2026 Christmas Markets

I've started thinking about a December trip to see Munich, Innsbruck, Salzburg, Vienna and Budapest, but I don't think I'll be able to pull it off in 2026 because apparently hotels are already starting to fill up in some of these cities (per a FB Christmas market group) while I'm still at the stage of "hmm, this might be a nice trip". I guess I could consider going in January or February. I'd miss the holiday festivities, but I'd also miss the crowds.

If you are serious about wanting to do that trip. Sounds like a great one. But I am not too certain the hotels are really an issue right now. Well, at least not here in Budapest and I doubt in Vienna. Look before you make a decision to wait. You know the other day there was an article on there about hotel prices skyrococketing that just wasnt universally true. The timing of the article was interesting because I had just checked hotel prices in about a dozen hotels and quite a few were lower than what they were selling for on the same dates six months ago. So look. Maybe it works.

I think the best time for the markets is from mid-November until the first week of December. You do the ones that open in November first (Budapest for instance) when the weather is still good. Then work your way to the Austrian and German ones that I believe, check me, open a bit later. i just checked a few hotels in Budapest. No problem. Heck you can get a four star hotel in the perfect part of town for 90 euro. In Vienna the rooms are there but to stay within a 5 minute walk or 5 minute tram ride of the ringstrass its probably going to cost you a minimum of 200 euro a night. I checked the Hotel Elefant in Salzburg. The only one I know and I liked it and it starts at 165 euro for the first week of December.

AI content and other unnecessary jabs have been removed.

the best time for the markets is from mid-November until the first week of December

I'm not so interested in the markets. While I do enjoy wandering through them a bit during the day, that's not my primary focus. I'm more interested in a beautiful town or city with sites and architecture and nature, and if it can all be enhanced by lots of holiday lights, that's even better.

My "best" meant most cities haven't filled up yet so you can still enjoy the city. I haven't been to a lot of markets because like you there has to be more. The few I have seen, the market was part of the excuse for the trip, but never the reason. The holiday does provide a good backdrop for things I do enjoy like music, theater, regional food, and the atmosphere of the lights. When the sun sets at 5pm some cities become magical. In cities where theater and music is still for the locals the holiday season is the high cultural season.

The better of those articles I listed do address some of the other reasons for going to various locations. magyarjd

KRS--

My experience is that you have plenty of time to plan your trip. I went to Aachen, Stuttgart, and Frankfurt mid-December this year for markets (and other things like Charlemagne history, Bastogne/Battle of the Bulge day trip, Revolverheld concert [my favorite band which happens to be German]). I added a traveler 4 weeks before the trip and was able to get an additional room at the hotels at each of my stops.

In 2023, I threw together an early December Munich-Salzburg-Vienna trip about 4 weeks before the trip after I had to cancel a trip to Israel planned for that time.

I wouldn't suggest waiting that late, but I think it demonstrates you don't have to have your plan in place 11 months before the trip. It would probably be good, though, to get lodging set up by the end of summer.