The best Christmas Markets in Europe...

[Hotchocolateandchristmas]

Hello all,

My son and I (14 years) are looking to go on. 3/4 night Europe break. Hoping to go end of Nov/start Dec to see some Xmas markets etc.

Can anyone make any recommendations please?
He wanted to go to Vienna but having looked, it's double the price of a lot of other places. Plus no direct flight from Bristol, so it's not really an option.
Has anyone got any other ideas please? I was thinking Berlin but his dad went last year and wasn't impressed!

Ideally somewhere fairly compact, so we can stay close to the city centre and see some nice sights/markets/buildings and not have to use transport.

Thank you in advance.

I went to Dusseldorf a few years ago which was lovely. Cologne is v near too, we went there as well, just a short train ride away. Both v atmospheric.

I've been to Krakow, which is a beautiful city. I haven't been to their Xmas market, but since it would be in their town square, I'd imagine it would be quite magical. V cold tho!

Krakow is beautiful when the Christmas market is on. I'd definitely recommend it

How about Cologne? Parents went a couple of years ago and loved it, not a massive city

Krakow or Salzburg for me.

Salzburg is magical at Christmas. You can fly to Munich and get the train which goes often and isn't pricey

Ooh following with interest! What a wonderful idea @Hotchocolateandchristmas !

We did Prague, which is a gorgeous city but the Christmas market itself was a bit disappointing (very expensive) and the smell of the food cooking (pigs heads) was absolutely grim for a vegetarian! I've got some gorgeous photos but it's a city that's been ruined by tourism and stag/hen parties sadly.

Krakow was fabulous

@Hotchocolateandchristmas We did Budapest for the Christmas markets last year and that was lovely. Loads to see and do, lovely food and the markets were really good.

Are you on instagram- @cheapholidayexpert went to all of them last year and rated them all! Check her out she also has a website.

Thank you for the suggestions so far, it's been very helpful. We went to Krakow last January, they still had the Christmas decorations up. It was stunning and we had a fantastic time.
Has anyone been to Berlin? What did you think?

Stuttgart is one of the best and oldest.

Ghent is fabulous at Christmas.

We went to Berlin last year and was quite disappointed, every other stall selling the same tat. It snowed which did make it Christmassy. We found a couple of non tourist markets the history of Berlin is interesting of course but I wouldn’t go back for Christmas.

We loved Würzburg - so very lovely and atmospheric. The snow certainly helped!

I’ve been to 7 & Cologne is, IMO, the best. There are 7 or 8 markets dotted around the city, each with a different theme. It is beyond stunning.

We went to Gdansk for the Christmas markets last year, really enjoyed it, quite a compact city and much cheaper than many of the alternatives.

Brussels was great.

We went to Budapest last Christmas it was lovely and there were lots of other things to do.

We went to Berlin a few years ago and loved it. The central market was perhaps are least favourite but there were lots easy to reach a little further out. One in a park was amazing had cedar planked salmon there which we all still talk about.

Ive also been to Hamberg not the most atmospheric city but with a 14 yr old they have I think the biggest travelling fair in Europe and the atmosphere on there was great.

Cologne was the biggest and best but if you’ve not been to one before I’d go to a smaller one first. We went first and the rest have always been great but smaller.

From your post of the others I’ve been to Brussels would be the best fit in my opinion. You can also get to other cities with markets on the train.

We all went as a family as adult children and it’s one of my mums biggest regrets that she never took us as kids. You will have an amazing time wherever you go!

Sorry also forgot as a curve ball we also went to the Winterling at Efteling. That was also very good with market food and bonfires around the park. The water rides shut in the winter and a large indoor ice rink built We stayed in the park and it was magical

I went years ago to Germany. I cannot remember all the markets we went to. Some were closed due to flooding, However, I did love the one at Cologne.

Munich was great for Christmas markets - there were at least 10 in the city, some with themes such as Fairytales, Medieval, Foodmarkets etc. There was a huge market with a craft marquee at the site of the Oktoberfest (Theresienwiese), and even a market at the airport! It was lovely.

There was also plenty to do away from the markets, and we combined our trip with a stop at Erding to visit the Therme Spa, which we really enjoyed.

This looks interesting. A Roman quarry, underground passages, caves and Christmas market thrown in. https://www.christmastownvalkenburg.com/

(I mistakenly googled Christmas village instead of Christmas market )