My mom and I are going to Europe for the Christmas markets and I am looking for some help.
We are landing early morning November 29 in Brussels so we will obviously go to the Christmas markets there and probably spend some time there since we used to live there. My mom is leaving December 5 (flexible with airport) and I am headed to Munich then. i am trying to decide if we should try to go to Cologne, Bruges or Strasbourg and how many days are needed in the cities. Thanks in advance!!!!!
I was in Brussels last December.
I went for two days as a side trip from my visit to London, specifically to see a European Christmas market for the first time.
It was the easiest place to go from London for that short time.
I have to say that I was disappointed!
The market in Brussels was more of a “winter” market than a Christmas one.
There were no stalls selling any Christmas ornaments or Christmas-themed things.
Lots of food stalls and mulled wine, etc, and lots of stalls selling jewelry, handbags, woollen goods and one selling reindeer hides…eww.. even some stalls from Québec, selling maple syrup; but nothing “Christmas-y” about the areas.
Lots of recorded music… lights….and one carousel with stylized reindeer and a Santa.
I wish I had taken longer and gone further afield to Germany, or perhaps Bruges or Ghent.
My husband and I went to Strasbourg for 4 nights and Cologne for 3 nights last year. They were very different experiences. I would watch some videos of the cities in general, not just the markets.
Strasbourg and the surrounding villages are fairy tale settings with adorable half timbered building. They go ALL OUT with the Christmas decor. We were in Colmar on a weekday morning when giant snowflakes were falling. It was like being in a snow globe! I was sooo happy.
That said, Cologne is a modern, bustling city. It was HEAVILY bombed in the war, so it doesn’t have that old world half-timbered vibe. BUT the markets were our favorites. They were fabulous with unique theming, GREAT food (much greater variety than in France), great entertainment and more variety of items being sold. We LOVED the markets in Cologne they were our favorites of over 20 markets), but the ambiance (citywide) in Strasbourg is better.
We had been to both areas previously, so our trip was focused solely on markets, not other tourist sites.
If you look at Cologne you should look at Aachen too. I have been to both Cologne and Aachen Christmas markets and they are great. Both easily accessible by ICE or Thalys from Brussels.
Lavandula
