Christmas Markets 2025

[Ezesonfire]

Yes, I know it’s July and we are mid heatwave but…..

My very good friend will be visiting the UK from Australia in December. She’d like to go to a European Christmas Market with me. Somewhere quite ‘olde worlds’ lots of history, great architecture etc.
Top of her list would be Prague, which I’ve been to. Prague is a lovely city.
Other strong contenders (my suggestions) are Budapest and Bucharest - both for the thermal spa opportunities. Also considering Krakow.

Any other good suggestions?

Strasbourg or Vienna

I went to Munich a couple of years ago. The Christmas markets were lovely - so many to choose from and each with a different feel/theme, there was even one at the airport. A real mix of architecture, lovely parks (look out for the surfers in the Englischer Garten), and old fashioned beer Kellers. Plus Erding Therme Spa 40 minutes away, which made a great day out, or day trips to castles and mountains.

Last year we travelled by train (Interrail pass) to Brussels, Cologne, Vienna, Salzburg and Strasbourg. We enjoyed all of them but probably Vienna and Strasbourg were the best for markets. Strasbourg calls itself Capitale de Noël - lots of markets and the whole centre of the town is closed to traffic during the markets. I loved Salzburg too (Sound of Music a bonus) and would love to go back - if you decide to go there then check the dates of the Krampus runs - to either go to or avoid!!

Book hotels early - we made sure we booked ones that were easy to cancel if necessary and we did have to as one of our trains was cancelled. We also researched restaurants and booked tables for dinner - we had a very tight timetable so wanted to make sure we went to nice places with local specialities. There's a few FB pages devoted to Christmas Market planning which we found really useful. There's also loads of youtube travel videos of Christmas Markets too.

There are also Christmas Market river cruises if that floats your boat (sorry!).

I recommend good walking boots and thermal layers too!

There's a gorgeous little town in Germany near the border with Belgium called Monschau, it feels like it's Santa's village, lots of lovely crafts and lovely architecture. It just has a magical feel. We drove but I think there are public transport options from Brussels if you are doing the Eurostar.

We went to Berlin one year and it was great - we went to quite a few different markets and had a lovely time. Prague was beautiful at christmas and we really enjoyed it but it doesn't go big on the market front, we still loved going but didn't really find any great markets. Brussels has some lovely markets, some in the centre and some in the suburbs - they do a nice light show every year in the Grand Platz too which is lovely - you need to dress warm though.

One year we went to Brussels on the Eurostar and then got the train to Gent and Brugge - it was a magical trip. Brugge also doesn't go big on the market front but it is so beautiful at christmas time.

Within the UK I quite enjoy the Bath market - it might be nice to bring her to one in the UK too!

Thanks all for replying. I agree, Bath is lovely!
Berlin could be a good option, looking into that now.
Bruges, although pretty, was hugely underwhelming for its Christmas market, so that’s out.
I’ll check out the FB pages, thank you.