Alsace & German Christmas Markets- Itinerary & Flight suggestions

Where are you flying from? I would say a car is totally unnecessary as all these cities are served by frequent trains.

We were considering flying into Basel or Zurich and flying out of Stuttgart or Munich.

Into Basel and out of Stuttgart would work. Where are you flying from in North America?

I think you will find a car to be very inconvenient in those cities.

If you plan on visiting some Alsace villages, then I would just rent a car fir. day or two to do that. No need for a car just to visit the cities mentioned.

We spent 4 nights in Strasbourg last December for the Christmas markets, including trips to Colmar, Obernai, Ribeauville, Kaysersberg and Gengenbach (Germany). You absolutely do not want a car for this area.

1) The main island in Strasbourg is closed to cars (including taxis) from 11:30am to 9 pm during the markets. The only exception is if your hotel provides parking you will get a form to show the security at the bridges. But the island can be mobbed with people. I would NOT want to drive in that.

2) There is very limited parking in the small villages around Colmar. We took the public bus and Christmas Shuttle. By noon, cars were parked along the road for a km in each direction, and paying to park in the vineyards. We saw at least 40 tour buses parked one after another along the road. Just take the bus, and get there early.

For our trip, we flew into/out of Frankfurt and also stayed in Cologne, which I highly recommend.

Basel and Stuttgart are both rather small airports so the options will be limited. Looking at flights to/from Zürich, Frankfurt or Munich will give you a lot more options.

And as others have said, a car will just be an expensive headache for this trip. A car will not provide any convenience.

I appreciate everyone's comments so much. We will be flying in from the East coast.
We are wanting to experience Riquewihr, Mulhouse, Eguisheim, & Kayersberg as well.

East coast is a big coast, but looking at Newark there are good prices for December to Basel and out of Stuttgart. Both use plane changes out of Munich on United/Lufthansa. Or you could fly round trip nonstops to Zurich for the same price, which would be my preference.

I would agree with Stephen. Rent a car as needed from Strasbourg or Colmar to do the smaller Alsatian villages. The train takes you to easy walking distance to hotels and the Christmas markets. And if you have snow (it is Christmas time after all, Munich had 17" on Dec 2nd) you are not stuck driving to complete your entire itinerary.

In Strasbourg, we stayed at Citadines Kleber, about a block from the Homme de Fer tram stop. This is the only tram open during the market. Perfect location, with a kitchenette. Highly recommend it.

For transportation, look at the ALSA+ passes. There is one on the weekends (when the markets in the small villages are open) for 39.10€. It covers up to 5 people on regional trains, trams, buses and the Christmas shuttle. It’s a great deal.