All of the above. You might check out www.wunderground.com which has a "travel planner" section under the tab "travel and activities". It lets you pick a range of dates for your destination and gives you the historic weather. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the webpage for the chart of daily temperatures so you can get an idea of historic variability.

Also something that can be a factor as to travel in Northern Europe that time of year is how short the daylight hours are. You can check that out for your cities on www.timeanddate.com. Of course most Christmas markets continue the festivities well into the evening.

A year ago Christmas we made that trip. The entire time it was snowy and cold. The day time temperature was in the low teens. Don't think we had any day over the freezing mark. On a couple train travel was delay because of ice on the lines. It was cold but coming from Colorado we were prepared and had a good time. This year, out of curiosity, we watched the temperatures daily during the same time and it was much warmer. Most days were sunny with temps in the high 20s and low 30s. Just have to be prepared for a range of cold weather.

I have been to that area in years where there was absolutely no snow, even in the alps, and years when it was cold cold cold. You will know more are the trip draws nearer. Plan to dress in layers and wear something waterproof on the outside just in case. We are from Seatte where goretex is normal winter wear. That is always a good idea in Europe too.

Hi Joe,

We visited Salzburg, Innsbruck, etc. the last week of November 2010 to visit the Christmas Markets. We only had 9 days, but had some snow on 4 of them. Nothing that amounted to too much. We had a rental car and the roads were kept clear, so no trouble in that respect. Cold. One night, in Rattenberg (by Innsbruck) it was beyond cold. We're from the north east and this was COLD even for us. We still had a great time. Plenty of warm drinks (hot chocolate and mulled wine) and food, plus there were many fires going to warm up near also. It's a wonderful time to visit.

Check the opening times of the markets. While we were there, the markets in Mittenwald, Berchtesgaden, Fuessen and Munich hadn't started yet. Salzburg, Innsbruck, etc. opened the week before Thanksgiving. Seemed like Austria's started earlier than Germany's.

Paul

Way too early to say... I haven't done this exact thing, but for example:
2006-07 - In Prague until November, it was starting to get nippy (coat/scarf/glove weather) by the time I left, but no snow. Bit grey and blah but I don't remember rain particularly. Passed through Berlin briefly, rainy but not that cold. I was in Moscow from Nov-Jan and I was constantly HOT due to above-freezing temps and everywhere being overheated, including my apartment (you couldn't control the temperature on your own radiators)
2007-08 - In Chamonix (French Alps) from Oct-Dec. It was warm enough to sit outside in the sun in a t-shirt when I arrived, but definitely cold and snowy thereafter
2009-10 - Living in Nice, it snowed three times! I have photos of palm trees covered in snow. In Nth England for Christmas, very cold and way more snow than I've ever seen there (I go regularly for Christmas because my family is from there)
2010-11 - Living in Tours (Loire Valley, France), it snowed only once in the city but was pretty cold. Northern England once again snowy and cold for Christmas
2011-12 - Still in Tours, it was very mild this year (including in England at Christmas) until February, when we had a massive cold snap with temps down to -11 Celsius, snow, the rivers freezing over etc. This lasted a few weeks before temps came up again.

That's probably all a horribly long-winded and boring way to say that the weather has been all over the place the last few years, in my random experience of different bits of Europe!

last Christmas in Stuttgart, Rothenburg, Salzburg, Nürnberg. Light snow one night in Rothenburg. Daily highs around 35 F. I wish it had been colder so we would have had snow instead of drizzle

We went three years 2008-2010. The weather was substantially different every year: mild sunshine to cold rain to freezing snow. BTW, I would say that cold rain was the hardest to dress for. We bought cheap umbrellas in Germany for the rainiest year.

Regards, Gary

In that part of Europe at that time of year, any kind of weather is possible.

The best advice I can give is to have comfortable, waterproof shoes/boots, a waterproof outer layer and layers for underneath. Silk long underwear doesn't take up much space and does wonders if the weather is damp. A hat, scarf and gloves are also good things to have, although they are often sold at one or two market stalls.

And pja's advice is good -- double check the opening days and times for markets. Some of the smaller ones are only open on weekends and some are not open every Advent weekend.

We have been to Germany, Austria and Prague for the markets 7 times now. Weather has been all over the board.

In 2010 we had tons of snow, enough to close airport and delay trains. But it was beautiful!

Last year weather was mild, even in Prague for Christmas Eve and day.

In 2007 we had lots of rain. Other years vary.

We pack layers so we can be comfortable in any weather and waterproof coats and boots are a must.

It's a great time to visit and we are returning this year.

You might have chilly with rain or cold and snow (it can;t be cold and raining - if it were cold the rain would freeze). You might also get sunny (but don;t plan on much) and temps in the 40s.

It's winter in central europe - that;s the deal.