"Christmasy" Europe

Keep in mind that that the Germany Christmas markets close very quickly on Christmas eve. Where as some of the markets in other countries stay over through or to New Years. You didn't indicates your dates of travel. Personally I would fly to Frankfurt and work your way around the markets in Germany. In my experience the German markets are really the heart of Christmas markets.

Thanks Frank.

Any specific itinerary for 6 nights? Should we stay in one place or split into two? Thanks again!

I would choose :
For Christmas Holiday:
(Bavaria, Germany)

• Regensburg (Bigger towns)
• Passau ( Bigger towns)
• Rothenburg on der Tauber ( very small town)
• Dinkelsbuhl (very small town)

All these are in the same region and some of them could be daytrips

For New Year: definitely Vienna. Do not miss to go to one of the many New Year’s Vienna Balls.

For flights, much better take a flight to Munich if you can.

Rothenburg to Dinkelsbuhl is a 35 minutes’ drive. It is worth staying the night in Rothenburg to experience it to its fullest. When I went there long time ago I stayed in a lovely old inn with thick walls and doubled windows called ‘an der Baren’.

The other 2 big towns: Regensburg and Passau are further - 1h1/2 drive from Rothenburg to Regensburg and maybe the same from Regensburg to Passau which is at the border with Austria ( not very far from Salzburg, another fine city in Austria) and with the Czech Republic

Well noted with thanks, Francoise

Here is an idea. https://hungarytoday.hu/advent-feast-at-the-basilica-wins-best-christmas-market-in-europe-title/

Opens 2nd Friday in November. Food stalls close on Christmas Eve, rest stays open till NYE.

Choose Frankfurt. There are a lot of nice little markets in smaller towns and villages around Frankfurt, reachable by public transport. Check entries of local specialist Ms. Jo. She wrote some entries already about the nicest Christmas markets around Frankfurt.

The website of German National Tourist Board provides a map in which you can select your interests, e.g. Specials > Christmas. The map shows relevant entries for you.

You mentioned already French border - and other tips around Frankfurt dpend on your interests. Have a look at Mainz, Heidelberg, Worms, Würzburg, Koblenz, Cologne.

Frankfurt, NOT

Thank you, James and Mark. So many amazing places, so little time...Love Budapest as well!

@ geovagriffith: why opposition to FRA?

Then you might like this: https://theculturetrip.com/europe/hungary/articles/13-ways-to-enjoy-winter-in-budapest/

I just concluded a xmas trip this past December. We started in Switzerland, [Basel, Luzern, Bern], onto France [Strassburgh & Colmar], Stuttgart [& Esslingen, a must], and Rothenburg. Flew out of Frankfurt- [so nice to have a hotel IN the airport.]
Click on my name and you can review my trip reports, to see if any of our locations interest you. [I have no idea how to add links. :) ]
We had a glorious time!
Safe travels.

PS-
For the smaller towns, such as Rothenburg, book hotel rooms EARLY, especially if it's a weekend. We were amazed that some Rothenburg hotels were fully booked by June for the weekends!

Many small towns with the most charming markets may only have them on one weekend and often the first part of Advent, not the last part. Most markets shut down on the 22nd or perhaps the 23rd. Very few are open at all on the 24th and if so, they would close by 13:00 and then the whole country almost shuts down by 14:00. The 25th and 26th are holidays and stores remain closed, but most museums and many restaurants will be open and quite busy.

Not sure what geovagriffith has against Frankfurt, but if he is going to make negative comments, he could at least say why. It is a historic, old city with a multitude of sites to see and tons of museums which is nice if the weather turns nasty.

Frankfurt is a perfect hub for visiting lots of Christmas markets. Though we have a large one in the city center, we also have one in the City Forest. On select weekends, there will be a Swedish or Finnish market or small neighborhood markets.

The plus with Frankfurt is that within an hour or less you can visit the markets in Mainz, Wiesbaden, Limburg, Marburg, Heidelberg, Seligenstadt, Rüdesheim, Asschafenburg and on the weekends, Bad Homburg. If you pick the right weekend, then the markets in Idstein, Büdingen, Gelnhausen, Frankfurt Höchst, Hessen Park Open Air Museum, Oberursel, or Burg Ronnerburg are worth visiting.

I live in Vienna and visited 15 markets this holiday season. Here is my breakdown of the Christmas/Advent Markets in Vienna:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/austria/a-local-s-take-on-15-christmas-markets-in-vienna

I would suggest combining a larger city, like Vienna, with some day trips. It will be cold and you don't want to be stuck in a small town with nothing to do except shiver in the cold all day waiting for the markets to come alive. From Vienna, you can easily visit the markets at Schloss Hof, Rust, Mariazell, Burgruine Aggstein (a car might be a good idea) as day trips. You could also combine Vienna with the Wolfgangsee area, spending 1-2 nights there.

Folks- we have decided to fly into Frankfurt, and leave from Munich. We will split our stay into 2, with 3/4 days in or around Mainz/Wisebaden with daily side trips, and the remaining 3/4 days in Bavaria (not sure where though yet) - any ideas?

Thanks a lot again!!

If you stay in Munich then you can do daily train trips to outlining towns for their markets, (Nuremberg, Regensburg, Esslingen, etc) even a day trip to Salzburg directly from Munich.

Maps of Germany Christmas Markets (Zoom in on map to specific city/town): https://www.germany.travel/en/map-of-germany.html#!/map/c/t/128/b/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.germany.travel%2Fen%2Fspecials%2Fchristmas%2Fchristmas.html