Get your Christmas shopping off to a fun and festive start at the Rochester Christmas Market. FREE to enter.
Set in the spectacular Rochester Castle gardens, the Christmas markets are held over three consecutive weekends.
It's the ideal place to search for that special gift and stocking fillers by wandering around the many craft and trade stalls.
Now in its 15th year, this well established, authentic Christmas experience has a large loyal customer base who come for the atmosphere, entertainment, and Christmas shopping experience.
Our Christmas market is the largest in the South that offers free entry and includes:
Food and drink stalls are available to purchase hot and cold beverages, mulled wine, roasted chestnuts and much more.
This year a 'Quiet Shopping Time' has been introduced, taking place every Friday between 10am-12noon.
There is limited parking available in Rochester. Disabled parking is available, on a first come first served basis. We recommend using public transport, such as the train, which is only a short walk away from the castle grounds. Alternatively, visitors are advised to park in Chatham or Strood and walk into the market.
For information on getting to Rochester by train click here.
For bus information, please click here.
The Park & Ride service will be available 9am to 6pm on Saturday, 7 and Sunday, 8 December for the Dickensian Festival.
Town centre parking will be extremely limited during the festival. We strongly advise visitors to use the park and ride service, which will operate from the University of Greenwich Medway Campus, Central Avenue, Chatham Maritime, Chatham, ME4 4TB.
To use the service:
Your four-legged friend is very welcome to join you, as long as she or he is kept on a lead. However, please note that the market does get very busy.
On Fridays, all funfair rides are £2 and all attractions (such as bungee jumping) are half-price.
On the weekends, the majority of activities are £3 or £3.50.
All our funfair activities accept contactless and card payments, as well as cash.
We have a variety of vegan and vegetarian food options on site, including:
All of our food traders have allergens lists available upon request.
There is no need to book our Quiet Shopping Time. Just turn up and enjoy!
You can book your place at Children's Christmas Village here.
It is possible to buy tickets for the experience on-site, provided tickets haven't sold out.
If your child is under 2 and will not participate in the activities they will not require a ticket.
If you fancy having a stall at our Christmas Market, please apply online.
Free to enter the market. Admission fee applies to visit the Children's village.
Rochester Christmas Market will close a little earlier this evening, due to the high winds.
Rochester Castle Gardens will be closed from 6pm on Friday, 6 December - this includes the market, funfair and Children’s Christmas Village.
Ticketholders to the Children’s Christmas Village will be contacted directly by Medway Tickets Live box office to arrange a refund or book an alternative date to enjoy the festive experience.
There’s still time to browse the stalls and find the perfect gift at Rochester Christmas Market this afternoon.
Remember, you will still be able to visit Rochester High Street’s wonderful selection of shops, restaurants, bars and pubs into the evening.
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Rochester Dickensian Christmas Festival has been cancelled due to the increasing high winds, which are forecasted to reach up to 50mph over the course of the weekend.
Rochester Castle Gardens – including Rochester Christmas Market, Children’s Christmas Village and funfair - will also be closed on Saturday and Sunday (7 & 8 Dec).
We appreciate how disappointing this will be for those who had planned to visit this weekend. We have not taken this decision lightly, but it is necessary to ensure the safety of our visitors and everyone involved with either the market, christmas village or festival.
Rochester remains a magical place to visit and the wonderful selection of shops, restaurants, bars and pubs, as well as Eastgate House and The Guildhall Museum, will be open as usual along Rochester’s historic High Street.
Ticketholders to the Children’s Christmas Village will be contacted directly by Medway Tickets Live box office to arrange a refund or alternative date to enjoy the festive experience.
Rochester Christmas Market, the Children’s Christmas Village and funfair in the castle gardens will close a little earlier today (Fri, 6 Dec) at 6pm. They are due to reopen as scheduled from Friday, 13 December.
Address
Rochester Christmas Market 2024 Rochester Castle Gardens, Castle Hill, Rochester ME1 1SW
