Berlin Xmas markets

[Shitshower]

I want to take my kids to Berlin for the Christmas markets.
Due to school I would need to fly Friday evening and return late Sunday afternoon.

I’d like to do the zoo and markets.

I am not a natural at travelling, so is this long enough to go for? I don’t want to frantically rush stuff, but there are time constraints to going.

Also, where is a good area to stay so that I’m not travelling miles??

Thanks!

Is Berlin a good place to go to for this? We will only go once so I’m keen to go somewhere nice, but affordable

I've been to some in Berlin, and honestly I think there's better. I preferred both Vienna and Bruges, which has the bonus of being accessible by Eurostar.

That's definitely not long enough. By the time you get to bed on Friday night, it will be late and then you will probably want a relaxed get up on Saturday. You could spend the remainder of Saturday at the zoo (if you don't want to rush and you want to get your money's worth), leaving just Sunday morning for the markets. Considering that Berlin has several Christmas markets and your dc will no doubt want to ride some of the fairground rides, do the tobogganing etc... no way is half a day enough.

Hamburg would be a nice alternative. Lovely markets.

So where would be a good place to go? Would Bruge be a better bet in my timeframe?
Failing that it’s after Christmas in the school holidays which feels a bit less magical

I haven't done BerlinChristmas market but Berlin IS a lovely city to visit, relatively easy. Airport is anightmare so do your best to only take hand luggage - they're notorious for taking hours to get luggage off the plane.

Personally, I think this is fine - sure, you'll be a bit tired Friday night but you only need one day for the market and you could do zoo on Sunday morning.

I have done Munich christmas markets and that was amazing.

Also, final tip - I took DD out of school for a Friday afternoon when we went to Europe for a weekend last time - I picked her up at 13:00 so that I could get us to the airport for a flight at around 1600. It was good because it just meant that we didn't land up arriving at our hotel very very late and she only missed 2 hours of school, on a friday.

We did it a couple of years ago and were a bit underwhelmed by the markets and wouldn’t take kids - not a lot for them to do really and very much centred around drinking and eating . It was absolutely freezing late November too so if you do go take very good coats

I am thinking Bruges might be better. I have a Friday off end of Nov and the kids could be ill for one day, then we could go either late Thurs or early Friday on the Eurostar (which seems easier) and come home Sunday.

I just want a nice Christmas market that isn’t horrifically expensive but that I can feasibly get to for a short weekend as I think more than 2 days and it might be boring (they are older children)

Brussels also has a big market, and Eurostar goes directly there?

I think brussels is expensive? Although so is Munich which is my preference.

The kids will enjoy it. Make sure you include a budget to buy something. There are some really lovely hand made items that you won't see in the UK and that are great. we all committed to buying one "big" thing and had a really good time choosing, and enjoying every year even now after all the agonising.

Oooh. Me and my friend are planning a trip to Berlin for the markets. I'd be interested if people could advise on best area to stay in please.

Berlin is relatively easy to get around so I'd simply say stay somewhere fairly central and you'll be fine, especially if you have limited time. If you stay near Alexanderplatz, you'll be conveniently located to get pretty much everywhere with a convenient train/tube journey.

Jumping on this thread, can anyone recommend Christmas markets close to or in the Netherlands? Less than 3 hours travel with public transport.

@Shitshower neither the markets in Brussels or Bruge are nice. We went last year and were disappointed. The good thing about Bruge though is it is so beautiful and Christmassy it makes up for the rubbish market. We went Saturday morning and came home Sunday night and that was enough time.

Oh really? That’s disappointing. I’d love to do Berlin, but having actually looked it’s very expensive for 3 days and I need to feed us all on top of that.

Brussels and Bruges seem more reasonable, especially if I just do Fri-Sun.

i really just want the Christmassy feel, but having done markets here I didn’t want to find myself in the equivalent of winter wonderland(which was shit and expensive) I think we’d like to see nice things, eat chocolate, drink chocolate but not necessarily buy loads of stuff

Strasbourg would be perfect because there’s so much that would interest young children and it’s easy to get to on Eurostar with a quick change in Paris. Place St. Thomas has a "children's village" with hands-on activities like cookie decorating and visits from Father Christmas. There was a carousel, ice rink, a projection show in the evenings and the window-displays are out of this world!

Realistically, I'm not sure that any of the European Christmas markets are going to represent a cheap weekend away. Hotels, food, travel, etc are all expensive, particularly at that time of year. The markets themselves however aren't piss-taking so I think that part is fine.

And yes, lots of opportunities for chocolate. Also Gluwein. German sausages etc!

Bruges is lovely at Christmas but the market was very poor when we went 2 years ago. Hardly any stalls and the light trail was very lacking. It is certainly beautiful at Christmas but not sure it's what you'd be looking for with children.

Mine are 10/13/16 so I’m trying to find a nice place to go. I’ve never gone abroad for the markets, so it doesn’t need to be childish but it still needs to have that Christmas feel to it

My 15 and 13 year old were happy with Bruges for the short overnight trip we were there. It is really Christmassy and a lovely feel to it. It helped that it snowed! Plenty of hot chocolate etc and the boat tour good if not chilly. Just the market was so poor and the food there horrible.

We went to Vienna last Christmas for a weekend (still in term time) and there was lots to do and see. Markets, an outdoor ice rink in a Christmas market, the horse school. Mine were 13 and 10 and really enjoyed it - especially as it snowed!

How did you get to Vienna? Is that on the Eurostar route? That seems to be the best/easiest way for me to go anywhere

We took a wizzair flight. I don’t think it’s reachable by Eurostar but you’d have to double check!

Lille and Arras have lovely markets. Lille has beautiful decorations too and a big wheel. Better than Bruges. In Belgium, Ghent is my favourite.

I have been looking and although I want to do Berlin I think it will just be a horrible weekend of rushing.

So I am thinking kids off school sick on the Friday, go via Eurostar to Brussels on the Thurs evening, book a reasonably cheap hotel room, and then either come home Saturday night or Sunday morning?

Train will be about £300 all in and there are some hotels which are basic, but ok, for around £300, so at least it’s affordable, then I can afford to feed us 🤣