German Christmas markets?

[anna7602]

Can anyone brief me on the whole travel-to-see-the-Christmas-markets thing? If I were going to go, where/what city would you recommend? Are there travel-worthy markets in other European cities? And finally, is a weekend enough to see them or would you recommend more time?

[frlcb]

I haven't been to any in Germany yet but highly recommend Vienna or Prague, Tallinn is supposed to have a nice (small) one, and we went to Brussels (eh) and Antwerp this past Christmas, and enjoyed just being in Belgium. We did a weekend in Vienna and Prague and that was totally enough. I would do Cologne if I was going to Germany.

[justthetip]

It's been several years, but my favorite was in Salzburg. A close second was in Rottenburg. It's much smaller, but is absolutely charming. I was traveling all over Europe over Christmas/New Years, and it seemed like every town had some sort of Christmas market. I also second the recommendation for Prague!

[allibally]

If you don't go to a Christmas Market before you leave you are missing out Anna!! I only went to the one in Dortmund which is North of Cologne. It was small but had everything I wanted to see and do. They are just cute and get you in the Spirit. Usually open the last weekend in November.

Oh and a weekend would be plenty of time. Especially if you are not in a city that has many attractions to begin with.

[travelingturtle]

I liked Erfurt's Christmas market. Nurnburg's is supposedly good because they make sure the vendors aren't selling crap - I've never been to that one, though. If you go to Cologne/Dortmund there are a ton of cities that have big Christmas markets in the area, plus it's a direct train from Paris to Cologne. I've been to quite a few in this area, but not Cologne's specifically. A lot of our friends say that Dortmund's is one of their favorite local Christmas markets.

If I were doing it over the course of a weekend, I'd want to do one in a big city one day and then do a day trip to a smaller, but picturesque town for another day. Some places have a weekend festival and those are really hit or miss, but some of the cute towns that have a Christmas market over the course of several weeks are really nice to visit.

Here's a link that lists the different festivals, when they run and what they're each about:
www.germany-christmas-market.org.uk/

[dulcemariamar]

My parents did a Christmas market tour last year and they loved the ones in Salzburg and Nuremberg. They also loved Vienna but they loved more the other two of the whole small town thing.

[alleinesein]

I'll be checking out the Christmas market in Nürnberg the first weekend of December. I cant wait!

[scout8]

I have been to the Christmas market in Budapest. I loved it, but I haven't been to any others, so I can't really compare it.

[anna7602]

Aug 10, 2012 21:04:20 GMT -5 @publius said:

Aug 9, 2012 17:48:10 GMT -5 frlcb said:

I haven't been to any in Germany yet but highly recommend Vienna or Prague, Tallinn is supposed to have a nice (small) one, and we went to Brussels (eh) and Antwerp this past Christmas, and enjoyed just being in Belgium. We did a weekend in Vienna and Prague and that was totally enough. I would do Cologne if I was going to Germany.

Vienna's is the most child-friendly I've seen. The first floor of city hall is open and massive. It's set up with several different stations for kids to do various crafts. It looked fun to me and if I was traveling with a kid to a market that's probably the one I'd choose for that reason alone.

Thanks for the heads up! This sounds lovely for both of us.

And thanks for all the other suggestions, ladies.

[pumpkin]

I loved Salisburg and Rothenburg.

Hope you enjoy where ever you end up

[oneslybookworm]

I've been to Koln and Antwerp, and both were great! However, everyone is making me want to go to Vienna now!