Christmas market trip, Stuttgart and Frankfurt
 

Daughter (DD) and I looking for advice on how to split 5 days. This will be our 7th Thanksgiving trip visiting London and a Christmas market area. We fly into Stuttgart late Tuesday, 11/29 and out of Frankfurt Sunday, 12/4. Will use trains in between. We were going to include Nuremberg but decided to leave that to another trip.

Current plan

Stuttgart, 3 nights, visit Esslingen and Ludwigsburg.

Heidelberg, train stopover or spend 1 night?

Frankfurt, 1 or 2 nights, visit Mainz and Wiesbaden.

This trip is about Christmas markets, cute towns, food, and some shopping in boutiques and other shops.

DD is concerned train stopover (using storage lockers) in Heidelburg will be hassle and take too much time into and out of town.

How much time in Frankfurt and nearby towns?

Stay in Frankfurt or Mainz or Wiesbaden? Flight home on Sunday leaves late afternoon.

Current reservations are hotels near Stuttgart and Frankfurt train stations.

Thanks for any advice.

Hi, susan4, it sounds like you have the makings of a nice trip. I would probably rethink accommodation near the stations in Stuttgart and Frankfurt, neither are great areas, although obviously you are looking at ease of connection. I am not sure about where to stay in Stuttgart - I have been there, but my accommodation was near Marbach, in the Bottwar Valley, which is nearby, and we drove in. The station, which we had to go to, is definitely not nice. Likewise for Frankfurt station, which used to be unsafe, but nowadays is just less nice. Instead of Frankfurt, Mainz is a very good launching pad for Wiesbaden and the middle Rhine gorge, and is also a very nice city with lots of sights, including a 1000 year old cathedral and some good museums to do with printing history and ancient shipbuilding (Roman history). You can and should still go to the Christmas market in Frankfurt, though - it's in the old square the Römer. There are also good museums - a museum riverbank, in fact, and excellent shopping in the Zeil, which is the main shopping street. As well as Wiesbaden you might go to the Christmas market in Rüdesheim, which is right on the Rhine. Very, very touristy but a picturesque atmosphere. Both Mainz and Wiesbaden will have multiple markets. Mainz is also close enough to the airport that you can happily stay there. The area around the station in Mainz is just fine, but the Hilton is a nice hotel directly on the river if you want wow.

Should you stay in Heidelberg? I am not a fan of one-nighters but most Christmas markets are better at night. I would forego time in Stuttgart for time in Heidelberg, every time.

Lavandula

We did a similar Christmas Market trip a few years ago. Flew into Frankfurt and then went to Heidelberg (4 nights) via Rail. Then to Esslingen (very highly recommended) for 4 nights with a day trip to the Stuttgart Markets. We tend to like smaller towns for the Christmas Markets and really enjoyed Esslingen over Stuttgart. Stuttgart has a great Christmas Market, but easily to reach from Essligen, and it was better to base out of Esslingen than Stuttgart with easily manageable crowds. We completed our trip with 2 nights in Mainz. Loved it. Great markets, but again not overwhelming. Easy direct train from Mainz to Frankfurt International in less than 1 hour.