I’ll be honest with you from the start. This one is a huge disappointment. If you’re planning to visit the RDS Christmas Market in Dublin because you remember how great it used to be… STOP.
Everything has changed. The big halls full of merchants? Gone. The festive atmosphere? Gone. It’s a completely new event, and honestly? It’s a massive disappointment. I was told the old market is gone completely and this is a brand new concept. That explains a lot.
Let’s start with the “entry experience.” When I arrived at the RDS, there were no visible signs of the Christmas market at all. The main entrance had zero information. No signs, no directions, nothing. I had to ask a parking attendant just to find out where the market actually is! He told me to go left at the traffic lights and keep going until I see the Christmas market.
Then you see what looks like entrances, you can clearly see the market inside, but you’re not allowed to enter. They tell you to keep walking, and walking, and walking. I passed two gates that were “Exit Only,” even though the place was empty! Eventually, you arrive at the so-called main entrance. Once inside, you’re basically walking all the way back past those earlier “Exit only” gates. Why force visitors to hike to a far entrance? It makes no sense.
This system might make sense if there were thousands of visitors, but there weren’t. I was there on a Friday evening, just a few days before Christmas, which should be peak time for any Christmas market. And there were maybe 50 or 60 visitors in total. So why not let people use multiple entrances? It makes absolutely no sense and feels extremely badly organised.
Now let’s talk about the market itself. It’s very small. About half of the space is Funderland. If you have kids who want rides, that’s great. But if you’re looking for a “Christmas Market” with gifts and crafts? Forget it. It’s almost entirely overpriced food stalls.
Comparing this to TwinkleTown at Smithfield Square, where merchants were actually busy. Here, the vendors were literally yawning. No customers. I honestly can’t imagine many of them wanting to come back next year.
Now let’s talk about churros again, because I genuinely don’t understand what’s going on with churros sellers in Dublin this year. The churros at TwinkleTown were already bad. Oily, small, poor quality. But the churros here at the RDS are also bad, just in a different way. They look better on the outside, but the dough inside is raw. For the prices they are charging, this is unacceptable.
Overall, “Dublin Loves Christmas” at the RDS is a shadow of its former self. It’s small, it’s poorly organized, and the food quality is a gamble.
If you have children for Funderland, go for the rides. But if you’re hungry? Go somewhere else in Dublin where you’ll get bigger portions and better quality for less money.
I won’t be coming back next year, and I doubt many of these merchants will either.
