Hello,
My friend and I are flying into Frankfurt on Christmas day and out of Cologne on Dec 31. We will have a car and were considering making a big loop, staying in Frankfurt one night, then heading towards Luxembourg, up to Liege and then ending in Cologne. We're both used to driving internationally and don't think much of driving 2 hours/day. Does anyone have comments on the itinerary or suggestions for a better one? We would like to visit the Christmas Market in Liege or Brussels, since the German markets will be closed by the time we get there. I have discovered couchsurfing and we have met some phenomenal hosts for each of our prospective cities who are willing to take us in and show us around, so we'll be with locals. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks!
H

Unfortunately the christmas market will be over when you get there.

I'm in Brussels now and the Christmas market so far hasn't shown much worth going that far out of your way. Which isn't to say Brussels isn't worth visiting for many other reasons...the regular shopping is terrific as is the food. (I do think the market runs past Christmas this year, however, I'll have to pay more attention to the banners when I'm near the Grand'Place tomorrow).

One of the prettiest drives in Europe goes along the Mosel River valley, a deep gorge with cliffs about 1000 feet high on each side - often carpeted with vineyards from Koblenz to Luxembourg - numerous wine towns and Trier is worth a stop - one of most historic towns in Europe and one of the oldest. Roman ruins - once was the capital of the Holy Roman Empire's precursor.

Unless you want to see sights along the river between Frankfurt and Cologne you might consider renting the car in Clogne as you can get an ICE train directly from the FRA airport station which, if you take one on the so-called "high speed" route will get you to Cologne in 57 minutes.

Thank you for your relpies so far!!! I have heard Trier is well worth a stop so we will incorporate it into our itinerary. We are thinking 25th & 26th around Frankfurt with friends, 27 head towards Luxembourg via Trier, then to Brussels/Liege on the 28th & 29th, 30th in Cologne and out on the 31st. Does anyone have advice or thoughts on the roads? Will they be icy? Are they mostly "Audobahn" or local roads? Any suggestions for a great road atlas? I'm really excited!!! I know it's a lot in a short period of time, but that's usually how I travel, so it'll be fine. Thanks for all of your help!!!
Keep Smiling!
H

I would probably just meander down the Mosel.

Christmas Markets: The city of Speyer, which is just a bit south of Frankfurt and famous for its Romanesque Cathedral, will continue its Christmas market this year through January 7 - they've renamed the post-Christmas portion a "New Years Market". Opens at 11 a.m., closed from 12/24-26.

Smilefrog -

Here are some thoughts -
Speyer is a pretty nice town with a fantastic cathederal - in the wrong direction but only about an hour south of Frankfurt.

Vianden is a 'find' in Luxembourg, right on the German border. Small town with a lot of hotels / restaurants / shops and a very nice restored castle up on the hill (it is the wallpaper on my PC)

Have you thought about Brugge in Belgium? It is less than an hour from Brussels and in my opionion a much better place to visit. (or visit them both).

If you are into beer, you have to try the kolsch bier in Cologne as well as any of the wilder stuff throughout Belgium

Russ -
Can you tell me a little more about the post-Christmas market in Speyer? We aren't able to make a trip until Jan. 1, and had all but given up on seeing any Christmas markets. From the town's website http://www.speyer.de/de/tourist/feste/weihnacht and through the miracle of Babelfish (as I don't know German), it appears that the market will be going strong every day from Jan. 1.
Can you verify this?
Also, it is a good market? We loved the one in Vienna a few years ago and are very excited to see this, but we weren't planning to visit Speyer before I saw your post. I know it has a great cathedral, but we were mainly planning on the Cologne - Luxembourg route with a stop in Trier.

I've never been to the Speyer market and haven't been in Speyer in about 35 years, so I'm a poor source of further info. I learned of the extended market as you did - from the same webpage. My still fairly trustworthy German tells me the market is closed on New Year's Eve and New Year's day, but open after that through the 7th from 11:00 to 21:00. I've got pretty much the same vacation window as you this year. I'll be in Mainz January 6th - 8th and plan to see the market on its final day. I don't anticipate that it will compare in scale with markets like Nuremberg or maybe Vienna, but I've rarely been to one I didn't enjoy on some level; my wife's never been to one, and my daughter, who has seen several, insists on loading up on beeswax candles, so it's pretty much set in stone - we'll be there.

Thanks so much, Russ!
Can you tell if there is any advantage to going on the 6th? I'm assuming that all of the cities and countries mentioned are like sister cities and they will have some sort of little booths? I thought it might be good to go on the weekend, too.
In Austria, the markets didn't really get going until nightfall, is that also the case in Germany?
Thanks again, you've been really helpful (and speedy!)!