Christmas Market Tour

My personal opinion is that I dislike two night stands. Really means just a day each and at that time of year travel is easily interrupted by weather. The Strasbourg market is the oldest of Christmas market and is absolutely huge and cannot be covered in a day. And we really enjoyed the Munich markets and that is not on your list. We enjoyed Munich more than Nuremberg. I would start in Strasbourg, Rothenberg, Munich, and Salzburg - three night each. More or less straight line for trains.

Thanks for your input, Frank. I would also like to add Colmar to this trip. We were there in June. It is so quaint that I think a day trip from Strasbourg would be fun as well.

I think Frank is right, if you only have the 12 nights mentioned, adding the extra two destinations would turn everything a bit chaotic. If I were you I'd settle on fewer destinations and cover those to their full extent.

Thanks for your replies. I have revised the schedule as follows:

Flights into CDG and out of Salzburg

Strasbourg - 4 nights (includes night of arrival) with a day trip to Colmar
Rothenburg - 3 nights
Munich - 3 nights
Salzburg - 3 nights

Frank - will we need snow boots? I am assuming yes. What would you suggest for my husband who normally just takes a pair of walking shoes?

Hi,

For our winter Christmas market trips to Innsbruck, Salzburg, etc. I never wore nor did I bring boots with me on the trips. I took my daily walking shoes, sprayed them with Kiwi water repellent/waterproofing and wore wool socks. No problems.

Paul

Thanks, Paul. That will make our packing a lot lighter.

I like that schedule a lot better. There is some sameness to the Christmas markets. What we liked best about Strasbourg and Munich were the small, specialized, neighborhood markets.

Snow boots may be overkill but you do need some type of winter shoe. We were in Germany over Christmas four year ago for about ten days. I think it snowed on five of them. It was light and not a lot accumulation - couple of inches. But it did get a little slushy and wet in the Christmas market areas as people were walking around. We wear an Ecco hiking style oxford year around that works well. It is water proof, lugged sole and quite comfortable for lots of walking. It can be icy and slippery. The day we were in Nuremberg it snowed quite heavily. Probably about six inches.

What are your anticipated dates?

Not sure if 3 nights in Rothenberg might not be a bit much. I have been to that market and while it is fun maybe not worth all that time. I would add a day to Munich or Salzburg. More to do in Munich but I really love Salzburg during Christmas time so I could do an extra day there.

Thanks for the shoe suggestion, Frank. I thought we might want to prepare for some snow and slush. Snow at the Christmas markets would be a plus and add to the ambiance.

Okay so the original plan was 2 nights in Munich and Salzburg because we have already been there during Octoberfest in 2004 and toured them extensively and just want to see the markets there. So I figured one night and one full day in Munich and the same for Salzburg would be enough. As Strasbourg will be our point of arrival in Europe, 4 nights makes sense (first night arrival, 2 days for Strasbourg and 1 day for Colmar which we visited this past June and loved.) So we plan flying out of Reno on Dec 2nd, arrive at CDG on the 3rd and take the tgv from CGD to Strasbourg the same day and depart Salzburg airport for home on ? depending on how many nights we stay in each place. Also per Terry Kathryn's suggestion of only 2 nights in Rothenberg, I had read something similar i.e. that one night and one full day would suffice there. The amount of time spent over there is not an issue for us as we are retired and can stay as long as Schengen rules and our wallets allow. I had also wanted a stop between Strasbourg and Rothenberg to break up the 5 hour train ride. Bearing all this in mind, would you now revise the itinerary to:

Strasbourg - 4 nights (with day trip to Colmar)
Rothenburg - 2 nights
Munich - 2 nights
Salzburg - 2 or 3 nights

We plan to fly out of Salzburg.

Thanks everybody for your replies. I appreciate your input.

Mary, you have chosen very well. I know this isn't on your list but just in case someone else comes to the thread looking for ideas, they might be interested in: http://budapestchristmas.com/

You could also think about Vienna. There are several Christmas markets, not to mention the coffee houses and cafes, and it's less than 3 hours by train from Salzburg. You could then return to Salzburg or plan to fly home from Vienna instead.

Hi again,

I'd say Salzburg for 3 nights at the very minimum. There's not only Salzburg's Christmas Markets, but Hallein, St. Wolfgang, St. Gilgen, and Berchtesgaden. We spent a full day between St. Gilgen, then cruising on the Wolfgangsee and visitng St. Wolfgang. Wonderful.

Paul

Thanks everyone. 3 nights it is for Salzburg and we will add 3 nights for Vienna (which we have been to before) and then depart from there. I am hoping to catch some concerts in Salzburg and Vienna. And thanks to Chani for her pm re: her trip to the Christmas markets. All great advice. I'm ready to book. :)

Mary

Since you are at the airport, why not just fly to Strasbourg? It is a decent airport with a train connection to the city.

Thanks for the suggestion, Frank. I hadn't considered that option. I will look into it.

Airfare and hotels booked.

Itinerary as follows:

Dec. 1 Depart Reno
Dec. 2 - 5 Strasbourg with day trip to Colmar (Hotel Cathedrale)
Dec. 6 -7 Rothenburg (Hotel Markusturm)
Dec. 8 - 9 Munich (Hotel Torbraeu)
Dec. 10 - 12 Salzburg (Hotel Elefant)
Dec. 13 - 15 Vienna (Hotel Wiener Staatsoper)
Dec. 16 Depart Vienna

We still need to book trains (too soon to do this I think?) and possible flight from Paris CDG to Strasbourg.

Thanks everyone for your help. We are so looking forward to this trip. It should be beautiful.

Mary

Mary, it sounds absolutely wonderful! You should have a great trip. Wish I was going along.

I'm impressed with how quickly you made your decisions and booked your airfare and hotels. Some people would stew over those decisions for days (or even weeks). Good for you!

Thanks, Nancy. The thing I really struggle with and obsess about is what to pack. LOL. Trying to keep the weight down, dress appropriately, etc. After 25 years of travel you would think I would have gotten this down pat by now.

We really loved Hotel Torbraeu in Munich. Great location for the markets too. We were there December 22nd (2012??) for just one night and the people were so lovely. We left early in the am to catch a train to Italy and because we were missing breakfast they sent us off with a yummy little pack lunch which we consumed in the Munich train station. Have fun - enjoy the hot wine!

Thanks, Bronwen. I agree. We stayed there many years ago during Octoberfest and loved it as well. The service was excellent and the staff were wonderful. It's not inexpensive there but it's worth the splurge as it is also nicely located.