European Christmas Market break for next December...

[MintyCedric]

Went to Vienna last year and absolutely loved it so looking to do something similar next year. Didn't think I'd want to do that kind of thing more than once but have been twitching since the beginning of October!

I'm thinking Innsbruck, Munich or Prague...Innsbruck wins on the chocolate box scale but would quite like to go somewhere other than Austria.

Any experiences of the above places or other recommendations would be great.

Prague over Christmas was fantastic. Very atmospheric and pretty. Snow would have made it perfect, but cold and frosty sufficed. ❄️

Funnily enough, my ex suggested Prague as a summer break the year before we split and I really didn't fancy it, but it's definitely a contender for winter.

What was the language situation like? I found Vienna really easy with just English and a tiny handful of German words/phrases. Barcelona this year was trickier which surprised me.

I have no clue about Czech!

Munich is great. Very authentic but not expensive. Strongly recommend.

Also it's a great city to visit.

Not expensive definitely a bonus!

Did look at Switzerland but ouch! and the places I was most interested in were a ballache to get to from any airport.

One of the appeals of Munich is that we can do a day out to Neuschanstein (?!) Castle which is about as chocolate boxy as it gets for photography mad DD!

No problems with the language. Most people speak very good English. We stayed here. We booked early and got 4 nights B&B with flights and hand luggage for 300 and odd £ each over Christmas. It was fantastic.

Wow that's a great deal. I will definitely add that to my shortlist.

A lot of places aren't booking as far ahead as Dec 19 yet but Easy jet are releasing autumn flights tomorrow, hence me wanting to make my mind up asap and hopefully grab a bargain!

We're going to Wroclaw in Poland this year. Tried and loved Krakow a few years ago, so going back to Poland this Christmas. Can't wait.

I'm not finding it any easier to make a decision, although I think Innsbruck is definitely out for now.

TBh I've not had as much opportunity to travel as I'd like so now I have I want to go to as many different countries as possible before planning return visits.

Have put together a couple of Pinterest board so might show them to DD without telling her where they are and let her choose. Otherwise might be whichever flights are the cheapest!

I've been to Bremen and Berlin in October so was too early for the Christmas markets, but would image they're lovely. Bratislava was nice too. Sorry, I'm suggesting loads of places, but I love a wintery city break.

We did sunny this year in half term and went to Barcelona, but as it got closer to our holiday I kept wishing we were going to Vienna again.

Good to see both Prague and Munich have Hard Rock Cafes - that's become our 'thing' when we go away, although have never been to the London one!

Munich is brilliant for Christmas markets! Our favourite was the medieval one that had craftsmen working and a traditional St Nicholas.

You can also easily get the train to Nuremberg for the markets there too, which are supposed to be the best in Germany. It’s beautiful - but busy!

We were going to go to Neuschwanstein castle but the bridge you can get the good photos of it from was closed for maintenance. Instead we did a day in Garmisch-Partenkirchen on the train - went up the mountain in the cable car, watched the skiers, had some lunch, got the funicular back down, saw the site of Hitlers Winter Olympics with the ski jumps... was brilliant!

Hi OP. Hope you don't mind me asking, but I'm taking my dd to Vienna this December - apart from the Christmas markets, I wondered what else you might recommend we do while we're there? Only going for 3 nights.....

Colmar in France. Not too far from Basel airport (40 mins) and it’s a gorgeous town.

I visited the Christmas markets in Cologne this year and thought they were great. I’ve been to Vienna and Munich at Christmas in the past, Cologne is definitely as nice as them. Easy to get to also with flights to both Cologne/Bonn and nearby Düsseldorf airports.

Second the Cologne recommendation. Been twice and loved it.

Which market were you trying to get to in Switzerland that was a ball ache op?

I third the Cologne recommendations. Have been to nearly a dozen European Christmas markets and thought they were the best.

Cologne also has the Lindt factory tour that includes a chance to customise your own chocolate bar. That was brilliant.

We went to Budapest this November. Weather was poor (grey cold and drizzly) but we loved the city. Cheap too. Christmas markets probably not as good as some places but nice all the same.

Hi OP
We have a young teen and visiting a Hard Rock Cafe where ever we are has somehow become her / our thing too and she gets a glass with the name of the city on it. So far she has Berlin, Prague, Madrid and Krakow.

We have been to Barcelona, Berlin, Frankfurt and Prague for Christmas over the years and they have all been lovely in their own way.

Cologne was fantastic - a range of markets which differ from each other, a fantastic Lindt factory and cafe, great shopping, beautiful cathedral. I'd definitely go back. We went to Zurich this year - had a great time, but the markets aren't as good and it's incredibly expensive. The Thermalbad spa was amazing - indoor and an outdoor rooftop pool which allows kids.

Brussels! We went there inbetween Christmas and New Year & it was fabulous - we came away feeling super festive. Really quick/easy to get to on the Eurostar too