Christmas Markets; Germany; Nov-Dec

We did the Christmas markets in Dec. 2015. We did the well known markets of Strasbourg, Rothenberg, Munich, Salzburg and Vienna so nothing off the beaten path. The weather was a lot milder than I expected (30’s and 40’s) and no snow. I really hoped we would have snow but we didn’t. We had one day of drizzle in Munich and only felt really chilly when we toured the markets in the Salzkammergut (little towns outside of Salzburg). I would say dress in layers. A warm coat, sweater, turtleneck, woolen gloves, warm socks, walking shoes, scarf and a warm hat and you should be fine. I bought a really cute hat in Salzburg which kept me warm for the rest of our trip and was a fun souvenir. You will love the ambience of the Christmas markets. It is such a beautiful time of year to visit Europe.

We visited the Christmas markets in Nuremberg, Munich and Salzburg in Dec. 2015 and then the markets in Alsace and Paris in Dec. 2016. Really enjoyed the market in Nuremberg as it seemed more "authentic" as did the markets in the Alsatian villages. in 2015, the weather was warmer than i expected ( 30s and 40sF) but in 2016, the temps were colder than I expected (20s for highs). If you fly in and out of Paris for the Alsatian markets, there is a TGV to Strasbourg and on to Colmar from CDG. I did not think the Paris Christmas market was worth the time. Go to Paris to enjoy Paris! Really enjoyed the markets in Germany. We flew into Munich, trained (1 hour) to Nuremberg, spent three nights and trained back to Munich for four nights. We day tripped by train to Salzburg for the markets there for one day as we had been to Salzburg several times. Be sure to take your passport if you choose to do this as you do cross a border. I forgot mine and the train conductor allowed me to board with my husband who had his passport. We encountered a few people who day tripped to Nuremberg from Munich but we really enjoyed the nighttime in the markets there. Also, other sightseeing points since it was our first trip to Nuremberg. I agree with the tip to pack in layers but be sure to wear a down jacket since it is more comfortable and lighter to wear on the plane. Comfortable shoes are mandatory! We had rain one day in Nuremberg but we spent the day in the Nazi sights.
The Alsatian villages are magical at Christmas. We stayed in Colmar. There is a shuttle bus from Colmar each day out to the villages of Ribeauville, Eguisheim, and a couple more villages. I highly recommend going to the market in Ribeauville. It is only held a couple of weekends in December and the townspeople stage the market as a medieval event, complete with roasting meat on an open fire, bread baking, etc. You should check the Alsatian Christmas Market website for info on all the markets there. It is very popular with the Germans so plan to arrive early as the town has very narrow streets.
As for shopping, we bought only a few items since we have a lifetime collection of Christmas decorations. If you see something you love, BUY IT THEN as you may not see it in another market. In the larger cities, the markets are spread out in different parts of town, so plan to explore. You will find lots of surprises!
Sorry to ramble but I loved the markets!! A great way to get into the "Christmas spirit."

We've done the Xmas Markets twice, in 2013 (along the Danube) & 2016 (along the Rhine), and we are returning this Dec.

In 2013, we saw snow, but it wasn't terribly cold, maybe low 30s. We heard it gets colder with more snow in Jan and Feb.

In 2016, it was milder, in the 40s. Lots of people around, so it never 'felt' cold. Plus, you can always go into a Cathedral, Coffee Shop, grab a GLUWEIN.

Do a search and you will see all sorts of recommendations on the best markets. We loved the private market in Regensburg at the Thurn and Taxis Palace - out of all the Markets we've been to, it's our favorite. You do have to buy a ticket to the Palace (which is amazing) - the market is on the grounds.

We also love the Market in Strasbourg France - the Cathedral there is spectacular.

Nuremburg has one of the biggest markets, which is a turn off for many, but we LOVED it and it's location in the Old Towne Center - 2 amazing cathedrals and yummy gingerbread. We are returning here this year.

We've seen and enjoyed Vienna, Salzburg, Colmar, Rudeshiem.
We didn't care for the Market in Frankfurt (we had to go there because we flew home from there). We tend to like the smaller towns with more history and Frankfurt and Cologne were 'metropolitan-like'.

And YES, coming home with lots of amazing stuff is tough. We pack an empty duffle bag on the way over and on the way back, we shove all our clothes in the duffle and check it through. We keep our purchases that aren't fragile in checked suitcases and the our fragile stuff with us in our carry-ons (we get nice sturdy, roomy ones).

Many of the more unique Christmas markets may not run through all of Advent and may only be on one weekend. So, when you know your dates of travel, you can plan your route better.

My favorite Christmas market is in Esslingen near Stuttgart as this is a large Medieval market. Stuttgart is also my favorite big city market.
Near Frankfurt, I really like the market in Idstein (1 weekend only) and another Medieval market in Ronneburg Castle (3 weekends) near Büdingen. Mainz is also quite nice.

On my list still to visit would be Seifen, Regensburg and Erfurt.

The only one on my list not to visit would be Nuremberg. It is way too crowded and it just looks kind of boring with all of the stands decorated the same. I prefer the markets where the stands are all different.

Clothing recommendations that have worked for us: flannel lined jeans, waterproof walking/hiking shoes, a 3 in 1 jacket or a waterproof windbreaker that will fit a heavy sweater or fleece jacket under. A hat and gloves should be a given. We did a number of Christmas markets the last week of November 2016. We landed in Frankfurt and visited Heidelberg, Strasbourg, Rothenburg, Nuremberg, Prague, Vienna, and departed from Budapest. We did buy a few small items that we were able to pack in our carry on bags. We liked all of the markets with the exception of Heidelberg and Rothenburg. Strasbourg was our favorite. Heidelberg was small and Rothenburg (which I pushed for) was very small. There is some duplication among some features of the markets but they do have their own ambiance. The weather when we went was in the 30's to low 40's. Comfortable for me but cold for my wife. No snow where we went but did see it in the countryside going from Nuremberg to Prague. Weather prediction is the same everywhere. Hope for the best, plan for the worse. Get a weather app to keep an eye on the weather for the cities that you will be visiting.
Enjoy!

Kat, still making my offer to loan you the gore-tex down coat I wore on last December-January Christmas markets trip (ok, I looked like the Michelin man, but I was WARM!,) We had no snow in Paris, Strasbourg-Colmar, Salzburg, Innsbruck, Vienna -- saw lots of snow from the train going through Switzerland but encountered no active snowfall until our last day in Munich.
Costco $25 boots with Costco wool socks, leggings under jeans, Costco gloves, knit hat bought along the way.
No "secret" markets, but we enjoyed all the ones we saw.
And our only souvenirs, other than my knit hat, were glüwein cups (but we have several.)

I've been to the Munich Christmas market twice. Once it was really cold, once it wasn't. It didn't rain. I loved it.

I've been to a LOT of Christmas markets, and I think that the Stuttgart area has the best "bang for your buck" of any particular region. In addition to the really special, huge market in Stuttgart (with it's famous decorated roof tops - no cookie-cutter booths here) with some really unique food offerings (goose sausage, anyone?) you are also only 15 minutes away by train from my favorite market in the world, in Esslingen. They have a "normal" market that's lovely but also a medieval market that's kind of like a Renaissance faire. It's so much fun. In the other direction, the baroque city of Ludwigsburg (with the "Swabian Versailles" of a palace) has an elegant baroque Christmas market.

There are a lot of other special markets in the area, but many of them only run on one or two weekends in the season, so you'd have to see what's going on during your dates. Tubingen does a market themed around the "feuerzangenbowle" punch (and movie of the same name), Hohenzollern castle has a market, the gothic monastery of Maulbronn has one, and so forth.

Then you're well situated to rent a car and head to the southern Black Forest, where you can see the beautiful forest market under a train trestle at the Ravennaschlucht Market, then head into Alsace, basing in Colmar, to visit the amazing little villages and their markets.

To me this would be a perfect trip!

Hi, Kat. I took the RS Munich, Salzburg, Vienna tour this past December, landing on December 9 in Munich. Though the group did a bunch of activities, I was focused on Christmas. My friends could tell you that leading up to the trip, I was also obsessed with which coat to take. I ended up with my warmest down knee-length coat with hood and fur + a smaller 32 Degrees down jacket. I was very happy with my choices. Both coats were tremendously squishable. Even the larger one fit easily in my Civita Daypack on the return plane flight.

For the rest: yes, layers. I like LL Bean's silk long undies - tops and bottoms. If I take a few of those, I find I have less laundering to do overall. I had two pairs of shoes/boots: a nice pair of waterproof Arche booties and a Merrell Jungle Moc - new ice gripper ones came out this year.

There was snow. I was hoping there would be. For the most part, it was light and made walking the markets festive.

Off the beaten path: you might not think MSV would have off the beaten path locales, but I think I found a few. In Munich, I was there for the Krampuslauf. Great fun. I almost missed the intro tour meeting, but the Lauf was my priority that day. I also enjoyed the Krippen museum and the Medieval Christmas market - music, Feuerzangenbowle, snowflakes. My only purchase, though, was a delicate Trachten bracelet at Lodenfrey. Wait, then I bought 10 candy bars at Dallmayr featuring their special Christmas chocolate. Both of these items were on my shopping list!

I am not a particular fan of the main Munich Christkindlmarkt, but, tucked within the Rathaus entrance is a very small but cherche market featuring vendors who (seem to) produce their own products. I bought some red felted gloves and a few very small hand blown glass ornaments. I also loved the displays at the Viktualienmarkt - I coveted all the tiny trees. Some small streets in the area had tiny shops with local products (and some with $$ jewelry). I bought some red wool slippers - a theme? I bought some purple ones in Salzburg. I do love my wool slippers. Salz. has some expensive jewelry and clothing shops, but luckily, nothing called out.

On the way to Hallstatt, we stopped at a small market - St. Gilgen perhaps? Found some tiny cookie cutters there. The weather in Hallstatt was magical, all foggy and snowy, and a little icy, too, so not much tramping around. My find of the trip was a simple snow globe of a Christmas tree - found in a tiny restaurant by the hotel. These were featured on each table, but they were happy to sell me one. Yay! I also found some gloves - or they found me - that matched my coat. I wasn't really looking...

In Vienna, we stayed in Spittelberg, and the market was right out the door. Nice small restaurants and a cozy feel to the market stands and neighborhood shops. Bought a few tiny ornaments and some paper star lanterns. By this time, I was getting tired of crowds, so I did not seek out the larger Viennese markets.

That was 2017. I have been to the markets in Bolzano and Innsbruck other years. I did not meet too many English speakers in Bolzano, which was good for practicing my German! I have planned, but not yet executed a trip to the Alsace and Black Forest markets and am really looking forward to that. I wish you good times wherever you visit!

PS, all my finds were pretty tiny in size and easily accommodated in my Delsey 21" and my Civita Daypack. All in all, I was happy with my choices. I think off-the-path experiences can occur whenever you walk away from the large crowds.

Thanks for your newsy note! I tend to get cold easily. Wondering if I should wear a double pair of silk longjohns bottoms. What do you think? I will probably bring jeans and knit pants.
My ugg boots can sometimes be too warm, but when my feet are cold, everything’s cold! They’d also be cumbersome to pack. Your thoughts?
Thanks!

Kat - when I want to wear heavy boots on a trip, I just wear them on the flight. I make sure my boots are deodorized and I take them off once on the plane for the long flight. (Yes, I'm that person, no, I don't smell). It sucks overheating in the airport but if your main goal is to visit Christmas markets, you're going to want to be able to be warm standing outside for long periods of time. "Warm" for this time of year is usually low 40s, 30s are typical, but at night it can easily be well below freezing.

I find the way to stay sane inbetween standing outside for long periods of time then going inside to an overheated restaurant or shop is ironically NOT to layer too much. I'd rather have an incredibly warm coat/scarf/hat/boots that I can immediately shed upon going inside than wearing thermal layers that will guarantee I'll be sweating inside. The only time I wear long underwear here is for outdoor winter activities where I will be outside in below-freezing temps for the whole day. But I am one of those people who overheats easily and it makes me grumpy, ymmv.

Wondering if I should wear a double pair of silk longjohns bottoms.

I have never tried that, but it is worth a shot if you have two pairs to test. I did bring some nice leg warmers I got at Garnet Hill. Not only were they cozy, but they changed up the look of the same pairs of pants I wore over and over. One thing I wanted to buy, but they were out of my size, are the LL Bean fleece-lined pants. I see they have all sizes in stock now. Hmmm.

Each day, I pretty much wore two pairs of smartwool socks layered: one a long pair and the other short. I think you can get silk sock liners, if that appeals.

I agree that wearing the heavy things onto the plane is the right approach.

We did a trip like this about five years ago. I brought silk long underwear, waterproof hiking boots (in case it snowed, which it did), a light down jacket, fleece, waterproof raincoat, hat, scarf and gloves. This covered me in all the weather we experienced, which ranged from low 60s in Salzburg to a little below freezing plus snow in Bamburg. Our favorite stop was Regensburg. I bought a fair number of gifts, but they were all Christmas ornaments that did not take up much space. We also shipped a couple of nutcrackers.

Just a note: most of the places mentioned here aren't "little- off-the-beaten-path locations" but the complete opposite. Little- off-the-beaten-path locations are Bamberg in case of Nuremberg, Landshut or maybe Regensburg in case of Munich, or Baden in case of Vienna.
But it would also help to know which part of Germany you want to see. Contrary to popular belief Germany has more to offer than just Bavaria, and IMHO in terms of Christmas traditions Central Germany, roughly the region between Frankfurt and the Polish border, is more interesting. If you are serious about shopping there is also the possibility to visit the place(s) where most of the things you see on a German Christmas market are produced, which means it is up to 30% cheaper.

I usually pack light,but have an aversion to being cold! Wondering how
cold this pre-Christmas trip will be.

I have an aversion to being hot so I understand weather concerns! :-)

I went to a Christmas market in Dortmund which is NOT a touristed city by any means. Their market was vast and just a ton of fun. It seemed to be meant for the local community to enjoy as opposed to tourists from all over the world. That sense of community made the Christmas market even that much more enjoyable especially as we saw little children having such fun!

Temperature wise, it was in the 40s F.