The 2025 Wicklow Christmas Market Is Back With a Twist

The 2025 Wicklow Christmas Market won’t be taking place, following storm damage last winter. But the organisers aren’t hanging up their stockings just yet!

Instead, they’ve teamed up with Beyond the Trees Avondale in Rathdrum to bring a brand-new festive experience to life.

Will it become one of the stand-out Christmas markets in Ireland? Hopefully! Here’s what you need to know!

About the Wicklow Christmas Market

Photos via Beyond the Trees Avondale on FB

Although the Wicklow Town market isn’t going ahead this year, here’s what to know for when it returns in 2026, along with how this year’s Avondale market connects to it.

1. Where it’s on

Traditionally held at Leitrim Place, The Murrough, Wicklow Town (beside the Brass Fox Gastropub). The new 2025 market is happening 20 minutes away at Beyond the Trees Avondale in Rathdrum.

2. Dates

The Wicklow Christmas Market will return in 2026, but the Avondale market runs from November 14th, 2025, to January 4th, 2026.

3. Entry

Entry to the Avondale Christmas Market area is free, but there’s a €6 car park fee per vehicle, and separate tickets are required for ice skating, the Treetop Walk, and the Viewing Tower.

4. What to expect

Expect festive food stalls, local crafts, real-ice skating at Wicklow On Ice, and the Treetop Night Lights – an illuminated forest walk that turns Avondale’s canopy into a glowing winter wonderland.

5. There’s also the Wicklow Gaol Christmas Market

Wicklow Wrapped takes place at Wicklow Gaol from Friday, December 12th (5 – 8pm) to Saturday and Sunday, December 13 – 14 (10am–7pm). The market will feature 26 local food and craft producers, live music, wreath-making workshops, and outdoor demonstrations in the Gaol courtyard.

What to expect from the Christmas market at Avondale forest

Photos via Beyond the Trees Avondale on FB

There’s plenty to see and do at the Wicklow Christmas market if you’re looking to soak up a bit of a festive buzz!

If you didn’t make it here last year, here’s what to expect with some new additions, like the significantly larger Eco Ice Rink.

1. Wicklow On Ice

Set in front of the historic Avondale House, Wicklow On Ice runs from November 14th, 2025, to January 11th, 2026. This sheltered real-ice rink welcomes skaters of all ages and abilities, with both support and glide rinks available.

Sessions last 45 minutes, and there are special sensory sessions on November 22nd, December 6th, and December 20th (all at 10am). Expect festive music, twinkling lights, and a lively winter atmosphere.

2. The Christmas Market

Browse through the cosy wooden huts (supplied by the Wicklow Christmas Market organisers) filled with local crafts, handmade gifts, art, and festive food stalls.

The market is free to visit but note that there’s a €6 parking fee per vehicle.

3. Treetop Night Lights

When night falls, the 1.4km treetop walkway and 38-metre viewing tower light up in a spectacular after-dark display.

Expect glowing wildlife installations, gentle music, and sweeping forest views from high above the canopy.

Other festive Irish markets worth considering

If you’re spending Christmas in Ireland and you fancy visiting some other festive markets, you’re in luck – there are plenty taking place this year:

FAQs about the Wicklow Town Christmas Market

We’ve had a lot of questions over the years asking about everything from ‘How do you get here by bus?’ to ‘What’s on?’.

In the section below, we’ve popped in the most FAQs that we’ve received. If you have a question that we haven’t tackled, ask away in the comments section below.

Is the Wicklow Christmas Market running in 2025?

No, the Wicklow Christmas Market in Wicklow Town won’t take place this year following storm damage last winter. However, the organisers have partnered with Beyond the Trees Avondale in Rathdrum, supplying their trademark wooden huts for a brand-new festive event.

What’s on at the Avondale Christmas Market?

The Avondale event runs from November 14th, 2025, to January 11th, 2026, and features plenty to keep visitors entertained. Expect local food vendors, handmade crafts, and gifts, plus Wicklow On Ice, a real-ice skating rink set in front of historic Avondale House. When night falls, the Treetop Night Lights transform the forest canopy into a glowing walkway filled with light displays and gentle festive music.

Keith O'Hara

Keith O’Hara has lived in Ireland for 35 years and has spent much of the last 13 creating what is now The Irish Road Trip guide. Over the years, the website has published thousands of meticulously researched Ireland travel guides, welcoming 40 million+ visitors along the way. In 2022, the Irish Road Trip team published the world’s largest collection of Irish Road Trip itineraries. Keith lives in Dublin with his dog Toby and finds writing in the 3rd person minus craic altogether.