victoriainwanderland

It has been a dream of mine to visit some of Europe's Christmas markets - coming from Australia where our Christmas is stinking hot, I want to soak up all the joy of Europe's Christmas atmosphere, wander around amongst the prettily decorated square, sipping hot chocolate or gluwein and all that cheesy goodness.

Due to my circumstances I will be travelling solo and only able to visit for 2.5-3 weeks max. I also need to return home by 10 December (I doubt my husband [non-flier] will appreciate me missing our 10 year anniversary!) so would be looking for the markets that open by mid-late November.

Based on my time constraints and previous places I've ventured to, I am looking to focus on West/Central Europe where I can visit a few places that are relatively close by to one another (i.e. 4 hours' max by train).

Which markets would my fellow Fodorites recommend?

I originally had Strasbourg and Colmar on my list but have recently heard that Nuremberg is exceptional and amongst the best of the best. Obviously this is quite subjective but I suppose I am looking for what is the closest to my Australian Hallmark-style fantasy of winter Christmas markets!

lavandula

Hi victoriainwanderland, I would look mainly at Germany - Dresden is the home of the Christmas market phenomenon, but throughout Germany they are very good. Markets in other countries are just a shadow of what you can see in Germany. Yes, you will find mostly they open by the last week in November. The Nuremberg one is famous (it's called the Christkindlmarkt), but frankly every big city has several markets. I would pick a city you wanted to see anyway and make that your Christmas market experience.

Lavandula

Tulips

The Christmas market in Antwerp starts only on December 8. The one in Brugge opens November 24.
If you want the fantasy Christmas markets of your dreams, skip Belgium. I avoid the markets here, it's mainly cheap imported stuff, greasy food and lots of booze.

Melnq8

Don't overlook Salzburg. Easy to reach from Munich by train. Their markets run from Nov 23-Jan 1.

That's where we're spending Christmas this year.

https://www.salzburg.info/en

When I think of Christmas markets, I think Germany and Austria. If you base in Munich, you can easily get to many places via train - Bamberg, Regensburg, Nurnberg, Salzburg, as well as small alpine towns like Mittenwald and Garmisch. Munich alone has seven different Christmas Markets.

This site might help:

https://www.christmasmarketsgermany.com/

And then there's Rothenburg ob der Tauber, which isn't a day trip from Munich, but is a lot of fun around Christmas.

https://www.europeanbestdestinations...ts/rothenburg/

I lived in Australia for seven years and believe me, I get the need to escape the stinking hot Australian Christmas. We did just that, visiting Germany and Switzerland whenever possible.

marystream8960

The Strasbourg Christmas Market is a magical place to visit during the holiday season. The atmosphere is festive, the market is beautiful. There are so many stalls here selling everything

Ingo

Another vote for Dresden (oldest German Christmas market plus several more, themed from medieval over anno 1900 to elegant/festive with white tents), especially in combination with the Ore mountains (Erzgebirge) where the famous wooden Christmas items are manufactured (and you can visit some of those manufactures). Throw Görlitz with its Silesian Christkindl market into the mix and you're in Christmas wonderland.

Some websites:
https://dresden-weihnachten.info/?lang=en
https://striezelmarkt.dresden.de/en/ (information on the oldest Christmas market and events/markets in the surroundings)
https://www.erzgebirge-tourismus.de/en/christmas (Ore mountains Advent/Christmas season)
https://www.schlesischer-christkinde...tz.de/english/

yeadonite

I would look at some of the river cruise itineraries. I did a tour on my own last year but was overly ambitious! Strasbourg Christmas Market should not be missed!

mjs

The Vienna Christmas markets open from November 10-24
and run through December 23.

wanderfrau

Another vote for Dresden and Ingo's recommendations. I did a similar trip, based on Ingo's input and it is one of my fondest memories of Germany at Christmastime. There is no other region that "does" Christmas like they do

marystream8960

The atmosphere here is truly festive. And the Zwinger Palace is worth seeing.

annw

We leave next week for a Christmas Markets/City Lights trip. Since we've spent time in Nuremberg, Heidelberg, Rothenberg, Munich, we're going to Basel/Strasbourg mainly for the markets and also to the major cities (Paris/London/Milan) for the festive decor/lights.

victoriainwanderland

What did you think of Heidelberg and Rothenburg?

My current itinerary plan is Paris > Strasbourg (and surrounds) > Stuttgart (and surrounds) > Nuremburg > Munich.

I am torn whether to base in Stuttgart (from where Heidelberg and Esslingen are easy day trips) or to stay in Heidelberg though Stuttgart has clear transportation advantages to/from other cities.

Re Rothenburg, it was on my original list but most seem to say you only need a day there but it would be a very lengthy day trip or otherwise fairly out of the way to lug my suitcase to on the train.

Melnq8

Getting to Rothenburg takes a little effort, but it's not as onerous as some might have you think. I've done it many times by train, but never for a day trip - I'd rather spend 2-3 nights.

This trip report explains how to get there via train and how long it takes - just scroll down to post #24.

The Boomer and the Gen-Zer: A trip of firsts

annw

Rothenberg was lovely to see but not where I’d spend more that a day or so, but it wasn’t during holiday season. I very much enjoyed Heidelberg and preferred it.

We liked Strasbourg very much, especially all around the old town and its amazing architecture.

nancyonthego

If you’re looking for a festive experience, you should visit the Prague Christmas Markets. The main Christmas Markets are open for a long time, from November 30th to January 6th. The first one to open this year is at Peace Square (Náměstí Míru), which is a 15-minute walk from Wenceslas Square. It will be open from November 23rd to December 24th. There is also a smaller market at the top of Wenceslas Square, which will be open from November 25th to January 6th. Another market outside the city center is at Tyl Square (Tylovo náměstí), which is also a 15-minute walk from Wenceslas Square. It will be open from November 25th to December 24th. You can find more information about other Christmas Markets in the Czech Republic here https://www.visitczechia.com/en-us/n...istmas-markets

If you’re wondering whether to hire a guide or not, I recommend this resource https://gowithguide.com/blog/hiring-...pros-cons-5572 which helped me a lot when I visited Prague. It has the pros and cons of hiring a guide in the Czech Republic. I hope you have a great time at the Christmas Markets.

J62

In my experience the Christmas markets in the major cities all across Germany have become very similar and (to me) hard to distinguish one from another. Dresden, with the abundance of local Stollen bakers & options stands out (assuming you like Stollen, that is...)

If you want something unique, take Ingo's advice and visit the lesser traveled regions such as the Erzgebirge. I don't recall the town off the top of my head, but a decade ago I took a day trip out of Dresden and was amazed at how different the food was at the small town market. Products (such as wild boar), or hyper local cheeses or baked goods, and local wood craft that you won't find in a cookie cutter large city market. I don't recall if it was to the west (eg Freiberg), or east (Oybin / Zittau / Goerlitz) direction. I think it was Freiberg as I attended an organ concert on the same day trip...

victoriainwanderland

I'm a little worried about that but hoping that I won't feel it too much since it'll be such a novel experience for me coming from Australia.

In the interests of hopefully seeing Notre Dame, I reversed my itinerary and expanded so settled on (with DT being day trips):

Munich --> Sazlburg (DT) --> Dresden (or, if I am too early, Cologne is my alternate) --> Nuremberg --> Regensburg (DT) --> Rothenburg ob der Tauber (DT) --> Stuttgart --> Esslingen (DT) --> Heidelberg (DT) --> Strasbourg --> Colmar (DT) --> Eguishiem (DT) --> Paris

I am hoping that with some of the themed markets like Esslingen's medieval market that it doesn't get too monotonous, though with that said, I only plan to spend a few hours at the markets per day as I would like to dedicate the bulk of the day (well, sunlit hours anyway) to sightseeing.