Any thoughts, tips on the Prague Christmas Market? Thinking of adding a second destination as well.....thoughts?
Thanks! - Chris
Posted by
pittsburgh
162 posts
Its as nice as any other European Christmas Market, I suppose. Nice holiday atmosphere, tourists everywhere, big ol' tree lit up in the Old Town Square, etc etc. Skip the mulled wine, though. I thought it tasted gross :).
Posted by
Germany
868 posts
No, Christmas markets aren't all the same. And Pragues Christmas market certainly isn't like the ones in Germany. Because Czechia isn't Germany, and Czech Christmas traditions differ from German Christmas traditions. That's why the products sold on the markets are different. And Christmas markets itself are a German tradition, not a Czech one. They existed when Bohemia belonged to Austria, disappeared afterwards (with the German minority), and only reappeared in the 90s to promote tourism. Many small towns still don't have them.
Many Czechs aren't that exited about their own markets.... at least not about the ones in Prague. The setting is great of course, but the selection is quite poor and can't compete with Germanys and Austrias Christmas markets. That's why many Czechs visit Vienna or Dresden during Christmas, which are close to Prague and Brno.
I wrote a few things about Dresdens Christmas market here:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/germany/should-we-go-to-dresden-for-a-day
And here are some articles about Christmas markets in the Ore mountains, which are between Dresden and Prague:
Hugging the Czech Republic's border, east Germany's Ore Mountains influence Christmas worldwide
The German towns that Christmas traditions sprung from
Germany's Christmas toy towns
The birthplace of the bauble
Posted by
goldsboro, nc, usa
101 posts
We loved the Dresden Christmas markets, Vienna as well. Prague was, sorry to be honest but disappointing compared to the others.
Enjoy your holiday!!
Posted by
Magyarország / Rep of Texas
17908 posts
I would imagine that many of the German markets are more enthusiastically managed in response to the history of their founding. I cant comment on the Prague markets but I have been to markets outside of Germany that were very good. My favorite has a committee that reviews everything that will be sold as a way of keeping quality and relevance up.