The city festive market is on North Street and East Street on 4-6 and 11-13 December. Weald and Downland, West Dean, Fishbourne and the Novium dates inside.
Chichester’s festive street market returns to North Street and East Street on Friday 4 to Sunday 6 December and Friday 11 to Sunday 13 December 2026. Chichester District Council runs it; the dates come from Chichester BID’s market round-up, published on 29 October. Before then, the biggest market nearby is the Weald and Downland Living Museum’s on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 November, and that one is ticketed.
The quick answer
- City centre festive market: Fri 4 to Sun 6 December and Fri 11 to Sun 13 December, North Street and East Street, free to browse. Hours not yet published.
- Vintage and Very Nice, Council House: Sat 28 and Sun 29 November and a Christmas Special on Sat 12 and Sun 13 December, 10am to 4pm, free.
- Weald and Downland Living Museum: Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 November, 10am to 4pm, up to 100 stalls, £20 adults, advance booking essential.
- West Dean College: Friday 27 November, 2pm to 8pm, and Saturday 28 November, 9am to 6pm, £12.50, pre-booked time slots.
- Fishbourne Roman Palace: Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 December, 10am to 4pm, £5 adults, children free.
- The Novium Museum: indoor market Sunday 13 December, 10am to 2pm, free.
Last checked 31 October 2026, against each venue’s own event page, Chichester BID’s posts and the district council’s news list.
Updated 31 October: the city centre festive market is dated, 4 to 6 and 11 to 13 December, and the BID has listed two Vintage and Very Nice markets at the Council House. Free parking at Avenue de Chartres from 4pm on switch-on day, and a third hour free there on market days, are added below.
Updated 24 October: Chichester BID’s switch-on programme for 21 November, published on 20 October, includes no food and drink market, unlike 2025’s on East Street. The dates and prices above are unchanged.
Updated 3 October: West Dean has published its Christmas market for 27 and 28 November, and the city’s lights switch-on is confirmed for Saturday 21 November, the Weald and Downland market’s first day.
Does Chichester have a Christmas market?
Yes, three kinds. The city centre has a festive street market on North Street and East Street, run by Chichester District Council over two December weekends (details below). The Council House on North Street hosts two free Vintage and Very Nice markets. Around the city, four venues hold their own ticketed or free markets.
Christmas markets with 2026 dates
| Market | Date | Times | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| City centre festive market, North Street and East Street | Fri 4 to Sun 6 and Fri 11 to Sun 13 December | Not yet published | Free to browse |
| Vintage and Very Nice, Council House Assembly Room | Sat 28 and Sun 29 November; Sat 12 and Sun 13 December | 10am to 4pm | Free |
| Weald and Downland Living Museum | Sat 21 and Sun 22 November | 10am to 4pm | Adults £20, ages 5 to 17 £10, under 5 free |
| West Dean College | Fri 27 and Sat 28 November | Fri 2pm to 8pm, Sat 9am to 6pm | £12.50 |
| Fishbourne Roman Palace | Sat 5 and Sun 6 December | 10am to 4pm | Adults £5, children free |
| The Novium Museum | Sun 13 December | 10am to 2pm | Free |
Weald and Downland Christmas Market 2026: 21 and 22 November
The museum’s market is at Singleton, north of Chichester off the A286, on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 November, 10am to 4pm. Book on the museum’s event page.
Up to 100 festive stalls, seasonal food and drink and entertainment across the open-air museum. It is ticketed and advance booking is essential: adults £20, children aged 5 to 17 £10, under-5s free, and disabled visitors £10 with one carer free. Museum members do not get in free but receive 10% off with a code.
Getting there matters here. The museum says parking will be at Goodwood Racecourse, with a free park-and-ride bus to the museum through the day, and only limited Blue Badge parking on site. It also names the Route 60 bus from Chichester or Midhurst. No dogs except assistance dogs, even though the museum is normally dog friendly.
Note the clash. Chichester BID has confirmed the city’s Christmas lights switch-on for 5pm on Saturday 21 November, the market’s first day. The market closes at 4pm and the lights go on an hour later, so it is possible to do both; see our switch-on page.
West Dean, Fishbourne and the Novium
West Dean College, 27 and 28 November
West Dean’s market fills the house’s estate rooms and front lawn with makers, food stands, live music and carol singing. It runs on Friday 27 November, 2pm to 8pm, and Saturday 28 November, 9am to 6pm, and tickets are £12.50. Entry is by pre-booked time slot; West Dean says a limited number of tickets will be sold on the day, and Gardens members can buy on the day at £9.50. Two-hour craft taster sessions, with market entry included, are booked separately.
Enter through West Dean Gardens, not the main road. The market is a five to ten minute walk from the car park, and the number 60 bus stops outside the gardens entrance. Dogs on leads are welcome outside, assistance dogs only inside the house. Card is preferred, though some stalls take cash only.
One trap: the heading on West Dean’s own market page says “28 November to 29 November 2026”. The opening times on the same page, and the ticketed taster sessions in its box office, are Friday 27 and Saturday 28 November. There is no Sunday market.
Fishbourne Roman Palace, 5 and 6 December
Stalls from local makers, artists and community groups, a programme of local bands and choirs (act times “confirmed closer to the day”), and the Raven-Tor living history group showing winter celebrations from the Stone Age to a wartime Christmas. Adults £5, children free; members of the Sussex Archaeological Society free. Tickets are not refundable.
The Novium Museum, 13 December
An indoor market of local artists and craftspeople, free to enter along with the museum itself. The museum also runs a free festive “gonk trail” through December.
The city centre festive market: 4 to 6 and 11 to 13 December
Chichester BID’s Christmas markets round-up gives the 2026 dates: Friday 4 to Sunday 6 December and Friday 11 to Sunday 13 December, on North Street and East Street, organised by Chichester District Council. That is a Friday more each weekend than last year. The BID describes independent traders and local makers selling gifts, crafts, decorations and seasonal food and drink.
The council itself has not yet published its own market release or the opening hours. Last year, from its release of 17 November 2025, the market ran on Saturdays 9am to 5pm and Sundays 10am to 4pm, with homewares, cheeses, gin and liqueurs, honey mead, chocolate, jewellery, plants, artwork and handmade crafts. Treat those hours as a guide until the 2026 ones appear.
Wind has disrupted the market two years running. The council cancelled the Saturday 6 December 2025 market the day before, because high winds would make the gazebos unstable; Sunday went ahead. In 2024, when an outside operator ran a longer market with around 50 stalls, its opening weekend of 7 and 8 December was postponed to Monday 9 December for forecast high winds. If a market day looks windy, check the council’s news page that morning.
The market sits alongside the council’s Christmas in Priory Park programme at The Guildhall, now on sale through The Novium’s shop: the panto (£11 adult, £8 child), storytelling for under-fives on 8, 9, 16 and 17 December (£4 a child), an adult silent disco on Thursday 17 December (7.30pm to 10.30pm, £7.50, over-18s), and Sounds of Home, a free live music trail from The Novium on 27 and 28 November, 4pm to 6pm.
Vintage and Very Nice at the Council House
Two free markets of vintage finds, handmade gifts and makers’ work in the Assembly Room of the Council House, North Street, both 10am to 4pm, according to the BID: a two-day market on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 November, and a Christmas Special on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 December, the second weekend of the street market.
Late shopping by candlelight
The Weald and Downland Living Museum holds a Carols by Candlelight evening on Thursday 10 December, 5pm to 8pm, with the museum shop open late. Adults £10, children £5. Details on the event page.
Parking for the markets
Chichester BID has published the council’s 2026 offers: free parking at the Avenue de Chartres multi-storey from 4pm on Saturday 21 November for the lights switch-on, and a third hour free when you buy two hours through MiPermit at Avenue de Chartres on 4, 5, 6, 11, 12 and 13 December, the six market days (BID post). Last year’s free Sunday parking has not been repeated in the list so far. Details on our Christmas travel page and our parking in Chichester guide.
Still to be confirmed
- Opening hours and stall list for the city centre festive market (the council’s own release came on 17 November last year).
- Stallholders and act times for Fishbourne.
More for December: what’s on in Chichester this month, where to see Father Christmas and Christmas bin collections.
Frequently asked questions
Does Chichester have a Christmas market?
Yes. Chichester District Council’s festive street market is on North Street and East Street on Friday 4 to Sunday 6 December and Friday 11 to Sunday 13 December 2026, according to Chichester BID. Vintage and Very Nice holds free markets at the Council House, and four venues nearby run their own, starting with the Weald and Downland Living Museum on 21 and 22 November.
When is the Chichester Christmas market in 2026?
City centre festive market, 4 to 6 and 11 to 13 December; Weald and Downland Living Museum, 21 and 22 November; West Dean College, 27 and 28 November; Vintage and Very Nice at the Council House, 28 and 29 November and 12 and 13 December; Fishbourne Roman Palace, 5 and 6 December; The Novium Museum, 13 December.
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