Early December in Europe - Where to go? Christmas markets?

Over the years, Christmas markets have become "the thing" bringing crowds, tourists and Chinese junk. A couple that still manage to have at least a part devoted to locally made items are in Dresden and Nuremburg. But they are jam packed.

Strasbourg and Colmar are the tops of my list with Rothenburg thrown in for good measure. We went to soak up the festive atmosphere and the decorations and not to shop. It is a beautiful time of year to be in Europe.

I did A Christmas Market trip last December. Flew into Munich and then trained Munich-Salzburg-Prague-Dresden-Nuremberg-Cologne. My favorites were Dresden (several different ones). Nuremberg, and Salzburg. Must be in Dresden for the Strollen festival and Salzburg for the Krumpus night!!!!!!! I collected 27 mugs!!! Sp all in all visited 27 different markets!!! Don’t let people tell you they are all the same because they each have different characters and food!!! One of the BEST trips I ever took!!!

I am laughing at Greg’s comment about all the mugs he collected. We did, too. It is the only thing we brought home with us other than memories.

I have not been to Christmas markets, but based on previous posts and geography, maybe Munich, Rothenburg, Nurenburg, Dresden, Salzburg, then back to Munich to fly home. You could even consider Salzburg as a day trip from Munich-it's an easy train ride

I'm not sure where to start...

Forget Munich, unless you just want to go there. I love the city, but it's not a great Christmas destination.

Nuremburg is one of the best Christmas markets. It's very crowded, especially after work when the locals join in. Still, because it's very commercial they get the better local craftsmen, along with the factory made stuff. Nuremburg is also a good foodie town, so there's that too. And it's prettier than Munich.

Salzburg; I don't know about their Christmas market, as I've never been there at the time it runs. But it's a very attractive city, and another foodie destination.

Vienna, again I don't have first hand experience with the Christmas market thing. (When I lived over there shopping like that was not a priority.) But what a great city to walk around in the snow when most of the tourists are gone! If you like baked desserts this is your town!

Prague is good, and another one of my favorite towns, but it's gotten very commercial. 30 years ago you'd kill yourself trying to carry $100 worth of shopping. That's just not so now.

If you just want to do shopping for Christmas stuff I'd fly into Nuremburg, then go up to Bamberg and visit the Lauscha glass factory and get your ornaments direct from the maker. Then go over towards Chemnitz to the small town of Seiffen. The whole place is filled with original craftsmen of Christmas decorations. Just make sure to take your wallet. (These are not tourist places, except to locals.)

Last- Kathe Wohlfart is a major name in Christmas stuff. It's all over all of the markets. Be advised you can get it cheaper without leaving home, so if they have something you like get it online. It's factory stuff. The company also has Christmas shows in most of the major Canadian cities starting in late November.

I went on the RS Munich, Salzburg, Vienna tour last year in early December expressly to get some Christmas market time in. I had been to both Munich and Salzburg previously for Christmas and at other times, but Vienna was new. This tour is basically three nights in each city. By the time we got to Vienna, I was overly saturated by Christmas markets and crowds. They are especially huge and ubiquitous in Vienna, though I enjoyed a few hours at the market in the museum quarter.

Were I to do such a trip again on my own - and keeping in mind minimizing crowd exposure - I would fly in and out of Munich. You can visit Munich, the medieval market is fun, as is the Viktualienmarkt. Lots of museums, maybe some snow flurries. Then, I would head south by train. Potential market and exploring destinations include: Mittenwald, Garmisch, Innsbruck, Hallstatt, and even down to Bozen (Bolzano). When I was in Bolzano at the Christmas market (it WAS 10 years ago), it definitely was not overrun with tourists. I have not been to Mittenwald and Garmisch. They are still on my list, but all of these destinations are basically on the same train line (or close). After Munich, station yourself in Innsbruck and go to Hallstatt for the day - or vice versa. Head down to Bolzano for a few days and then train directly back to Munich - no changes. Woohoo, you could even go down to Verona and back.

Take a look at the train routes and the times. If you think Deutsche Bahn will be too intimidating, use Rome2Rio first. I always enjoy a train ride through the mountains and the Brenner pass.

Alternatively, you can head north of Munich or east to Salzburg. Salzburg could easily be a day trip from Munich. Some of the cities north of Munich, I mentally connect with crowds, though to be fair, I have not been to them for years.

Anyway, just some thoughts for somewhat less traveled markets than Vienna, Prague, etc.

Thank you everyone that has offered suggestions and advice thus far! I am looking forward to taking some time this weekend to dig further into these wonderful possibilities.

If anyone else has any, please keep them coming!

Budapest Hungary has a great christmas market starting in mid november ;)

Birmingham ...

https://www.germanchristmasmarketbirmingham.com

You could fly R/T Frankfurt. I was very unimpressed by the markets there, but there's a lot to sightsee and the old city center is charming. Then train to Stuttgart, visit the huge market there and allow another day to visit nearby Esslingen with its medieval market - great during the day and even better after dark when much is lit only by candles and oil lamps. Then spend time in Alsace - Strasbourg/Colmar. The French markets are much different. I thought they focused more on children (especially Colmar) and less on eating on drinking, with more local handicrafts. From Strasbourg you can get back to Frankfurt by train (about 2 hours) or Lufthansa's shuttle bus right to the airport.

Wow, Chani, thanks for that concise plan. I have toyed with going to Colmar/Strasbourg, but never came up with a solid itinerary.

If you stay in Colmar for 2-3 nights, you could visit the nearby villages that also have Xmas markets. Google "noel en alsace" for details - especially dates, since some of the villages have shorter time spans. If you spend a couple of nights in Frankfurt you can daytrip to Mainz and Wiesbaden. Mainz has some great tourists sights, especially the cathedral and St Stephan church with Chagall windows, also the Gutenberg Museum.

My wife and I visited Austria during the Christmas market season a few years ago and for what it's worth my observations are:
The markets are more about atmosphere than shopping. It is hard to find something compelling to buy to take home.
Vienna is a mob of people if you like that kind of atmosphere. All the little villages have markets that are not crowded and have lots of charm. We went to the markets at St. Gilgen, St Wolfgang, and Berchtesgaden. These towns are easy local bus rides from Salzburg and worth an overnight stay. The bus numbers are in Rick's guide book. Salzburg also has nice markets that we liked better than those in Vienna.
We blundered into a Krampus invasion at the Augustiner Braustubl in Salzburg and had no previous knowledge of this tradition. Standing toe to toe with these guys is a definite must do for anyone planning to be in Austria during the season.