{"id":953,"date":"2026-10-04T21:16:31","date_gmt":"2026-10-04T20:16:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/selectsidmouth.com\/uncategorized\/exeter-cathedral-christmas-market-a-festive-day-out-from-sidmouth\/"},"modified":"2026-10-04T22:58:59","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T21:58:59","slug":"exeter-cathedral-christmas-market-a-festive-day-out-from-sidmouth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/selectsidmouth.com\/de\/days-out\/seasonal-events\/exeter-cathedral-christmas-market-a-festive-day-out-from-sidmouth\/","title":{"rendered":"Exeter Cathedral Christmas Market: A Festive Day Out from Sidmouth"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Part of our days-out series for visitors based in Sidmouth who want to explore further afield.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Each winter, the green in front of Exeter Cathedral fills with twinkling wooden chalets, the smell of mulled wine and the sound of carols drifting from the cathedral doors. If you are spending a few days in Sidmouth in November or December, the Exeter Cathedral Christmas Market is one of the best days out in Devon.<\/p>\n<h2>A market with local roots<\/h2>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/exetercathedralchristmasmarket.co.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Exeter Christmas Market<\/a> began with an idea. In 2011, James Sharp, then President of the Sidmouth and District Hospitality Association, chair of the Exeter and Heart of Devon Hotels and Restaurant Association and a Board Director of the Exeter and Heart of Devon Tourism Partnership, imagined a Christmas market at the heart of the city. The first stalls opened in 2012 on Cathedral Green.<\/p>\n<p>It has since become a festive fixture of the city centre, with stalls offering unique, handmade and unusual gifts, decorations and food: everything needed for a perfect Christmas and a real buzz at the heart of Exeter. The market was named Speciality Market of the Year at the 2014 awards of the National Association of British Market Authorities. Research commissioned by Exeter Cathedral estimated that the market brings some \u00a333 million to the city, drawn from visitors&#8217; spending on accommodation, shopping, transport and eating out, and the Cathedral estimates that it attracts around 600,000 visitors.<\/p>\n<h2>Dates and opening times for 2026<\/h2>\n<p>According to the market&#8217;s organisers, the 2026 market runs from Friday 13 November to Sunday 13 December on Cathedral Green, Exeter.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Monday to Wednesday: 10am to 7pm<\/li>\n<li>Thursday to Saturday: 10am to 9pm<\/li>\n<li>Sunday: 11am to 5pm<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Check the official market website before you travel, as times can change.<\/p>\n<h2>Reasons to visit<\/h2>\n<h3>A setting like no other<\/h3>\n<p>Few Christmas markets have a backdrop to match. The chalets sit in the shadow of Exeter Cathedral, and after dark the lights against the cathedral&#8217;s west front make the visit feel special.<\/p>\n<h3>Gifts from Devon and beyond<\/h3>\n<p>The organisers describe hand-picked traders showcasing the very best of Devon and beyond, making it a good place to find gifts you will not see on the high street.<\/p>\n<h3>Seasonal food and drink<\/h3>\n<p>Expect seasonal food and mulled wine. Arrive hungry and graze your way around the chalets.<\/p>\n<h3>Step inside the cathedral<\/h3>\n<p>The cathedral is open for sightseeing during the market, with entry by donation: Monday to Saturday from 10am to 5pm, and Sunday from 11.30am to 4pm. It is worth combining the two, and the cathedral&#8217;s events listings will show any Christmas services or concerts during your stay.<\/p>\n<h3>Late-night evenings<\/h3>\n<p>From Thursday to Saturday the market stays open until 9pm, so you can see it lit up after dark and still be back in Sidmouth for a late supper.<\/p>\n<h2>Getting there from Sidmouth<\/h2>\n<h3>By bus from Sidmouth<\/h3>\n<p>Stagecoach services 9 and 9A run between Sidmouth and Exeter Bus Station. The main Sidmouth stop is The Triangle, close to the town centre and seafront. On the timetable in use from April 2026, buses run about every 30 minutes on Mondays to Saturdays and hourly on Sundays, and the journey takes roughly an hour. The last bus back to Sidmouth leaves Exeter Bus Station at 23.40 on Mondays to Saturdays, so the late-night market evenings are easy to reach, but on Sundays the last departure is at 17.05. Exeter Bus Station is a short walk from Cathedral Green. Timetables change, especially around Christmas, so check the latest times with Stagecoach before you travel.<\/p>\n<h3>By car, train or coach<\/h3>\n<p>If you drive, the organisers recommend the Princesshay 2, Princesshay 3 and Guildhall car parks, and Park and Ride services also run. Exeter Central and Exeter St Davids railway stations are within walking distance of Cathedral Green, and coaches use the bus and coach station on Paris Street. Weekends are likely to be busy, so a weekday visit may be more relaxed.<\/p>\n<h2>Accessibility and dogs<\/h2>\n<p>The organisers say there are five entry points, four of them step-free, with ramps on the main steps, wide paths and accessible toilets. Not every chalet is wheelchair accessible. Dogs should be on leads in the open areas, and only assistance dogs are allowed inside the cathedral.<\/p>\n<h2>Make a short break of it<\/h2>\n<p>A quieter seaside base can be the perfect contrast to a busy market day. Compare hotels and guesthouses on our <a href=\"\/de\/places-to-stay\/\">Unterk\u00fcnfte<\/a> page, and see Taste Sidmouth for somewhere to eat when you get back.<\/p>\n<p><em>Details are taken from the Exeter Cathedral and Exeter Cathedral Christmas Market websites and may change. Please check before you travel.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A guide to visiting the Exeter Cathedral Christmas Market from Sidmouth, with 2026 dates, opening times, travel options and accessibility.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-seasonal-events","pmpro-has-access"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/selectsidmouth.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/953","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/selectsidmouth.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/selectsidmouth.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/selectsidmouth.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/selectsidmouth.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=953"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/selectsidmouth.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/953\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":985,"href":"https:\/\/selectsidmouth.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/953\/revisions\/985"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/selectsidmouth.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/selectsidmouth.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/selectsidmouth.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}