Weihnachtsmarkt in der Ravennaschlucht

The Christmas market in the Ravenna Gorge is sold out for 2026. Advance sales opened on 14 October at 10 a.m., and for the first time there were 100,000 tickets – 25,000 more than the year before. After about six hours they were all gone; within five minutes more than 48,000 people were already in the virtual queue. Single tickets occasionally come back in the official ticket shop; there is no box office.

The market sits where the Höllental valley is at its narrowest: between the Ravenna Gorge, the Galgenbühl by the Hofgut Sternen and the roughly 40-metre-high viaduct of the Höllental railway. The stalls stand in the forest, the bridge is lit up above everything, and every now and then a train crosses it. No other Christmas market in the Black Forest has a setting like this – which is exactly why it sells out within hours every year.

To be honest, I struggle with the time slots. You go to a Christmas market to take your time – one more mulled wine, one more round along the nativity trail – not to check your watch after two hours because the next group is waiting. For all my enthusiasm about the setting: with time slots, advance sales and shuttle packages, the whole thing has become a little too commercial for my taste.

Dates and opening hours 2026

The Christmas market in the Ravenna Gorge runs from 26 November to 20 December 2026 over four Advent weekends, Thursday to Sunday each time.

Thursday 10 December is the Wäldertag: on this day the market is open only to residents of the Hochschwarzwald.

New in 2026 are the three Thursdays and the longer opening hours on Sundays and public holidays. That was the only way to raise the allocation from 75,000 to 100,000 tickets.

Tickets and prices

Entry is only possible with an advance ticket, valid for a time slot of about two hours.

Tickets cannot be cancelled; rebooking is possible depending on availability. There are no other discounts, not even with the Hochschwarzwald Card, the KONUS guest card or the Schwarzwaldcard.

Second-hand tickets

Shortly after sales opened, tickets appeared on eBay, some at several times their price. The organiser warns that resold tickets may be invalid or copied, in which case you will not be let in. If you are still looking for a ticket, check the official ticket shop for returned tickets.

Getting there: shuttle, train and parking

By train and shuttle: This is the recommended way. Shuttle buses run from Hinterzarten and Himmelreich stations and from the Kurhaus car park in Titisee; you book the ride together with your entry. From Freiburg (central bus station, bay 7) there are separate shuttles with a guaranteed seat both ways.

By car: Parking is at the Hofgut Sternen, Höllsteig 76, 79874 Breitnau – but only with a parking ticket booked in advance for your time slot. In 2026 the "arrival by car" category was the first to sell out. Motorhomes are not allowed.

On foot: A winter hiking trail leads from Hinterzarten through the Löffeltal valley in about 45 minutes. The Ravenna Gorge itself is officially closed in winter – the path through the gorge is not a way into the market.

What to expect

The stalls offer regional crafts and Black Forest food and drink, with Christmas music in the background. For families there is a Christmas post office, a rally around the market and an illuminated nativity trail leading through the forest towards the gorge.

The electricity is 100 per cent hydropower, and there is no disposable tableware. Bring cash: the mobile network in the valley is too unreliable for card payments.

Good to know

The grounds are unpaved and steep. You can get in with a wheelchair, but it is hard going. The organiser advises against bringing dogs.

Bags may be no larger than A4; glass bottles, knives, fireworks and drones stay outside. And dress warmly: the market is entirely outdoors and in the shade of the valley.

From 2027: a new organiser

After 16 years, Hochschwarzwald Tourismus GmbH is handing over the organisation. From 2027 the Hofgut Sternen plans to run the market entirely on its own. How dates, tickets and prices will look then is not yet known.

Sold out? More Christmas markets in the Black Forest

If you didn't get a ticket, you don't have to go without the Christmas spirit. The Fürstenberg Weihnachtswelt in Donaueschingen takes place in a real horse stable, is mostly under cover and needs no time slot – you pay at the gate. It only runs for four days over the first weekend of Advent, though.

In short: you go to the Ravenna Gorge for the setting, and to the Weihnachtswelt for the stalls.