Revised Christmas Market Itinerary
 

Hi all!

Thanks to some earlier suggestions I’ve been given I’ve refined my itinerary for France/Germany in late November / early December 2024 to see the Christmas markets.

Fly in to Paris: 3 days

Strasbourg: 4 days

• day trip to Colmar
• open to suggestions on other notable day trip to take

Stuttgart: 3 days

• day trip to Heidelberg
• day trip to Esslingen

^ I considered basing in Heidelberg but the transport to/from Stuttgart appears to be better. Stuttgart itself doesn’t interest me greatly though I have heard the Christmas market is fabulous so figured this would give me a full day in Stuttgart to just take things easy and linger around

Nuremberg: 4 days

• day trip to Regensburg
• day trip/overnighter to Rothenburg ob see Tauber

^ due to luggage and the fact that I will be solo and won’t have help I am thinking to do an overnight trip to Rothenburg (while keeping most of my belongings in the hotel in Nuremberg) so as to spend a full day and night there and return to Nuremberg the following morning

Fly out of Munich
Does this seem ok in terms of the logistics of getting to each place and the time allocation? (ie is it worth taking a day from Strasbourg to put somewhere else, for example).

Some notes to add:

• I’ve been to Paris and Munich before, I’ve allocated time in Paris because it’s one of my favourite cities
• I would love to see Salzburg as my time in Austria in 2018 was limited to Vienna but doubt it can be worked in without being too rushed (maybe as a day trip from Munich but it would be a very long day?)
• I am a fast paced and time efficient traveller (I’m that person on the 6am train doing my hair and makeup on the train, eating my breakfast etc) and will be going solo so I’m fine with the fact that it is rather jam packed, and I appreciate that this isn’t for everyone and that the two weeks could easily be spent in one city alone

I'm struggling here not to be judgemental, but you probably should know that for many people being near someone who does their hair and makeup in a public space is not very pleasant

^^^ This

Please don't be that person. Food is totally fine . . . doing your hair and anything more than maybe touching up lipstick/blush are really not public space sorts of activities. And especially not in the close confines of a train. And if you mean in the toilet - it is rude to tie one up while you pretty-up yourself. If you really can't make time for normal basic personal hygiene you are moving to fast.

well, I don't usually wear makeup on a daily basis and brush my hair before leaving my accommodations, so not sure why all that is time consuming, or what you are really doing with your hair that you have to do it on the train! that's the surprising part. No one cares if you wear makeup, either, although I know some women like to wear a lot of makeup so it takes a long time.

For the trip, it's your trip, you've given it enough though. I would have no interest in touring so many Christmas markets and can't imagine spending 4 days in Strasbourg I could if I were really going on at least a couple day trips somewhere else.

On the note of etiquette, I haven't gone into detail as to how I conduct myself when I do my makeup on the train (i.e. for starters that I've never and would not do this if I had someone sitting next to me or otherwise opposite or near me) though I will note that on the odd occasion I have done this, no one in my general proximity has ever seemed to notice let alone care.

In any case, I appreciate the feedback and will take it on board. I think we can leave the etiquette chat there. Thank you :)

I thought to have 4 days in Strasbourg so I have 1-2 days in Strasbourg itself and the rest of the time there using it as a base to explore surrounding areas in Alsace or possibly even going down to Basel for the day.

Do you think that Strasbourg itself can be seen in a day? If so, I can potentially cut it down to 3 days and use that extra day elsewhere.

Because they are too polite to make a deal out of it.

Trust us -- there will be people near you . . .

I have seen a whole deal of bad, uncomfortable, and unpleasant behaviour on trains and I wouldn't think this comes anywhere near the top of the list.

In any case, as I mentioned earlier, I appreciate the feedback and will be mindful of my train behaviour going forward and will not be discussing this matter further as I think it is resolved. Thank you.

From Strasbourg, you could also take a day trip to beautiful Obernai. It's only about 20 minutes on a suburban line.

Strasbourg centre is small and is made up of the medievel bits and the canal bits. I could do it in a day. Outside of the city centre there are some interesting WW1 or previous war structures, some publicised some just open which can be walked to or you could hire a bike to get out and about.

While there are some interesting places to the north such as Roman camps, and Lalique factory the main area of interest will be places like Nancy (easy train ride) or Metz both of which have interesting centres and may well have Christmas Markets (see local websites for details).

Going south you enter the whole Alsace wine region of which Colmar is the largest town but not really the best visit. Have a look at train stations and go visit a few. Generally they offer a warm welcome and some have fascinating architecture.

East you hit the Rhine
West you are climbing into the Vosges

Where ever you go you'll run into evidence of the battles between France and Germany for this space, included is the local language, the fact that Alsace still has its own laws and that the good people of Alsace have spread all over the world. Eg the Marx brothers were from Alsace despite their faux Italian accents. (well not in Harpo's case)

Going down to Basel is possible but also look at Belfort or even Besancon.

Eguishiem and Riquewihr came up in my searches, would you suggest going to see them instead?

Given I travel fast I may just shave a day off in Strasbourg and apply it elsewhere so I have the one day in Strasbourg itself + 2 day trips

Eguishiem and Riquewihr; neither is on the train system, but taxis are relatively cheap. Bus timetables are more focused on getting kids to school and are possible from near the Station in Colmar but ...nah take a taxi

Riquewihr is almost the perfect chocolate box town, I've only ever passed through it once or twice but if you like taking photos have a blast.

Eguisheim; I've been multiple times, the real centre is now equally a tourist trap sort of place but nice with it, the town is made of concentric layers of buildings but they are not due to defensive demands but instead a way to store stuff as, in the old days, the main north south Europe trade road went past the front door.

again, check local websites for Christmas festival activities

Do try the local food and wine. If you think Pizza is good, well welcome to Flammkuchen

If you do decide on the Basel visit, you may prefer Mulhouse which has better museums

Don't complicate your trip unnecessarily. You will already see tons of things.

It's funny, on French television yesterday, they were interviewing Alsatians about the local speciality flammekueche and they all kept saying "we just call it "tarte flambée" so don't try to be cute and use the old Alsatian terms even if you see them on the menu.