Christmas Markets in Germany and Alsace
 

I may have an opportunity to attend a conference near Frankfurt in early December. I was thinking of making the most of it by taking an extra week and see Germany and the Alsace region decorated for Christmas. I am not as interested in actual shopping as I am in just taking in the whole Christmasy atmosphere, lights, decorations, food, gluhwein!, etc. What are the best places to go to get in the Christmas spirit? Will most likely have a car, and love smaller towns. I've done some searches for the bigger Christmas markets.

Frankfurt has a market up in the old town with a very nice carousel but it is still in the middle of a big city. I have enjoyed Nurenberg, Rothenberg and Colmar all around that region. Colmar is so beautiful anyway that when decorated for Christmas it is extra special. I haven't been particularly to any of the smaller towns around there at Christmas but I live in Switzerland and can tell you that everything will be beautifully decorated everywhere!

We visited the markets in Mainz and Rudesheim last year, both just a few miles from Frankfurt. Both were very festive and well-attended. Rudesheim is especially picturesque, making the market all the more atmospheric; Mainz's is much larger, taking up the bulk of the Marktplatz around the Dom, but very nicely done with a nice variety of things to look at and an abundance of Pfannkuchen, Wurst, and Gluehwein stands.

Last year we went to Bamberg and enjoyed thier festivites. They have a crippern (crib/nativity) walk through the churches but don't recall exaclty when it starts - maybe in Dec as we arrived there on Thanksgiving.

Other's we've enjoyed: Nurenberg, Munich (although huge); Freiburg in the Black Forest area; Naumberg (eastern Germany); Annaberg-Buckholdz (sp) in eastern Germany and Dresden. We've also stopped at small towns and lucked into theirs. Many are one day or weekend.

Just chime in for the correct spelling:

Naumburg, Annaberg-Buchholz

All the Christmas Markets in the Ore Mountains (Erzgebirge) south of Chemnitz/Dresden are beautiful.

I particularly enjoyed Freiberg and Schneeberg (traditional parades on weekends). Seiffen is a must, although a bit crowded on the weekends.

I am intrigued with the Erzgebirge area at Christmastime. Most of the websites with information on this area are in German only, so I'm only catching part of the info. What else can you tell me about this area, is the market in Seiffen open during the week too? Would it be too risky to go to this area without reservations?

The entire town Seiffen is a Christmas Market :-) Yes, it is open during the week as well.

You are right that information in English is rare. Here are links to two of my Virtualtourist.com pages which may help a little:

http://www.virtualtourist.com/m/4166c/fdf5/
http://www.virtualtourist.com/m/4166c/ab23/

You should book in advance if you want to get a decent hotel. Otherwise you would probably get accommodation, but maybe far outside a town in a bad location or with basic comfort only. In case you decide for the Erzgebirge you might want to post again and I would come up with suggestions.

Ingo

ROTHENBURG is an easy drive from Frankfurt and the town is hard to beat at Christmas. Especially if you are looking for the small town atmosphere.

RUDESHEIM will also probably be fun as it is a fun town all the time!

Message: we went to Christmas markets last year in Germany and Austria. I enjoyed Heidelberg more than most. There was more variety of foods and wine than others. Great for us since we were not there for shopping. Heidelberg was less crowded on the day we attended than some of other markets. Augsberg was also nice and was not crowded at this time of year. Bamberg was also great. Rothenberg was very crowded but we went on weekend.
I found this site very helpful last year for Germany.
http://www.tompgalvin.com/features/xmas_market.htm
Hope this helps.

!, I would not wspend time in visiting Frankfurt,your time is better spent else where. I agree with Ingo that the erzgebirg is a special place during advenet. (which is the theme in Germany more than Christmas) But it is a bit of a drive to get to. You also won't encounter as many markets going that way, since you won't have the major cities in the region as southern Germany. Many of the small towns that you desire to experience will only have markets on weekends. It my be very tight depending on what part of a week you have. Also, many of the large cities, Munich have multiple markets in different section of the city with different items/ flavors to the market. Munich has a very good market, I have heard very good things about the market in Augsburg and Stuttgart. You could head south toward Strasbourg, then go east toward Munich and up to Nurnburg before back to Frankfurt for home.

I would prefer the smaller town markets and the Erzgebirge region. Any information about this area would be appreciated. Thanks

Any other comments on the Erzgebirge area? Ingo, help!

Anybody know anything about the Xmas markets in Dusseldorf?

I haven't been there but I understand Strasbourg has a huge Christmas market.

Hiya,

what info exactly are you looking for?

Here are some more websites for you, some of the in English:

In Schneeberg:
http://www.hotel-buettner.de/
http://www.romantikhotels.com/Hartenstein/ (some km distance to the mountains, but at least English information)

Schwarzenberg: Christmas market 3 - 12 Dec,
11 Dec big Christmas parade (could be crowded, but it is worth to see)
although German only, see pictures and rates of this (very good) hotel:
http://parkhotel-schwarzenberg.de/

An excellent website (English) is:
http://www.deutscher-weihnachtszaube..._markets_1.htm
you also find Schneeberg (Erzgebirge) and Dresden there.

For Annaberg-Buchholz see also
http://www.annaberg-buchholz.de/start.htm
and click on English for a short tour of the city.
For accommodation in Annaberg:
http://www.hotel-wildermann.de/engli...mainframe.html

The Christmas Market in Seiffen is open Fri-Sun; but the whole town is a sort of Christmas Market. It is famous for its wood-carved Christmassy things like nutcrackers, pyramids, candle-arches etc. You can buy such things in all the other towns in the Erzgebirge as well.

My favourite town in the region is Freiberg. But I was not able to find information in English, sorry. The Christmas Market there opens 1st Advent weekend and closes 24 Dec. Organ concerts in the cathedral all year through are a must. Plenty of hotels and b&b's in the city centre.

The Christmas market in Stuttgart is outstanding. Very colorful and atmospheric--really puts one in a festive mood. Can be cold at night, so bundle up!

Cheers,

Jinx Hoover

Thanks for your help. I've decided on the Erzgebirge area, and am now trying to check out the websites for the towns in the area. Any other suggestions for favorite places to stay? I've e-mailed places in Seiffen, no availability during the market days. Is Schwarzenberg worth seeing?

Schwarzenberg is an excellent choice. Nice, charming old town, Baroque church, castle with museum and Christmas-related exhibits. The Christmas Market is very nice, familiar atmosphere almost.

For pictures of Schwarzenberg see this page:
http://schwarzenberg.de/kommune/impressionen
Click on "Altstadt" (Old Town) or "Museum" or "Schloss" (castle) or "Sehenswürdigkeiten" (sights) or "Weihnachten" (Christmas)

This hotel is located somewhat outside Schwarzenberg, very quiet:
http://www.hotel-am-hohen-hahn.de/
(German only, click on "Zimmer" for rates)

Or try this one, in Schwarzenberg:
http://www.neustaedterhof.de/english.html
eMail: [email protected]

Ingo

the german national tourist office in nyc offers a wonderful christmas market guide....we found it very helpful in selecting which towns to visit...

ingo also assisted in our tour of the dresden market....lucky us!!!

many markets have similar commercial products for sale, but some have unique offerings....we visited 24 markets in 10 days or so...rothenburg, salzburg, dresden and rudestein were amoung our favorites and of course seiffen....

Strasbourg has a huge Christmas market and don't forget Riqwier (sp). We also spent time in Baden-Baden. For the life of me I can't remember any Christmas stuff there. I think because we were in spa mode. We really had fun.

For all of you who can't read the web sites that are in a foreign language try translating the site into your language of choice as follows:
Go to http://babelfish.altavista.com Copy and paste the URL (the site address) into the "translate a web page" box. Select the translation from and to language from the drop down box. You can also use this web site to translate text.
Sometimes the translations are a bit stilted and unwieldy but you can at least understand the general meaning of the site. Hope this helps. Jackie

Try searching through Google. There is a button that translates the pages. The translation is very literal so it comes out a little funny but you will be able to ready it. I recently read comments on Rick Steves Grafitti Wall where people were feeding back on what Rick should feature in a TV show about Christmas in Europe. Almost every comment said Nurenberg, Rothenburg, Munich and Salzburg.

For any of you interested in Christmas in the Alsace area, there is a good article in December 2005 International Travel News. There is information on Strasbourg, Baldenheim, Selestat, Riquewehr,and Colmar. This area is truly magical at Christmastime.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...040210138.html

Good article from Wash Post, 2004, about markets in Alsace.

I just returned from Germany on Sunday night - didnt get a chance to visit Frankfurt. But I saw a few Christmas market in Berlin (there was one right across from the Museum Island, another one by the Zool Garten Station, by the Kaiser-Wilhelm church), one in Munich (in downtown Marienplatz), and the loveliest one I thought was in Dresden (it looked like the largest one from the other ones I have seen). I loved talking a walk through the Christmas market after dinner with a cup of glusswein while doing some people watching. Have a wonderful time.

h2babe, I am glad you liked the Dresden Christmas Market. Right today I had some Stollen and Glühwein there :-) yummy ...

Ingo

Yeah, the Ore Mountains are the traditional area for Christmas ornaments, and they do make very nice things there. Seiffen itself has a nice museum that deals with Christmans ornaments.

If you do end up in the southwest, I recommend the little town of Gengenbach, in the Black Forest, close to Offenburg. They turn the facade of city hall into one huge advent calendar, and each day they open a window - really nice!

Of course Alsace is nice too. But as far as Christmas goes, the French copied it all from the Germans! ;-)

Found this link helpful for Christmas markets--links to many of their websites.

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

Baden-Baden does have a Christmas market, it's set up around the arcade shops in front of the casino. Very pretty. It's not the best Christmas market, but it does have a few nice things (our favorite purchase there was of several molded beeswax candles in the shapes of pine cones, trees, wreathes, etc.). Not too crowded, definitely not the mob scene you get at some of the bigger markets.
The whole town is quite attractive around the holidays, beautifully decorated, perfect for strolling, and lots of good shopping up and down the pedestrian streets. The delicious pastries at the many cafes and the luxurious spas just add to the ambience. An easy train ride or drive from Frankfurt.

Strasbourg has a great Christmas market as does Colmar.

Which markets can easily be reached by train or bus from Munich in a day trip?

I would prefer travelling less than 2 hours in each direction.

Thanks!

Hi Ingo - I'm sorry that I missed the opportunity to meet you in Dresden. This was a last minute decision from my part when I was in Berlin. My friends and I were debating a trip to Hamburg or Dresden, and at the last minute, I decided on Dresden, which I didn't regret! Your city is absolutely charming!

for future reference

I was just in Baden-Baden two weeks ago and took in their Christmas Market. As mentioned in an earlier post, it is very small compared to other cities, but Baden-Baden itself is a beautiful, very upscale city at the base of the mountains. There is a beautiful park off the town center that even looked terrific in the rain!

We just returned from a Rhine River cruise that took in the various markets in Germany and France. We had a terrific time.

- dwz

I recently returned from a Danube cruise visiting Christmas markets in Vienna, Passau (my favorite), Regensburg, and Nürnberg. The latter is quite large, although not as large as Vienna's market, with a nice variety of products and foods. The nearby shopping precincts are excellent as well.

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