Dann is a big fan of Christmas markets, and I love light trails, so he set up a little date night at Christmas at Blenheim Palace! This palace is one of the few that we have not been too previously, and we were excited to see it all decorated and set up for the festive season. The palace’s Christmas market is free to enter, with optional ticket add-ons for an in-palace tour and a light trail! We ended up only going for the light trail this year as they are some of my favorite things to walk around and see.
Blenheim Palace Christmas Market
The Blenheim Palace had a large Christmas market, which was between two court yards. Well, the first court yard was more of a fairground, with some classic rides; swings that rock by both people pulling on ropes, a giant skelter slide, merry-go-rounds – rides of those nature. These did cost tokens per go, and we didn’t go on any rides in this area. There were little food stalls here though! The main Christmas market was actually in the next, much larger middle court yard.
This market was full of stalls! There were gifts, things you could taste, lots of different drinks, things to make really lovely charcutier boards… There was just a lot! We ended up checking out the food stalls and going with one which had different loaded fries – we got a chicken based one and a beef based one, both of which were really delicious and filling. The beef one had a lovely gravy while the chicken one had a great cheese sauce bringing it all together. We really enjoyed these fries and they felt nice and hot on a cold and slightly snowy night! We also got a variety of drinks; hot chocolate, mulled wine, beer, and a children’s fruit punch which was really odd. It tasted like hot tomato juice, which isn’t something I would imagine a kid drinking – and not something I enjoyed either. They were really limited on drinks that were warm, not full of dairy and not full of alcohol, which I get is a me issue, but something worth noting!
Inside this court yard, there was also a giant Blenheim Palace sign, which made for a good photo opportunity, as well as entrance to the indoor event, which was some sort of palace tour by the ice queen. I am sure the inside was well decorated. The side area of this court yard had a wish tree that you could tie a string around to make a wish, which was a great idea, even if a bit hidden!
Light Trail
The light trail was long and well designed – and I was very delighted to go on it! The first area had a bunch of the fountains from the palace which were highlighted with lights, and frozen over due to the cold, which looked magical. This moved onto a big field which had loads of different colored stars, lighting up and blinking to the music. There were a few different hot chocolate / hot drink stands, but not any food stands in this walk, so we were glad to have grabbed some food from the Christmas Market before entering. The light trail then continued to the Blenheim Palace itself, which had a bunch of different lights and graphics projected onto it, following a variety of different Christmas-themed songs. There were so many sections that were based on different music, and these sections were done so well! There was one area of Christmas tree-like structures, lighting up to music another area had a roof made of lights that were dazzling with the music around it. The rose garden at the palace was turned into a giant fire area, which had some more cult-feeling music playing, which felt really fitting! There was another view of the palace, this time from farther back, as well as one of those adorable and romantic light tunnels that end almost every light trail out there! This one was really pretty. The end of the light trail was quite a long and non-lit walk back to the start of the Christmas market, but from outside the palace grounds basically, which felt really weird, but otherwise it was a good time.
Next year, we might even go inside the palace, especially if it continues to get as cold as it was! But, we did have a fantastic time at Christmas Blenheim Palace and it was such a lovely little date night!
You can check out our other Days Out to see what else we’ve been up too!
Since the start of the holiday’s people has done all kinds of posts about the different Christmas destinations all across the globe and this is just one more to add to that list! This place looks so cool too and had plenty of things to do! Thank you for sharing it!
There are so many cool places, it’s such a magical holiday.
That looks like an amazing way to celebrate the holidays. It’s just so grand!
It was such a fun date night! So festive.
From monuments to markets, fabulous Christmas lighting is a treat to eyes everywhere.
It was such a lovely place!
The light trail at Blenheim Palace looks fabulous. I love Christmas markets too, this is one that I will have to add to my list.
It is really such a lovely place!
What a beautiful location to take the family to this Holiday Season! I wish I was closer as I would love to see it for myself!
It is a really lovely place with such a wonderful illumination trail.
You clearly had a wonderful time at Blenheim Palace. The light display is so pretty and it makes a great festive day out!
We are such big fans of light trails and this one was so magical!
Oh wow, it sounds like you guys had an awesome day out. The lights are so pretty and I love that they have a Christmas market there too. It sounds like they had a lovely range of foods to try. I need to see if I can squeeze in a visit asap.
There was just so much to do and so much to see.
How beautiful for the holidays! I love seeing all the lights and decorations at night. Fabulous display 😀
The decorations were so magical and fun to see!
It looks like a fun place. I like the lighting’s over there so festive.
The lighting is truley magical!
I’ve always wanted to visit Blenheim Palace and this time of year looks like a magical time to visit there. The lights are beautiful.
You should plan a trip, it’s well worth it.
This looks like my kind of event! I would love to go on a date night like this or just have a family night here.
It’s great for bringing the family or for having a little date!
It looks absolutely gorgeous there. I would love to see this in person for myself one year.