Overview
- Essen-Steele launched NRW’s season on November 2 with heavy footfall, a popular baked-potato stand and a new Afghan food stall run by Monira Wali.
- Price frustration is visible on social media, including complaints about an €8.50 lentil soup, even as some visitors cite higher wages and fees as drivers.
- Access in Steele is tight with no official parking or shuttles, and organisers urge public transport as weekend crowding makes parking difficult.
- Essen’s international market adds an outdoor Glühwein-Krimi app game developed with Ruhrescape and Stadtmarketing; teams pay about €30 to play once the market opens November 14.
- Nationally, higher security, energy and compliance costs are reshaping plans, with Magdeburg withholding a permit over its safety concept, Overath cancelling, Kerpen opting for a smaller Genussmarkt, and major city markets like Munich confirming late‑November openings.