Trentino
Arco Christmas Market 2026: Open Days, Hours and How to Get There
Arco's Christmas market runs from 13 November 2026 to 6 January 2027 at the top of Lake Garda. Open days, hours, the animal farm and the bus from Rovereto.
Arco's Christmas market opens on Friday 13 November 2026 and runs to 6 January 2027.
It is the first to open at the top of Lake Garda. It does not open every day.
The market marks its 30th anniversary in 2026, and the organisers, the town's traders, set out the calendar on the market's own site. Until 13 December the stalls open from Friday to Sunday, with one exception for the long weekend of 8 December. From 18 December they open daily. The same dates and hours are on the Garda Trentino listing.
Quick answer
Dates: 13 November 2026 to 6 January 2027.
Open days: Friday to Sunday until 13 December, every day from 4 to 8 December, then daily from 18 December. Closed on 25 December.
Hours: 10:00 to 19:00, Saturdays to 20:00.
Where: the old town of Arco, five kilometres north of Riva del Garda.
The trap: Monday to Thursday before 18 December. The stalls are shut.
When the stalls are open
| Period | Open days | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| 13 November to 13 December | Friday to Sunday, plus every day from Friday 4 to Tuesday 8 December | 10:00-19:00, Saturdays to 20:00, Saturday 5 December to 22:00 |
| 18 December to 6 January | Every day, closed on 25 December | 10:00-19:00, Saturdays to 20:00, Saturday 19 December to 22:00 |
| 24 and 31 December, 6 January | Open | 10:00-18:00 |
| 1 January | Open | 11:00-19:00 |
The gaps matter. Between 14 and 17 December the market is closed, four days before the daily opening starts. In November it is a weekend market only.
What fills the old town
Arco sits under a castle on a crag, with palms and olive trees in its gardens, and the wooden stalls take over the lanes and squares of the centre. The town was a winter resort of the Austrian court in the 19th century, and the food still looks north: mulled wine, Bohemian dumplings, polenta with goulash and strauben, the fried batter spirals served with cranberry jam.
Much of the programme is for children. The Tana Orso Pom, in the courtyard of Palazzo dei Panni, runs workshops and storytelling. A small farm brings llamas, donkeys, sheep and goats into town, and there are donkey walks, a little Christmas train and a trail of nativity scenes through the streets. A children's New Year party is on the programme too.
Getting to Arco without a car
Arco has no railway station. The nearest is Rovereto, on the Brenner line between Verona and Bolzano, and from there Trentino Trasporti's B332 bus runs to Arco and Riva del Garda. The B205 links Trento with both towns. Fares are set by distance and cost a little more when bought on board.
Between Arco, Riva del Garda and Nago-Torbole an on-demand service, Bus&Go, runs until 31 December 2026 and covers the market evenings. Our Lake Garda winter guide has the buses round the rest of the lake and the boats that stop for the season.
Riva del Garda and Canale di Tenno
Riva's own market opens on 13 November as well. Canale di Tenno, the medieval hill village above Riva, starts its market on the weekend of 28 and 29 November. One evening covers Arco and Riva. Canale needs daylight, because the village itself, stone houses and vaulted passages, is half the visit.
Arco or Riva: where to stay
Arco suits a quiet stay with the market on the doorstep, in a town that goes quiet once the stalls close. Riva del Garda has more hotels open in winter, the lake in front and its own market. Both sit on the same buses, so the choice is between a small town under a castle and a harbour.
The mistake to avoid
Do not arrive midweek before 18 December. A visitor who comes on a Tuesday in late November finds the huts closed and the lights on. The exception is the long weekend from Friday 4 to Tuesday 8 December, when the market opens every day and the town is at its busiest.
The second mistake is Christmas Day. The stalls are shut on the 25th and reopen on the 26th.
Related guides
Christmas markets in Italy in 2026
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