One night away - European Christmas Market?

[HollySizey]

Hi!

Looking to book one night away somewhere in December.

Does anyone have any recommendations for the best European Christmas market for this? We live close to an airport here, and would be looking for a flight of no longer than 2 hours. Ideally very little travel once we land too.

We’d only be there for 2 days/1 night so not looking for masses of things to do.
Would just like a really Christmassy atmosphere, some nice street food etc.

Potentially looking to go the week between Christmas and New Year.

I was thinking perhaps Paris (but the flights seem to be expensive), or Berlin?

Thanks!

Ghent or Lille by Eurostar. Cologne is lovely but can get very busy. Would need to check dates as many of the markets finish by Xmas. Prague might be a possibility - or Budapest.

Thanks for the recommendations!

The Eurostar would be a faff from us - would much rather fly ideally ☺️.

Your limiting factor may be down to which Christmas markets are still open after Christmas.

Happy to move to before Christmas if that’s the case.

Prague Christmas Market is open until 5th January (I've never done it myself, although i love Prague) and the journey from the airport to the old town is very easy by taxi or public transport.

Copenhagen is lovely at Christmas and an easy train ride from the airport to the centre. There’s a couple of Christmas markets, Tivoli Gardens is beautiful and they often have the Nutcracker at the opera house which is lovely!

Over the last couple of years we have done Vienna and Munich and hoping to go to Cologne this year. The markets are all usually very central so easily done in a 2 day/1 night trip. Both Vienna and Munich were very easy to get to on public transport from the airport
Looks like quite a few are carrying on until the New Year these days. Markets

I went to ghent last year. The city is beautiful, was a nice atmosphere but the market stalls were disappointing.

OP, you say "We live close to an airport here, and would be looking for a flight of no longer than 2 hours. Ideally very little travel once we land too."

So your best bet is to see what flights there are from your local airport between, say, 2nd and 20th December, to a destination no more than 2 hours away, where the arrival airport is near the city rather than miles away. Also the landing time needs to give you some hours at the market(s) on the first day, and you need to consider what to do with any luggage until check in at the hotel. Then the departure time needs to give you more time at the market(s), and factor in what to do with any luggage after check out.

For instance, there is a flight from Bristol to Berlin (the only destination in Germany in December) departing 07.00 arriving 09.55 on 14th December and the train from airport to city centre takes 30 minutes, not counting waiting. Then a flight back on 15th at 21.30 arriving 22.35, giving loads of time at the markets. The flights cost £346 for one passenger, mind.

We did it one year to Hamburg, included a visit to family for 1/2 day as well.
Left Gatwick at stupid o'clock on Saturday morning and returned late Sunday evening.
It's really tiring and very expensive for just seeing the markets. We know Hamburg well, so it wasn't that we missed out on anything.

We did Friday - Sunday to Berlin last year as friends asked us to come with them, but booked it back in February, prices went sky high from late Spring onwards.

Could you save some money and do a longer stay next year?

Salzburg was lovely

Hamburg is lovely. Berlin too.

Basel

Nuremberg if there is a flight from your airport

If you're looking at Germany or Austria you will definitely have to go before Christmas for the markets!

Strasbourg is another nice one. But year, as a PP said - start with figuring out where you can fly to from your local airport and work backwards from there.

Budapest gets my vote.

I couldn’t be arsed going anywhere abroad for 1 night

Good to know! I’m going after Christmas this year but the Christmas market seems to become a New Years market on 27th Dec.