German/French Christmas Markets

If you choose into Munich and out of Frankfurt, you can get nonstops from LAX. FRA is only 1 hour from Cologne on high speed train.

If you went Munich-Nuremberg-Rothenburg-Heidelberg-Strasbourg-Cologne, it would be a more efficient travel plan.

My husband only wants to fly business class. I don't want to spend that kind of money. I was able to find two business class seats on British Airways using American Airline miles and quite a bit of cash. Of course, flying on BA means going through London. It isn't ideal, but seems to be the best compromise between his wanting comfort and my being frugal. By the way, Sam, I learned my frugality from my mother who was from Green Bay. I did check coming home from Frankfurt but couldn't find any availability with the miles we have.

I wasn't sure whether to head west or east. I thought if we did Munich-Nurenberg-Rothenburg-Heidelberg-Strasbourg-Cologne that we would waste time heading back south after being in Heidelberg. Do you think it would be quicker the way you outlined it? I need to study the map a little more.

You're going to be in Munich, but not going to Salzburg? Oh, no! Is there any way you can get to this magical city's markets?
If you're going to Strasbourg and Colmar, which are great, why not fly into Zurich?
I love Rothenburg, but the markets are very small . I hate saying this, but maybe cut this location?
You are traveling all across Switzerland for Strasburg and Colmar. Have you estimated the train time? Maybe, just maybe, substitute Stuttgart and the very entertaining Esslingen Middle Ages markets?
Have you blocked out all your traveling time?
Th markets are an incredible experience, but I fear you're traveling too much.
I've attached my Xmas markets Trip Report, maybe it can help a little.

In either case, have a great time, and safe travels!

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/christmas-markets-switzerland-france-germany-2019

I visited Salzburg right after Christmas and as Pat said, it was magical. If you could add a day to Munich, you could do Salzburg on a day trip.

IMO, I like Sam's route.

Pat, I think you perhaps misspoke, to get to Colmar/Strasbourg, I believe the trains go through Germany.

Pat, Thank you for sharing the link to your trip. I will read it and see if we should make some changes. I just read Part 1 and it sounds like you had a fabulous time!

Jules, I'm sure you're right. We went from Basel to Colmar/ Strasbourg, so my direction-challenged brain could only think that way. Thanks for the correction.
edit-
I just looked at a map- what an idiot I am, definitely directionally challenged!

The biggest problem is the Strasbourg/Colmar connection. All the others are within Germany so they are easier, but still...the way you have it planned you're crossing Germany twice. That's a waste of time.

Consider this. Munich, Nuremberg (daytrip Rothenberg), Heidelberg, Strasbourg (daytrip to Colmar), then Luxembourg or Trier, to Cologne. the longest legs would be Nuremberg to Heidelberg (3 hrs+), Heidelberg to Strasbourg (3 hrs), and Luxembourg to Cologne (3+ hrs). All the others are around an hour. I choose this because moving across the French/German border via train is not ideal. Going through Luxembourg is much less expensive.

The best of all of these markets are Nuremberg and Strasbourg, then Heidelberg or Luxembourg. Munich is okay, but I'd seriously consider taking a day train (2 hrs each way) to Salzburg or Innsbruck one day. I haven't been to Cologne so I can't comment on that. Trier, Mainz, and Koblenz are also pretty good if you're looking for anything else.

In Munich I like Aloft or the Courtyard by the train station.
In Nuremberg I like the Meridian or the Park Place, or the Lowe Merkur on the other side of the train station.
in Strasbourg I use the Moulin Rouge.
All the other cities I mention are too close to where I live to use a hotel, so I have no recommendations.

Note that, in Heidelberg the Christmas market is best reached by getting off the train at the "Altstadt" station, not the Main one.
In Munich you should use the Ubahn to the city center for the Market. In Nuremberg just walk north into the old town and up the main street. In Strasbourg walk out of the train station and get on the tram to Longstrass.

Hotels, especially in Strasbourg, Nuremberg, and Luxembourg, will be taking reservations far in advance. I suggest you have rooms reserved no later than August.

I’m going to agree with Pat. If you have already been to Rothenburg and the purpose of the trip is the Christmas markets, then skip Rothenburg. The market is small. I’d look at instead Regensburg ( day trip from Munich ) or Stuttgart/Esslingen as a stop from Strasbourg to Heidelburg

I also suggest you take into consideration that Sundays are usually "down" days, in that things won't be open and fewer trains will run.

Lots of awesome comments here. It is so helpful when a local person provides details. I enjoyed Salzburg so much, and did it once on a day trip, so to me, the 2 hour train ride estimate seemed long. I just double checked and there are trains that are closer to 1.5 hours. Making the round trip journey an hour less. That is not a significant difference and certainly KGC could have better information than me, sitting here in the U.S.

Pat, your information on the forum is always highly valued. I just happen to be a geography nerd.

Jules, Thank you for the Salzburg train info. We hadn't considered Salzburg because we had been there a couple of times before, but never for Christmas markets. We have never been to these countries in the winter so that is a whole new thing for us. After getting feedback from several people, we are thinking about adding a daytrip to Salzburg and dropping Rothenburg.

KGC, Thank you for the train and hotel info. Can you explain a bit more about the train being less expensive from Luxembourg to Cologne than going from Strasbourg directly to Cologne? Also, should we be buying any kind of German rail pass for all of the German trips? Any tips you may have on saving money on the trains would be greatly appreciated.

I don't know why it's less expensive to go via Luxembourg, but it is.

For the long stretches you probably want to take the ICE trains, because they are much faster. I went to Nuremberg last month via ICE in 3 hours; the RE trains would be multiple changes and 5+ hours. For ICE you need to buy direct (point to point) and reserve a seat (like flying). Trains that cross borders should also be direct, because the trains are individual country owned and run, and if you buy direct you shouldn't have to change trains. But, if you stay in Germany, and don't mind a longer transit time, the 49 Euro Deutschland Pass is a bargain. You are restricted to non-ICE trains (which includes IC, and IE), and don't have reserved seats, but will give you the opportunity to get off and on in places you never dreamed of stopping. It also lets you use the S Bahn in cities like Heidelberg. From Munich to Nuremberg, or Salzburg, you can use the Bayern Pass, and that allows you to use the U Bahn, S Bahn, trams, and busses. For two people that's 22-30 Euro/day.

The hotels I listed are not the most economical, but the locations are prime and you kind of pay for that. If you look around you can find cheaper places, but if you do that take a look at the subway and train lines and plan to use them. For instance, you can get a less expensive hotel up by the University in Munich and then use the U Bahn to get to the city center. (I used to do this. I had a pension I really liked, next to a great restaurant, but both have closed.)

I suggest you book your hotels before the end of August. Make sure you can cancel your reservations in case something happens, but get the places you want in Nuremberg and Strasbourg confirmed. Those two towns will sell out early. (Strasbourg also being the seat of the EU makes it more expensive also.)

Another thing to consider is that from Heidelberg you can easily hit some of the towns on the wine road like Neustadt (on the winestrasse), or Speyer, which may not be as big, but are very nice and beautiful towns. Those are only 30 minutes away, or if you go for an hours ride, you have Mainz or Bingen. (Bingen isn’t much of a market, but from there you can take the ferry across to Rudesheim and they have a nice small (international) market that is even running on Sundays.)

KGC, Thank you so much. It is so kind of you to share all of this information with me.

Here are some shots from last years Christmas market in Strasbourg. (I hope this works)
https://i.imgur.com/G2r8255.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/UXwzNZk.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/7tvnZ6D.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/blgSATL.jpg

Book hotels asap as soon as the itinerary is finalized. I found many of the hotels I wanted were fully booked by June, especially on the weekends.
Magic awaits you!

Thank you everyone!!

I just thought of another basic question. Since the Christmas markets are outside, what do you do for restrooms? Do they have porta-potties or would we need to run back to our hotel?

All the markets I visited had the nice portable restrooms in a trailer-like structure. There were very clean but very small, keeping in mind you're dealing with a winter coat and probably a backpack. Finding them was never a problem for us!

Also, having hotels in the city- center is very worth it. It's very nice to return midday and put your feet up, and get warm. We usually ate the the Xmas markets, where dinners were very cheap, about €10 each. So we spent our money on great hotel locations and saved money by not splurging in dinners.

Thank you, Pat. That puts my mind at ease a bit! How did you make sure that your hotels were in the city center? Being "older", the idea of being able to easily take a break is very appealing.

Whether you booked your hotel on booking dot com or not, it will show their location. Most hotels have their location on a map on their website too. This will show you the city center.
For WC, go to a cafe. Sit down, have a coffee or water or hot cocoa, use their WC.