Best Christmas market you’ve ever been to…

[lolosandals]

Want to plan the ultimate festive mini break and know it will soon come round! Where has felt extra magic and cosy at Christmas and how long did you stay?

Brussels is the best one I’ve been too- Wiesbaden was great too

Wrocław in Poland . Such a pretty city and inexpensive compared to Austria , Germany etc .

Prague, and it’s open until the new year, we went after Christmas for a few nights last year it’s lovely, such a beautiful city.

Dusseldorf is also lovely and v traditional and festive, but there’s not as much to do apart from the markets.

Berlin because there are four big markets right in the city centre, each offering something different.

I went to Vienna and Salzburg a few years ago and found Salzburg to be truly magical. I stayed 2 nights... would have happily stayed longer.

I’m in Brussels at the moment and I’m imagining w beautiful it will look at Christmas.
Last year we went to Bath in early December, the Christmas Market was lovely but so busy . Lots of stalls to look at but not things I’d buy In a couple of I might try Brusells

Placemarking.
I'd love to go to a European market but am worried I'll choose one full of tat!

In a couple of years that should say

I found that they all have the same overpriced stuff,and as a result would never travel solely for one. I'm convinced many of the stalls are covers for money laundering, they are absolute tat that no one goes near and those stalls cost a bomb. They still come back every year though!

Cologne

The medieval Christmas Market in Ludlow Castle.

That’s the spirit!

Considering Cologne! What was the best part?

I know which ones you mean, but Berlin has way, way more Christmas markets than that - probably northwards of 30. Some of them only open at the weekend or Advent Sundays though. The difference between Alexanderplatz /Breitscheidplatz (cheap tat) and Gendarmenmarkt/Mexikoplatz (artisanal high-end crafts) is incredible.

Hampton court palace was lovely. Geneva a let down. Zürich lovely. I want to go to the Salzburg one

Exeter is really lovely if you want something in this country. I thought the one in Prague was magical though and the city itself is stunning.

I used to live in Berlin and I don’t think the ones there are that great. I used to prefer Brandenburg over the Berlin ones. But even more so I preferred Bremen, Aachen, Dresden, Lübeck, Vienna.

My favourite was Seigberg Medieval Christmas Market. Its not huge (we did it in conjunction with Cologne) but it was just amazing and magical and the best. We also had snow which helped!

There is a medieval market in Dresden as well, close to the main market

Frankfurt had a lot of tat

Strasbourg (flew into Basel and did the markets there too).

It markets itself as the ‘capital of Christmas’ and goes all out. Loads of markets and a giant Xmas tree that does a musical light show every evening.

Not that expensive either

Budapest.

Nuremburg, though I'm remembering it from a million years ago when we lived in Germany and got the train down from Fally. They still do the prune men, and I still have ours. I really want to go back again one day.

The UK Christmas markets have always been such a bitter disappointment to me after growing up with the German ones.

Beautiful Bath. Why go overseas when you have such magic?

Cologne.