Hi, I was wondering, the Christmas markets in europe, i.e. Germany, Austria do they start at a certain time(like beg. of December)? Are they every day or just on the weekends? My husband has mentioned he'd like to make a trip and see the Christmas markets possibly in southern Germany and/or Salzburg. Any recommendations for markets or places to stay?
Thanks!

I'm planning to visit Austria just before xmas.

A popular xmas market is the one in Vienna.

Check out the following site. The market starts on Nov 12.
http://www.christkindlmarkt.at/2002/markt_en.html

Good luck! We are planning to take Vienna/Prague/ Salzburg in 1 visit i.e. 9 days long.

We did a Christmas trip to the area last year and really enjoyed it. I'm told the biggest ones are in Nuremberg and Zurich, however, we ejoyed the ones on Reims FR,Heidelberg, Rothenburg, Speyer, Munich (they have several) and in Salzburg. The one we actually liked the best was the one in Reims France.

Once you have been to one or two you will find they are pretty much the same. Salzburg was a wonderful place to spend Christmas. They start with the church bells at about 5am December 24th and they ring about once an hour until the final midnight mass is over on Christmas eve. We stayed in a hotel near the cathedral and our hotel room was virtually vibrating with the tolling of the bells.

I believe the Muchch Christmas markets kick off about when we celebrate Thanksgiving. Don't miss the "creche market" about a block from Marienplatz that has everything you could possibly imagine for your manger scene.

If you get serious about all this and decide which towns you are going to we could help you with some hotel recommendations.

I loved the Christkindlsmarkt in Nuremberg. I visited it more years ago than I care to remember, and maybe it's changed, but it was lovely then.

Lauricelli -

The timing of Christmas markets varies significantly from place to place. The markets in large cities tend to operate every day from late November to Christmas Eve - some open in the morning, others at noon, yet others late in the day - it all depends on the city.

The markets in smaller towns are often held only on weekends, or sometimes only on a specific weekend.

Once you determine where you plan to visit, you can check out the opening times of the Christmas markets in those locations online.

Salzburg has a large market, as do Munich and Augsburg (Germany).

Rothenburg and other towns along the Romantic Road in Germany have some great markets as well.

Garmisch has a nice market, as does Berchtesgaden and Mittenwald, but they're quite a bit smaller than in the cities and are usually only open on a specific weekend.

The Christmas market in Mainz last year was a huge disappointment to me. It was mainly food and amusement rides with a "few" actual Christmas stalls. (Ironically, most of the hand carved ornaments of wood,etc. were the same ones I could get at Crate and Barrel in Chicago and at a way cheaper price.)There were very few nutcrackers which I collect and only two booths with some of the cute smokers(again-the same ones were cheaper at Tuesday Morning store for $20 cheaper!).You can actually do better getting things at some of the grocery stores for Christmas gifts. One of my gifts a few years back that I gave to friends was a metal music box in the shape of a church with chocolates in it-everyone loved it and the candy. I must admit that I was kinda bummed when I saw what was at Mainz's market but people told me that others like Heidelberg,etc. were much better. Have fun!

I cant't really answer your question but I was in Berlin last December for the markets and tell you about them

They start on the first Sunday of Advent

They are wonderful

Lots of arts and crafts

Twinkling lights eveywhere

Stroll around in the cold drinking hot mulled wine
and watch the street artists

I wish I was going back

Try the following website, which provides a listing with dates on Christmas markets in dozens of German cities: http://www.weihnachtsmarkt.weihnachten-info.de/

It gets updated frequently and some cities still have 2002 dates, but it is a good start (I think..). From checking some cities, it appears that mid-Nov is a good bet for starting timeframe. Have a great time!

I found the German Tourist Office's UK site helpful in planning our late November trip:

http://www.germany-christmas-market.org.uk/index1.htm

(We plan to visit Trier, Bamberg, Rothenburg and Nuremberg. If any of these are on--or will be on--your horizon, I'd be glad to post an update when we return.)

Thanks for all your replys. My husband is set on Salzburg. We're only going to take just over a week so I think it's best to just stay in two places. Still not sure if we're going but I'm checking all the possiblities.

I am a big wimp in cold weather but I would love to have a snowy Christmas atmosphere since I've only been in snow a few times. Hopefully we will have snow. Planning on leaving around the 6-7th of Dec. We will probably fly into Munich and either rent a car or take the train to Salzburg. My husband has said we can drive, but if we stay in Salzburg I don't think we'll really need a car.

So, questions are: Should we spend a couple of nights in Munich? What hotel? Train or car? Hotel in Salzburg? I've been looking at the Goldener Hirsh. It looks very nice. We like to stay in places that reflect the character of the area. Price range from 150 to 350 euros. Thanks a lot.

We enjoy staying in the altstadt in Salzburg. We like the Goldenen Ente (Golden Duck) which is in a 700 year old building and the Weisses Kreuz (White Cross), just behind the cathedral. In Munich the Uhland is a nice hotel that is pretty close to the fussganger zone. The Drei Lowen is a little closer and the Platzel is spendy but smack in the middle of town. I guess it all depends on your budget.

Also to consider in Salzburg, there is a tour where they drive you out into the mountains and take you on a horse-drawn sleigh ride followed by hot gluhwein at the gasthaus.

Laurielli,
We are planning a trip to Munich and Salzburg around the same time. From reading other posts I decided we probably didn't want to deal with trying to drive or park in Munich or Salzburg. Therefore, we are going to take the train from Munich to Salzburg. They seem to run throughout the day and from what I've read it is seems it is easy to buy tickets once you get there. We are also staying at the Goldener Hirsh. I've never been there, but thought it looked charming.

If I was planning a trip to Salzburg and Munich I think I would train between the two. There is something called a Bavaria Pass that lets the whole family travel inexpensively. I believe it covers Salzburg even though it is not in Bavaria.

You might wast to type in "Bavaria Pass" in the box above and you will most likely find a number of mentions of it. Having a pass like that might also allow you to daytrip out of Munich.

The only things you would miss between the two towns are a possible side-trip to Bertschesgaden and stopping at Ludwig's copy of Versaille, Herren Chiemsee.

12 years ago we lived in Germany for a year and we have returned frequently to visit the Xmas markets, as recently as last year. Our favorite is Nuremberg which is the largest in Germany. All of the markets are magical, theirs is especially so! Munich is also a family favorite and Salzburg is marvelous. We were there last year and it had really expanded from 4 years ago! We always stay at the Goldener Hirsch - it's as fabulous as it looks - located very near the market. We haven't found the right place to stay in Munich - we always make our plans too late to stay where we'd like.
All of the markets are different and they really are about eating and drinking and listening to caroling and talking with people, rather than buying treasures. Or perhaps we've been so many times that we've bought it all. My adult children bought lots in Munich last year and I bought an ornament or two. But it's about the atmosphere, not the shopping!
Last year there wasn't any snow anywhere but other years it has snowed. You never know!