Hi,
I will be in Erfurt Monday and Tuesday. The Christmas market opens on Tuesday and my plan was to spend Tuesday at the market and finishing my sightseeing and to leave Tuesday evening after the 8pm closing time. But now that I see it doesn't open until 5pm (17:00), I'm wondering if I should stay over until the following day so I can spend more time at the market.

Are there special events at the opening so that Wed night I won't really get to visit the stalls b/c I will be enjoying other festivities? Is it so crowded at opening that you can barely get in anyway? If there aren't special festivities and it's not too crowded, will 3 hours be enough time to experience it fully?

I realize of course that everyone takes a different amount of time at a market so nobody can really make that call for me but just trying to get some advice since I've never been to the Christmas markets before. I will be going to the ones in Munich and Nuremberg as well so I don't need to spend all of my time at the market but since Erfurt is supposed to be one of the best and since I happen to be able to go at the right time, I don't want to mess up and not get to fully experience it.

Thanks!

I will be curious to see if you get answers! I've been to Erfurt once and would like to go again. My visit was in the spring though, not for Christmas. I will be back in Kassel Germany in the next week and may or may not have time to visit the market in the downtown area.

Christmas markets are always fun to explore. We always enjoy the ones at the train stations in Zurich and Luzern.

A few more comments:

First, sorry for the typo in the heading!

My plan is as follows:
Saturday early morning arrival in Frankfurt - immediate train to Weimar
Sat-Sun-Mon morn: Weimar
Monday mid-day - train to Erfurt
Monday afternoon - Erfurt
Tuesday - Erfurt
Wednesday - original plan was to spend the day in Nuremberg since museums open late Wed and then head to Munich
Thursday - American Thanksgiving in Munich! We will be having duck breast
Friday - Munich Christmas market
Saturday - Munich plus another Thanksgiving dinner (this time with turkey)
Sunday - Nuremberg
Monday - Nuremberg
Monday evening - flight to USA

In general I prefer not to spend time on the train in the middle of the day when I could be doing stuff. So if spend Wednesday morning in Erfurt then don't go to Nuremberg that day but rather some place else (close)on the way to Munich in the afternoon. Alternatively spend all Wed in Erfurt but maybe have spent Mon or Tues in another town near Weimar/Erfurt that is interesting. Or stick with my original plan...suggestions welcome!

I can't answer your question re special events but otherwise, I think 3 hours should be sufficient. Especially since you will be in Munich and Nuremberg. I'm trying to remember what is special about it. (And can't. - but I've been to a lot of Christmas markets.) I do recall that they had a small medieval market away from the main market. Again, not really impressive. Have a great time. Maybe someone can answer your question. (And I will search to see what I can find out.) CJ

We were typing at the same time. I think I would stay with your original plan. CJ

Just returned and went to Erfurt, Munich and Nuremberg markets. I must say Erfurt was my favorite. It definitely had the best ambiance. It was more charming and had the most scenic location. The opening was nice with carols. It seemed a bit more family focused and there were some nice crafts that I did not see elsewhere.

Munich was my least favorite - the main market was in a very annoying location. Right over a main subway stop and in a square surrounded by several department stores so you had plenty of people who had to walk through even if they weren't intending to go to the market. As a result it was PACKED and I had to shove people out of my way. Also just seemed a lot more commercial (as Munich is in general).

Nuremberg was in between was in between the two. Smaller and more manageable with several performances each evening of carolers.

Susan
Thanks for your feedback. I always like hearing which markets people prefer.