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Original poster

Cologne or Vienna for Christmas market trip?

44 replies

lucadore · 29/05/2023 13:36

We like: good food, interesting things to see, cafes, and of course somewhere lovely and festive at the end of November. Vienna is 3x the price of Cologne for hotel and flights but heard some great things about it. We went to Berlin last year and enjoyed that. Which would people suggest?

OP posts:
101cockerspaniels · 29/05/2023 13:39

We got a great deal to Frankfurt, heading in Dec, markets look great!

Hbh17 · 29/05/2023 13:42

I love Vienna. Great museums AND cafes!

SuperLoudPoppingAction · 29/05/2023 13:44

I really love Cologne.
There are some wonderful restaurants and cafes and it is a nice managable size.
The art gallery is fab as well.
We just went last month and loved it.

Original poster
lucadore · 29/05/2023 14:00

101cockerspaniels · 29/05/2023 13:39

We got a great deal to Frankfurt, heading in Dec, markets look great!

Didn’t think of Frankfurt!

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101cockerspaniels · 29/05/2023 14:31

Lufthansa flights are really reasonable & we are staying in the Premier Inn which is super cheap & walking distance to the Frankfurt markets @lucadore

Original poster
lucadore · 29/05/2023 14:39

101cockerspaniels · 29/05/2023 14:31

Lufthansa flights are really reasonable & we are staying in the Premier Inn which is super cheap & walking distance to the Frankfurt markets @lucadore

That’s so good to know, thank you. Which airport are you flying from?

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BasiliskStare · 29/05/2023 14:44

Brussel- just a thought has a lovely Christmas Market ( well it did a while ago and you can go on the train )

ShanghaiDiva · 29/05/2023 14:47

Vienna as the museums are fabulous. Belvedere is my favourite.

AllIwantforChristmas22 · 29/05/2023 14:49

Vienna is amazing, beautiful markets and museums

101cockerspaniels · 29/05/2023 14:51

@lucadore Dublin, I searched on skyscanner for flights & Frankfurt with lufthansa was the cheapest option plus 8kg carry on case included 😁

ShanghaiDiva · 29/05/2023 14:52

i used to live in Germany and Austria and Nuremberg was good and you can easily get the train to regensburg if you fancy visiting another market.

christmaspudding43 · 29/05/2023 14:55

We did Vienna the Christmas before covid hit and it was lovely. I adore Christmas and Christmas markets but do increasingly find they're not enough to sustain a trip which is why we went for Vienna, loads of other stuff to do. The markers were actually really good as well. We went to Salzburg on the train for a day as well.

SuperLoudPoppingAction · 29/05/2023 15:05

I worked on Heidelberg Christmas Market one year - that was a lovely market in a really nice place.

efeslight · 29/05/2023 15:11

If you stay in Cologne, you can easily get the train to see the Bonn markets and even Aachen

Original poster
lucadore · 29/05/2023 15:27

efeslight · 29/05/2023 15:11

If you stay in Cologne, you can easily get the train to see the Bonn markets and even Aachen

Ooh didn’t think of this

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Original poster
lucadore · 29/05/2023 15:55

101cockerspaniels · 29/05/2023 14:51

@lucadore Dublin, I searched on skyscanner for flights & Frankfurt with lufthansa was the cheapest option plus 8kg carry on case included 😁

Thank you! Sounds great x

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Original poster
lucadore · 29/05/2023 16:21

SuperLoudPoppingAction · 29/05/2023 15:05

I worked on Heidelberg Christmas Market one year - that was a lovely market in a really nice place.

Thanks I’ll check this out!

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gogohmm · 29/05/2023 16:22

Just avoid Bruges, was very disappointing

LadyGaGasPokerFace · 29/05/2023 16:27

Out of those two I’d say Cologne. I’ve been to the Vienna one and it’s not much of a market. It was very expensive iirc.
I liked Frankfurt as suggested above. I liked Toulouse which had a lovely buzz about it. Like Nice which appealed to my young dds.

Original poster
lucadore · 29/05/2023 16:50

LadyGaGasPokerFace · 29/05/2023 16:27

Out of those two I’d say Cologne. I’ve been to the Vienna one and it’s not much of a market. It was very expensive iirc.
I liked Frankfurt as suggested above. I liked Toulouse which had a lovely buzz about it. Like Nice which appealed to my young dds.

Thank you! The price of Vienna is off putting I just didn’t know if we should go for it since it’s a change from Germany, though I bet Berlin and Cologne are very different

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OrigamiOwls · 29/05/2023 17:17

We loved Cologne, but we were disappointed by Vienna.

SuperLoudPoppingAction · 29/05/2023 18:44

I went to Cologne and Berlin last month - they were very different places.
Both lovely though- we had a ball.

InglouriousBasterd · 29/05/2023 18:45

Cologne Christmas markets were just beautiful when we went. Genuinely good quality stalls and food, beautifully decorated. This was 2018 so hopefully still as magical!

Original poster
lucadore · 29/05/2023 19:53

SuperLoudPoppingAction · 29/05/2023 18:44

I went to Cologne and Berlin last month - they were very different places.
Both lovely though- we had a ball.

Different how? X

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Original poster
lucadore · 29/05/2023 19:54

InglouriousBasterd · 29/05/2023 18:45

Cologne Christmas markets were just beautiful when we went. Genuinely good quality stalls and food, beautifully decorated. This was 2018 so hopefully still as magical!

That’s great to know, thank you! How was food?

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