A Tour of Outdoor Holiday Markets Near NYU’s Global Away Sites

As the fall semester winds down, students at NYU's Washington Square often visit the jam-packed stalls of the Union Square Holiday Market to celebrate the season and snag a last minute gift (or two) before leaving town. Students spending the semester at one of the university's European sites also have opportunities to visit holiday markets-including some that offer a deep dive into the local culture and traditions. This year, some NYU students took day trips to Dresden and Verona, while a group from NYU Madrid celebrated the semester's end with an excursion downtown. Students at NYU Berlin had only to open their front door to fall into one of the city's most popular open-air markets. Here's a look at several of the global markets and the local holiday customs students have experienced there.

Dresden, Germany

NYU Prague joined with other local colleges for a day trip to Dresden on Dec. 6 to visit several markets, including the famous Striezelmarkt, one of the largest holiday markets in Europe. Sacha Licholai, a junior studying film at the Tisch School of the Arts, spent the day wandering through stalls filled with holiday foods and crafts. Her favorite tradition: the cups used to serve mulled wine are not disposable, but can be returned for a partial refund, or-as many do-kept and brought back for a refill. "The stalls were beautifully decorated," Sasha said. "It was the most beautiful Christmas market I've ever seen."

Verona, Italy

Photo by Giulietta Molinari.

NYU Florence organized a day trip for students to visit Verona, a medieval city in northern Italy probably best known as the setting of Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet. This time of year, however, the city becomes a holiday wonderland. The main attraction is the "Mercatini di Natale" along Via Pallone. From November 16 through December 26, wood stalls filled with local food, drinks, and hand-made crafts line the street in the shadow of the city's famous magistral wall. Glass, ceramic, and wood treasures are for sale, along with holiday decorations and seasonal treats, including vin brulè (mulled red wine served warm with citrus and spices), strudel, pandoro (a star-shaped holiday cake), warm pretzels the size of dinner plates, and lots of cured meats.

Madrid, Spain

About 16 students finished the semester with an evening visit to the Plaza de España for La Navideña, the city's largest Christmas market. Open from Nov. 28 to Dec. 31, the market is famous for its nativity scene figurines, but it also boasts hand-crafts and traditional holiday foods such as churros and hot cocoa, baked chestnuts, and caramelized almonds. The students ice skated under the stars in the plaza's rink.

Berlin, Germany

Photo by T. Ernst

One of Berlin's most popular outdoor markets is the Lucia Christmas Market in the square right outside NYU Berlin's academic center in the Kulturbrauerei (which translates literally as "the culture brewery"). From November 25 through December 22, the courtyards around the former Schultheiss beer brewery-now a cultural district with a movie theater, concert spaces, and dance studios-host stalls with handcrafts and local foods. There are daily performances, a nostalgic swing carousel, and a knight's castle. A favorite of the market is the walking angel who offers wishes and wisdom to visitors young and old.

New York City

The home market of NYU, the Union Square Holiday Market has been around since 1980, making it one of the oldest in New York but an infant compared to the storied European markets that it emulates. Arranged on the southern and western edges of the iconic park, this bustling holiday bazaar has more than 180 green-roofed stalls featuring local small business and holiday artisans selling everything from jewelry and hand-made soaps to New York-themed prints, woolens and puppets. The food area offers hot apple cider, liquid s'mores, empanadas and chicken on a stick. In short, this annual attraction is a twinkling, noisy and surprising taste of New York.