European Christmas markets 2019

Remember German Christmas beginning shutting down around noon on Christmas eve.

The Prague "Christmas Market" continues until January 6, Epiphany.... Maybe check for activities related to that too. Many German schools are off until then anyway.

Also smaller Christmas markets may be better suited for young children - Smaller cities like Bamberg or Augsburg rather than Nuremberg for example.

Have fun!

Christmas market at Berlin's Gendarmenmarkt ends Dec. 31 - just 4 hrs by train from Frankfurt.

Most Christmas markets shut down on the 22nd or maybe the 23rd of Dec. Very, very few are still open on the 24th. Small towns may only have them on 1 weekend.

Near Frankfurt, the markets that are child-friendly would be in Bad Homburg on the weekends only, the market in the Frankfurt City Forest, and I like the market in Mainz. In the day time, it isn't so busy. I don't have the dates for the other small towns, though many of them are more towards the beginning of Advent rather than towards the end.

Stuttgart has a fantastic market, it is my favorite big city market. Nearby is Esslingen which might be fun for both of you as it has a large Medieval market.

If you can decide on your dates of travel, buying point to point tickets may be cheapest. The ticket for Paris to Frankfurt, for example, is only 39€ if you get it ahead of time. For riding in Germany, there are many bargain tickets.

Consider spending more time in Alsace, in Colmar and visiting the markets in the nearby villages. It seemed to me that the French markets were more oriented to children - petting animals, rides.

Thank you so much for all of your replies.

My dates so far is arriving 4.12.19 and leave 17.01.20

Prague was one I was thinking of doing as a overnight trip. Maybe after Christmas? Or should I see before?

Only week I won’t be traveling is actual Christmas week as that time my bestie is taking holiday and she hates traveling during holidays. She doesn’t even want to visit the markets. Hoping that will change 🤷🏻‍♀️

Never thought of doing more France markets. Would you suggest staying overnight? Or doing day trips from a central location. I speak French somewhat rusty but I am sure I will get by if need be to ask for other markets. My whole trip is for my son to experience life as I did and to see his face light up.

I am okay with little markets and I don’t really want to go to the most popular. Stuttgart is on the top of my list as is Esslingen is #2. I grew up in Weil im Schönbuch small village near Stuttgart. Ansbach sounds perfect too. Berlin might just have to make the list. As I have not been since check point Charlie was moved to the Museum.

Point to point tickets were in my thoughts but I was worried I would spend more in the long run. I am assuming i can still book 2-3 month in advance. Or should I book closer to travel.

I was also thinking maybe Ryanair for quick long day trips just a back pack if I need to stay overnight. But I know I will be mostly relying on trains.

I am replying on my phone so I can’t see all the post and I am going on memory.

I can’t believe how long it had been since I spent Christmas in Europe. I can’t thank you all enough for helping me with this. Looking forward to typing out my itinerary once I have it all made out.

This report might be of interest to you.
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/christmas-markets-with-kids

You will spend so much more on a global pass than point to point tickets!

Thank you Emily. This is good to know. I will stick with point to point tickets. How far in advance is advance for their system?

Consider 3-4 days in Alsace, 1 day Strasbourg, 1 day Colmar, 1-2 days for the Route de Vin villages. I would much prefer staying in Colmar over Strasbourg. Colmar is more attractive and less a big city feel (and probably less expensive as it is not an EU capital).

I suggest reading this website for reliable info on train tickets - https://www.seat61.com/Europe-train-tickets.htm#Important_tips

Thank you Travel Mom!

Thank you KB!

Thank you Emily!

The markets I went to really didn't get started until lunchtime and for the most part didn't get very crowded until after 5 pm, when the locals begin to congregate to drink and eat their way through the evening. It seemed to me that the markets were more crowded in the larger cities (Frankfurt, Strasbourg, Stuttgart) and much less so in the smaller ones.

thank you Chanti. This gives me hope that we can get other things in the morning done..and still not be crowded when we go.

I'm going to get a bunch of push back on this because Christmas Markets are German and .... But one that always gets great reviews is one where everything sold has to be locally made and approved by a committee. It opens mid November and closes the food stalls on the 24th, but continues selling goods until the 1st. And it's an hour to 1.5 hour flight, nonstop from several places in Germany and from Prague. And it's in a city often cited as being among the most beautiful in Europe; and full of things for kids. Although it's been a long time since I had a 3 year old .....

James E.
Where is it? You did not say.

Budapest of course https://youtu.be/t1nv8OS1XyY

In 2017 we spent 2 weeks in Germany at Christmas markets something I had always wanted to do. We based in Freiburg- 4 days, taking day trips to Basel, Colmar, Ravenna Gorge by train. Then several days in Tubingen for the Chocolate Festival, up to Stuttgart for a couple of days, finally Frankfurt. Then we did 4 days in Iceland. The least impressive was Frankfurt, all of the others were wonderful in their own ways - big city Stuttgart was wonderful, tiny Ravenna Gorge most country picturesque. Colmar, Freiburg, Basel were all great and subtly different. You have the mornings to sightsee, markets in the afternoon and evening. Freiburg was central, only an easy hour by train to numerous markets. Iceland doesn’t really have Christmas markets, but has other interesting customs, and search for northern lights.

I am with James regarding the Budapest Christmas markets. Far superior compared to Prague!