticket to Bury. Only 20 minutes away where you will find a fabulous traditional market on a Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.
There is a meat and poultry food hall where you can find Burys local delicacy, the black pudding as well as venison, rabbit, duck the more exotic meats such as kangaroo. There are plenty of fruit and veg stalls as well as a Greek deli katsouris for a vast range of cold meats and olives. It also does lovely coffee. If you get tired there are many small cafes dotted about, some are tiny and quite intimate and a good way to get to know the locals. There is also a flea market with books, toys, clothes, homeware and even a stall selling fossils ! Its a great day out and right next door is a indoor shopping centre with many big names such as M&S, Next and Boots

www.burymarket.com/

Google map: tinyurl.com/y935c8m

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Sprawling beneath the Gothic grandeur of Manchester town hall, Albert Square's city Christmas market is packed full of bustling wooden food stalls selling all kinds of delicious wintery goodness. Head to the central bratwurst stall where you can wolf down a mammoth German sausage cooked on a huge smoking swing grill. If you're lucky you can eat whilst listening to festive carols performed by gifted students from the nearby Royal Northern College of Music. Those who want to remain faithful to the region, the neighbouring stall will happily serve up a hearty portion of Lancashire hotpot. Flat caps optional.

Albert Square, 18th November to 22nd December

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Every year I return with my daughter, now aged six, travelling near two hours to capture the Christmas spirit and to buy some great Christmas presents from log versions of Rudolph the Reindeer to make a great winter garden feature, to moroccan raffia and leather shopping baskets.
It ranges from a traditional German Market to European Market and an arts and crafts market.
Travelling with children works wonders, share a bratwurst sausage in Albert Square while admiring the nodding Reindeer. Agree that they can choose one treat from one of the 200 stalls; Angelica chose a husky dog keyring this year and in return they help you with the bag carrying and the decision making. Keep the energy up with snacks along the way like delicious chocolate marshmallows sticks and you have a fantastic festive day out.

There are 200 stalls across six different sites in the city centre - Albert Square, St Ann's Square, Brazennose Street, New Cathedral Street, and Exchange Street
Manchester's Christmas Markets open on Wednesday, 18 November 2009 and run until Tuesday, 21 December 2009

www.manchesterchristmasmarkets.com

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For me, the best Christmas markets in the UK are the Manchester Christmas Markets. I would guess that most Christmas markets in this country have the same basic sort of stalls. Certainly those I've seen have had. After all, people want familiarity and their favourites.

So Manchester gets lots of stollen, glühwein, beer, and handicrafts. Many stalls come from our northern European neighbours, but the Manchester market is big enough to have a good selection of domestic stalls. Plus, the quality really benefits from the creativity that thrives in the conjoined cities of Manchester and Salford.

On some days the whole market atmosphere gets a further boost from a Farmers' market, selling delicious food from the region and beyond.

The real icing on the Manchester stollen though is the way that it really fits snugly into its Manchester glove. The city's architecture really helps here, being warm and red with enough size to be impressive, while remaining on a human scale that stops it becoming impersonal. Most importantly though, the markets benefit from the way Manchester's squares have been laid out, and the overall size of the city. Like its architecture, Manchester is just the right size, a place that can be walked with ease, where a section of the markets is never too far away, and where the human side is never lost to grey commercialism.

They are creative, they are warm, they fit hand in glove, they are the best Christmas Markets in the UK, they are the Manchester Christmas markets.

Squares across Manchester's main shopping area.

www.visitmanchester.com/WhatsOnDetail.aspx?ProductId=MAN-127251


www.manchesterchristmasmarkets.com

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I’ve never visited a Christmas market on the continent – but feel as though I’ve visited several! Manchester boasts not one, but seven Christmas markets. In reality there are two large squares filled with a market each. These two markets overspill into nearby streets, and as they do so their characters morph. There is a large variety of food and drink available, as well as a wide choice of Christmas gifts. My favourite is the German market in Exchange Square (for me this has more of an authentic atmosphere than the larger, more mixed market in Albert Square). As you walk toward the Arndale Centre, the German market gives way to a number of contemporary art and craft stalls. There’s certainly something to suit everyone and if you wish to escape the hustle and bustle of the markets and shops, you can view the crowds from above by taking a ride on the Wheel of Manchester!

Manchester city centre - Exchange Square, Albert Square and nearby streets.

www.manchester.gov.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?documentID=1654

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