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Help with 3 week Christmas market trip - Germany, Austria, Prague, Belgium

Help with 3 week Christmas market trip - Germany, Austria, Prague, Belgium

Old Dec 17th, 2022, 09:25 AM
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Help with 3 week Christmas market trip - Germany, Austria, Prague, Belgium

Hello,

We are experinced travellers and have done a few multi city trips but never more than 4 cities per trip (not including day trips). We are in our late 30s early 40s and in decent shape. We will use backpacks only.

We are planning a 3 week trip next year (last week of Nov and first 2 weeks of Dec) and I would love your help and input.

The goal is to visit some of the best Christmas markets in Europe. We love old towns, good food, Christmas feel and walking around. The plan is 8 cities and would like suggestions and feedback on whether too ambitious.

The only things set in stone are we will land in Brussels and will stay 4 nights there before going to Prague (Aeroplan points!).

Brugge - 2 nights (always wanted to visit)
Brussels - 2 nights
Prague - 3 nights (been there once - loved it)
Vienna - 3 nights (been there once - loved it)
Salzburg - 2 nights (been there once - liked it and wife loved it)
Munich - 4 nights
Nuremberg- 2 nights
Strasbourg - 2 nights (day trip to Colmar a must for the wife)

Is this too much? Are 2 nights too few for all the travel involved? We chose the rest of the new places because they are deemed best Markets according to Google.

Thank you!

Last edited by Travel_To_Eat; Dec 17th, 2022 at 09:31 AM.
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Old Dec 17th, 2022, 09:37 AM
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Originally Posted by Travel_To_Eat

Is this too much? Are 2 nights too few for all the travel involved? We chose the rest of the new places because they are deemed best Markets according to Google.

Thank you!

I'd rethink the plan -- and eliminate/change every two night stop (except maybe Brugge since you can see a lot of it in the 1.5 days you'd have there) . In General, two nights nets you one day for seeing/doing. Plus this is in winter when the days are short, travel can be disrupted by weather and/or industrial action. I personally wouldn't stay less than 3 nights anywhere - again except maybe Brugge.
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Old Dec 17th, 2022, 10:04 AM
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Thank you for your feedback. I thought that maybe 2 nights would be enough because the towns are small. Which one would you eliminate?

Is Brussels worth more than a day? Always read how people just pass through it.
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Old Dec 17th, 2022, 10:48 AM
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Salzburg deserves at least another night. When hubby and I visited Salzburg during the Christmas Markets we took the local bus to Wolfgangsee and visited the Christmas Markets in Strobl, St. Wolfgang and St. Gilgen. The markets are small, but the settings are beautiful along the lake. We travelled between the towns on a river boat cruise/shuttle.

Personally, I think you are too ambitious. Part of the magic is to visit the markets at different times of the day. Savor the nuance of each town/market. Janisj is correct that 2 nights equal one day of activities.
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Old Dec 17th, 2022, 11:46 AM
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Originally Posted by Travel_To_Eat
Thank you for your feedback. I thought that maybe 2 nights would be enough because the towns are small. Which one would you eliminate?

Is Brussels worth more than a day? Always read how people just pass through it.
Brussels is polarising. There are some who don't care for the city, and others who enjoy it, like me. I am heading there again this January with my daughter. I think you could find enough for a long weekend, same with Brugge. Brugge in particular is very photogenic, and if absolutely pushed I would give a little less time to Brussels and more to Brugge, simply because most tourists go for the immediate eye appeal. Brussels to be honest takes longer to give up its charms, you need to seek them out.

This is what you will see in Brussels:

https://www.everythingbrussels.be/en...ce-of-brussels

Remember that this time of year in northern Europe means rain ... bring an umbrella!!

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Old Dec 28th, 2022, 07:19 AM
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Took some of the advice and decided to eliminate Nuremberg. I will add 1 day to Munich to make it 5 nights and will just take a day trip to Nuremberg as the goal this trip is just the Christmas markets.

I also added another day to Strasbourg to make it 3 nights. I may add a day to Paris as I will be flying out of Brussels and Strasbourg my last stop before then. Been to Paris many times so wont really be seeing anything except maybe the Christmas market.

Another option I am considering is adding a day to Salzburg and just take train from Strasbour to Brussels without stopping in Paris. This would mean I would have to fly back on Sunday instead of Saturday.
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Old Dec 28th, 2022, 02:27 PM
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You didn't mention Paris in your original plan, I assume this was a spot just to change trains between Strasbourg and Brussels ...? If you can, add a day here or there, if it doesn't make a difference to the airfare (some travel search engines and airline websites allow you to search flight dates either side to be able to pick the best price, but of course you are a year out so you won't be able to get that information yet). That way you can flesh out the 2-dayers. Your plan is looking good, but I would probably write it out so you make plain the travel days and so you can see how much time you really have. Moving will really eat into your time.

How are you getting from Brussels to Prague? It's a long hop.

Munich is worth the extra time, not just because of the markets, but also because of attractions like the Deutsches Museum.

You can base in Brussels for your trip to Brugge if you want - Belgium is so tiny that it's a short train trip, although you would miss out on early mornings / late nights in Brugge. Balance that with not having to unpack/repack, your call.

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Old Dec 29th, 2022, 05:59 AM
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Thank you for the input. My trip dates are Nov 25 to Dec 17th. The flights into and out of Europe are already booked both through Brussels. I chose Brussels due to Aeroplan reasons lol.

I changed the plan slightly to account for returning from Brussels as that was not part of original plan and also the reason I am considering adding 1 night in Paris. As you mentioned Brussels to Prague is longest leg and so I am flying for that.

I will use the train for everything else and the longest is Prague to Vienna at 4.5 hours which I have done before. I considered a flight for 1 hour but am sure with check-in process and airports tending to be out of city compared to train stations I would be saving an hour at most. Plus I love train travel.

So the new plan is:

1) Land in Brussels and go directly to Brugge for 2 nights. As you said I could make it a day trip but want to be there at night as well.
2) Fly to Prague - 3 nights
3) Train to Vienna - 3 nights
4) Train to Salzburg 3 nights
5) Train to Munich 5 nights (day trip to Nuremberg)
6) Train to Strasbourg - 3 nights (day trip to Colmar)
7) Train to Brussels - 2 nights and fly back home.

I have 1 night that I can add somewhere. My options so far are either add it to Vienna or stop by Paris on the way from Strasbourg to Brussels.
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Old Dec 29th, 2022, 03:02 PM
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Really, you could add the extra night just about anywhere, but you are generous with your timings just about everywhere too. Vienna is a big one, you could definitely spend the extra time there well (remembering 4 nights = 3 days). If you get tired of Vienna you could take a day trip down the Wachau Valley to Melk. Prague is another one where you might soak up that extra night, very amazing city. But you say you have done Prague to Vienna before - are you sure you want to give extra time to Vienna (or Prague) in that case? I know I could use up that extra time in Vienna easily but I don't know how well you've seen it. Or give an extra night to Brussels and see Ghent on a day trip from Brussels as you don't allow for that, and if you are intrigued by Brugge you will love Ghent.

I don't think I would give that night to Paris, it deserves more time on its own and as you say you have been there before. There is a direct train (TGV) from Strasbourg to Bruxelles-Midi so you don't have to do that dance between stations and metro to get to the right train, and I would not be tempted to do that even on the promise of a night in Paris, it just sounds like a schlep to me, very little reward for all that manoeuvreing.

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Old Jan 2nd, 2023, 02:04 PM
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Oh don't take a night away from magical Bruges, we stayed there 5 nights in September and loved every day. From Brussels airport take train directly to Bruges, very convenient. We took day trips to DeHaan on the sea, and to Ghent, both were ok. It is great for walking, esp away from the marketplace out to the windmills. If you need great accommodations, check out Guesthouse No.11, on a tiny walkway off a canal right near the center of town (Town Hall and Marketplace) where only 4 rooms are rented, full breakfast included, lovely decor and ambience. Restaurant to die for around corner: Refter, five minute walk from our guesthouse. We then spent two nights in Brussels near the central train station, and didnt like this area at all. The area behind the Bourse is nice as is the upper town, but it is rather confusing to navigate from Bourse area to upper town for two days, at least we thought so.

We plan to revisit Salzburg this December after visiting it and Vienna 35 years ago, then to ski, now to river cruise. They are both lovely, charming cities.
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Old Jan 2nd, 2023, 03:03 PM
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What a delightful trip!
If it were me, I would take a day from Munich, use that extra day and spend 2 nights in Paris!
Paris at Christmas time is magical!
Your routing from Strasburg to Brussels would most likely take you through there, anyway.
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Old Jan 3rd, 2023, 09:22 AM
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It depends what your goal is. Paris a huge city and Christmas markets are not a French thing, anyway. They started doing them just to copy Germans and make money, of course. But they are not native to French culture except in the Alsace area. HIstorically, real Christmas markets date back to the Middle Ages in German-speaking areas including Alsace. I think they are only native to Germany, Switzerland and Austria and Alsace area. They didn't even have them in Paris until the 1990s as I recall.
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Old Jan 4th, 2023, 01:29 PM
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Thank you all for your help! I will definitely use the Brugge restaurant recommendation as I love food!

I decided to add the extra day to Vienna because we loved it on our initial visit and I will likely not see it again for a very long time. I have visited Paris several times and will continue to do so.
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