Best Christmas market trip with young dc

[eeksville]

Thinking of taking the kids (under 5) on a Christmas market city break.

I've visited Berlin, Bruges & Prague at Christmas before kids so ideally not these place. Any recommendations? I've heard good things about Colmar

bump

Avoid Birmingham

Edinburgh, loads to do but really busy.

In England, definitely York.

I second Edinburgh.

We went to Colmar when DC1 was a toddler and it was beautiful.

@karmakameleon was there plenty of stuff to do?

I think so, baring in mind that with a toddler you can’t do as much as you might do without kids. It was over five years ago so not sure how much it has changed.

Cologne.

Very, very beautiful city and several charming markets which were more crafty and less commercial than others I've visited since (that was a while ago, though).

Managed to do it as a day trip, although it was quite long and I think you'd need to stay over if sure you went with toddlers

If you like Bruges, it would very likely appeal to you.

I don't think Christmas markets are great for small children. It's too crowded which makes it stressful. Trying to be helpful

In my experience they are always very crowded, so I don't think they are suitable for young children. If you can go on a weekday it would be better.

I went to Birmingham last year and was disappointed to see what seemed like the same 6 stalls repeated over and over again. The crowds were horrific as well. I would not have wanted to drag small children round there.

Ghent. I’ve been taking my dc to the Christmas market there since they were tiny, because it’s en route to the Christmas family visit so we always have an overnight there. Cheaper and less crowded than Bruges, yet just as beautiful and plenty to see. Great food too - waffles and Ghent noses!

Edinburgh is beautiful with loads to do with kids.

We had a lovely time in Cologne with 2 little ones. Lots of markets, a little road train to take you between them, the Lindt chocolate museum and the zoo. Flight from the UK was short too.

Another vote for Edinburgh or Cologne.

Frankfurt is good too.

But as pp's have said, much better to go on a weekday, too busy at weekends, whether or not you have small children.

Hmm, I'm not sure this is a good idea!

Christmas markets are best enjoyed without under 5's.

Agree with others about the crowds and going weekday. Nice ex-dp and I went on a Wednesday. It was so empty, we got collared by a German radio station and had to try to explain our replies were limited beyond "Yes, please", "No, thank you." and "Mmm, mulled wine."

Thanks all.

I will be mindful of crowds but I've always assumed that they were suitable for kids. However I'm basing this on visiting Berlin, Prague & Bruges at xmas before where there were loads of stalls, rides etc geared towards young kids. Maybe that's more the case in Europe?

I definetly wouldn't say they were geared to children at all.
Sorry.

One place I was looking at was Colmar, they have a specific children's market which includes an ice rink, carousel, a giant Santa's mail box, etc. Surely that is geared towards kids?

I'd agree with Cologne. Last year they had around 6 markets so each one was not too large plus there were lots of other lovely things to see.

Have a look at Lincoln Christmas Market, it is beautiful and people travel from all over. But you would need to get accommodation booked ASAP.