Christmas Markets in Central Europe

I can only talk of the Prague Markets and they are pretty good , the ones around Old Town Square and Namesti Republliky are good but can get very busy.
https://www.facebook.com/pg/livingpragueguide/posts/

Jason who is a guide in the city has a facebook page and there are a fair bit about the Markets in the city and he also does a tour at that time of year which included the markets.
I really enjoyed the market at Namesti Miru,not as busy as the ones in the tourist areas but real fun and some nice stuff.

If you scroll down to the 1st December you will see Jason and I sampling the alcohol of the markets (we have been friends for years.
https://livingprague.com/prague-walking-tours/
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We lived in Augsburg, Germany and loved the Christmas Markets. They are all over Bavaria.

As much as I loved the markets, no way would I pay to go to Europe to freeze my butt off in the Winter when it gets dark at 4:30pm. Still, if you haven't experienced the markets, it is great to drink gluwein and eat potato pancakes at the markets.

Munich doesn't have a large central market like Nuernberg, it has many smaller ones spread throughout the city, many with different themes. There's a medieval market, a LGTBQ market in the gayberhood, a giant "Feuerzangenbowle" (spiked punch) cauldron at one of the "tors" but I can't remember which one, and m any more. The one at the Chineischer Turm in the Englischer Garten is supposed to be great, but I never made it.

Christmas markets have Germanic roots and as such I think Germanic countries really do them the best. I haven't been to Vienna's market, but I've heard from good sources that it's wonderful.

How are you traveling? If by train, a stopoff in Salzburg during Christmastime is a good idea. They have a Krampus parade and a Christmas museum in addition to two quality markets in the center of town and a couple spread throughout the area. We had a great time there last December.

Europe at Christmas time is one of the most magical place I have ever been! People are out and about, and everything is decorated to the T's. I want to do it again!

I can speak to Munich and Nuremberg.

Try not to hit Nuremberg on the weekend. We hit it mid day on a Wednesday and it was perfect. My favorite part was the International Market. Nuremberg invites each of its sister city to have a booth. It was cool to see things from all over the world. The big market is also a lot of fun. The St. Lawrence Church is amazing. I would stop there as well. There is also a hand work section by the wall near the main train station that was interesting to walk through.

In Munich we did the several that were in the pedestrian zone around the Rathaus. We also hit the middle ages one and the one at the Residence. The middle ages one was small, but fun to see. It had some artisan booths, so that made me happy.

I also love trying food.
Kussen - were chocolate covered flavored marshmellows. Yum!
Crepes - both savory and sweet.
Sausages
Glühwein
Hot Mead

I also collect ornaments for our tree when we travel, so it was fun to get some from this special time of the year.

Have a blast and don't forget to dress in layers and have a hat and gloves.

The areas to concentrate your time for Christmas Markets would be Germany and Austria, as that is where they are traditional. You are skipping Salzburg and surrounding areas which have the best markets, in my opinion. Is there a reason for that omission?

I have to disagree with Uncle Gus regarding Prague. We found the Christmas markets in the tourist area to be pretty tourist trappy with mostly junk.
However, we found the Christmas Markets in Budapest to be very good. There was quite a variety, and many of the shoppers were locals.

Mike I am comparing them to the Christmas Markets I see in my home city of Edinburgh, these really are crap.

The main market in Budapest is at Vorosmarty ter. All the sellers products are vetted by a committee to ensure they are local products. Beautiful setting. As Budapest was part of the Austrian empire, you could say it at least has Germanic influence. Actually German was the language for government and business until the mid 19th century.

Munich:

a giant "Feuerzangenbowle" (spiked punch) cauldron at one of the "tors" but I can't remember which one

Isartor is where the giant Feuerzangenbowle is - but IMO the best version of this is at the medieval festival.

Three more Munich tidbits: the Viktuelianmarkt is lots of fun for food and also to see the greenery and trees for sale. Not that you will be shopping for a tree, but it is a nice atmosphere. This was my first stop last year on getting to Munich in December, and snow started to fall just as I bit into my Nürnberger Bratwurst at the Markt. Satisfaction!

Also, there is a small market inside the Rathaus courtyard which sells some locally produced goods - woolen and glass, for example.

And, finally, a plug for the Dallmayr Christmas candy bars of which I bought more than 10 on the demand of my friends and coworkers.

Looking forward to a return in 2019!

Actually German was the language for government and business until the
mid 19th century.

Budapest actually had a German majority until the mid 19th century. With the industrialization they became a minority, and many were later Magyarized.
In many other parts of the empire things turned out nastier than in Hungary, especially after the end of Austria-Hungary and WW2, and part of the Degermanization was a ban of Christmas markets, which were considered German. That's why Christmas markets often have a long tradition in cities like Prague, Brno or Wroclaw, but aren't part of the local culture anymore and were mostly revived to promote tourism. In some cases it works pretty well, and in some cases it doesn't.

European history is fascinating. The native Hungarians were killed or fled during Ottoman occupation, then (from Wikipedia)

In the late-17th and the early-18th century Buda, Óbuda and Pest was settled by Germans from Southern Germany and the Rhineland. The proportion of Hungarians rose gradually since the late 18th century, overtook Germans around the unification in 1873. 

In Nuremberg there is only one main Kriskindlemarkt, and that's in the main town square. Munich is much more spread out, less a "markt" and more like sets of street vendors. Prague's was mostly by town section; I remember one on each side of the river.

I find most of these to be the same stuff you can buy year round northeast of Bamberg. Kathy Wolfahrt really gets around. Look for the original stuff made by the person in the booth, that's getting rare.

To me the main thing was never the "stuff"; it was walking around with friends, eating, drinking, and not being indoors, because by Christmas the days are really short and everyone starts getting cabin fever.

Just wanted to thank everybody for the quick response and great ideas. I booked a package thru travelzoo for travel from Prague to Vienna to Budapest, which includes 3 nights at hotels and train travel to each city for around $1,150. We are flying into Munich for 2 nights, then taking the train to Nuremberg for 1 night. Then the train to Prague. Was thinking of going to Salzburg but I believe Nuremberg has the better market. After Budapest, we fly home. Realize it will be cold as the dickens, but have to do this once before I get too old and feeble.
Thanks again and safe travels

Steve

I understand that one of the hotels that Travel Zoo uses in Budapest is near Heroe's Square. From there you can hop on the M1 and be at Vorosmarty Christmas Market in just a few minutes ... warmer.