Eager for Christmas? Here’s Where to Explore Before Advent Begins
Take a visit to Rautis, a family-owned business located in Poniklá, where they create glass bead ornaments. The facility is open every day, and you can schedule your visit in advance via the internet. After your tour, you are welcome to explore the creative workshop. If you’re not near the Krkonoše Mountains, you can also explore traditional glass Christmas decorations at the Han company in Jičín, the Slezská tvorba cooperative in Opava, or Irisa cooperative in Vsetín. Keep in mind that these tours generally occur only on weekdays and must be reserved beforehand. For a further adventure into the world of delicate Christmas decorations, check out the DUV-society in Dvůr Králové nad Labem. While tours and workshops are exclusively for groups larger than fifteen, there is a company shop available that features fully decorated artificial trees with ornaments that are sent globally.
Christmas exhibitions in Vizovice, Doubí or Liberec
In line with tradition, the Mariette Gallery Christmas sales exhibition takes place again this year at the front of Vizovice Castle. This display runs daily from mid-October until 23 December, showcasing a variety of traditional Christmas ornaments made from materials like blown glass, straw, fabric, and paper.
An extraordinary Christmas venue is the Christmas House in Doubí Chateau, near Karlovy Vary. Here, the festive spirit lasts year-round, presenting an endless exhibition of Christmas decorations, including angels, trees, candles, and more, all frequently refreshed. This location features a nativity scene and a large Christmas tree, along with cheerful snowmen, glowing candles, and all the elements you’d expect at a true Christmas celebration. Don’t miss The Angel Café, where you can enjoy cookies and seasonal cakes at any time. It’s open daily, and you can stop by for a tour, do some shopping, or simply find some festive inspiration.
You should also visit the Liberec store of Decor by Glassor, which designs, manufactures, sells, and exports beautiful glass Christmas decorations and seasonal items. Their most popular offerings include glass balls in various sizes, as well as spikes, bells, hearts, and many other imaginative shapes like animals, cars, cherubs, and figurines. Glassor Decorations has unveiled several new collections, and crowd favorites from previous years include marine-themed designs and ornaments shaped like Christmas candy. This year’s special collection, Golden Hour, aims to capture the enchanting moment when nature displays the sun setting on the horizon. It’s an unforgettable sight as everything turns into earth tones of green, gold, and red. The last rays of sunlight touch the horizon, creating a picturesque illusion of golden dots. This collection is backed by director Alice Nellis.
Christmas markets and castle tours
Enjoy a unique Baroque atmosphere and the earliest Christmas market in the Czech Republic at the former Baroque baths in Kuks, happening on the weekends of November 15-16 and 22-23, 2025. The village center will feature over a hundred stalls where you can find traditional Christmas products, handcrafted items, delicious food, and engaging activities.
Starting on November 21, 2025, another long-standing event, Folk Christmas in Polabí, commences at the outdoor museum in Přerov nad Labem, bringing a rich program of activities. This market is open from Friday to Sunday until 28 December. Some castles and chateaux begin their Christmas preparations in November, and every Saturday from November 29 to December 14, Šternberk Castle in Moravia invites visitors to enjoy traditional Christmas tours. During these tours, you will learn interesting facts about the history, traditions, and customs surrounding Christmas, focusing on how the nobility and regular people celebrated the holiday.
Despite Advent starting four weeks before Christmas Eve and beginning its first Sunday on November 30 this year, many Christmas markets open a bit earlier. For instance, the Advent market on Zelňák in Brno kicks off on November 14, while the Czech Christmas Market at náměstí Míru in Prague also starts that day. The celebrated Christmas markets at the Square of the Republic in Pilsen commence on November 22, and Prague’s market at I. P. Pavlova starts on November 6. Even though the arrival of the first swallow does not signal the start of spring, these early Christmas markets clearly indicate that December is just around the corner.
