I have no idea how this list was compiled (despite reading the article), but there were a number of places toward the top of the list that don’t often come up here (I admit I clicked through because Budapest was listed first - but # 2-10 were new to me as a December destination thought).
So I thought it might provide food for thought for those that say they want “off the beaten path”. Forbes list of Christmas Markets
I always find these lists so interesting. We go over every other year and I most always disagree with these lists. Must depend on what people consider 'best.'
TexasTravelmom, yet another reason to start scrambling for last-minute flights! Some of these places look beautiful! And yes, I agree that many of these would be off the beaten path and worth a visit.
This would actually be a fun "bucket list." 😊
ETA: I went back and looked and it says: that "... [out of] a record 600,000 votes by travelers from 168 countries worldwide, the European Best Destinations (EBD) organization has unveiled its list of “the most beautiful Christmas markets to visit 2023-24.” I don't know if you clicked through to that, TTM, but the photos on the original site are bigger and there are more photos of each market. Really lovely!
My niece is visiting the markets this year, starting in Budapest. I’ll wait for her return to hear what she has to say.
I’m planning to finally get to some markets next year, haven’t been since 1982 when we were in Germany. I was planning on starting in Paris, just because I want to visit again, and traveling to Switzerland. I have at least till April to seriously start planning. This thread will be bookmarked.
Maybe some of our posters who traveled this season will report back.
ChinaLake67, TexasTravelMom, et al; how many on the list have you been to? And what did you think of them?
Chilalake67, I totally agree about the “top 10” type lists. Destinations and satisfaction therewith seems totally dependent upon interests (to me). But you have to admit this one has some places you may never have considered. 🤣 Who (around here) knew there was a beautiful Christmas market in Craiova, Romania?
Mardee, I had NOT clicked through for more pictures. I will now have to do that, just to whet my appetite. 🤣 I have decided I really love an early Dec. trip for Christmas lights - and am deciding where 2024 will be. I will be in Riga in August so it was interesting to see that on the list as a destination for Dec.
Barbara, I figure it’s hard to beat Germany for sheer number of and history of markets. It will be fun to get your niece’s perspective! I have now been to Paris twice in Dec. and it’s pretty magical - especially since there is so much else to see. But I think my preferences will run to smaller cities (in general).
Mr. É - oooh, a list could be fun. Personally I have been to 2 on the list (kind of): London (but didn’t get to to Hyde Park, which was referenced) and Prague (which I can’t quite count since it was 2021 and most of the markets couldn’t open because of Covid). Otherwise, I have only been to Paris, Heidelberg, Strasbourg, & Colmar. What do I think? I am still formulating an opinion. 🤣 I love the lights and atmosphere, but there needs to be other things to do or see. That’s kind of why I liked this list - new places with Christmas thrown in. Of the places I have been, Heidelberg sits at the bottom of my short list, for no particular reason.
ChinaLake67, thank you. Thats a great list to get started with. Maybe next year for me. I now know who to ask. Again, thank you. Most of the ones I have been to were in Romania and Slovakia and London and Rome and didn't make the list and for good reason LOL .... oh and the one in Budapest I've been too. It was good. But you are correct, these non-Germanic countries should stop trying to be Christmas festive.
Oh, and I just saw this. You can probalby help out. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france/after-christmas-market-in-strasbourg
I am interested in the definition of the word authentic when it is about a Christmas market.
Is it the food, the decorations, the music, the items being sold, the languages spoken, the rides?
Since there is a Frankfurt Christmas market in Frankfurt but also one in Birmingham, (and 2 other cities in the UK) how can the one in Birmingham not be authentic? Especially, since many of the vendors are German, selling German products? What exactly makes it not authentic anymore?
My favorite markets have been in Marburg, Limburg, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Esslingen, Mainz, Wiesbaden, Büdingen, Ronnerburg Castle, Michelstadt, Bad Homburg, and Fulda. The most unique one is the Ravenna Gorge market.
Just ok, was Munich. Perhaps I expected more. Rüdesheim is selling so much cheap kitsch, that it just isn't very nice anymore. It used to be quite international and now it isn't.
Ones I want to visit: Aachen, Erfurt, Dresden, Trier, Cologne, Miltonberg,
TTM: You're killing me! :)
The markets themselves isn’t the draw for me. It’s the overall holiday lights that I love. I wish there was a list for well lit cities/villages. That would be a dream bucket list for me.
KRS, this link is within the link that Mardee posted.
https://www.europeanbestdestinations.com/best-of-europe/best-christmas-lights-in-europe/
Just finishing up two weeks in Germany. Started in Berlin, traveled through Saxony, and ending in Dresden (before a few final days in Prague). I really enjoyed the markets in Leipzig. They were spread out throughout the Altstadt, with different themes in each area. I was surprised at how close to one another all the markets are in Dresden. We were walking to the Streizelmarkt and ran across two on the way over and three on the way back (not counting Augustusplatz, in our neighborhood). No, I didn't stop at all of them...it was just a bit too much in one outing! The town of Seiffen is a year-round Christmas market. My favorite has been Görlitz. Maybe it had something to do with the snow on the ground....
It's been eleven years since my first Christmas market experience. It was in Budapest-and it's still #1 on my favorites list.
I agree about finding other things to see and do besides the Markets. If you want to shop, it's easiest in the daytime before the crowds are out. At night I've observed it's mostly about food and drink. And the Markets have been crowded at night!
In answer to Ms Jo, what makes it inauthentic to me is that German products and produce are being sold in the UK. As if only German products, produce, music etc can be considered to be Christmassy. Extracting money from English people to the hands of another country (any other country, not specifically Germany).
What is authentic to me in the UK is the local Christmas markets, many off the tourist radar- which happen for only one or a few days- which sell UK made products local to the regions, keeping the money local.
Three local to me which I can think off straight away are the Grassington Christmas market and Dickensian festival in North Yorkshire; the Ulverston Dickensian festival in South Cumbria and the Keswick Victorian Fair- all of which also feature local entertainment. But there are lots of others.
If I want products from another country I will go there and buy when on holiday, but economically I should be supporting my own local economy.
Bah, humbug, I am sure some will say.
I’m surprised Brussels is even on the list.
I’ve just spent two days there.
The markets are Winter Markets really.
Very well laid out, portable toilets, attendants cleaning up all over, plenty seating for all the many huts selling food and drink; but apart from the lights and fir trees here and there, there is no Christmas theme and no Christmas ornaments or handicrafts in any of the markets.
They sell handbags, mass-produced jewelry , hats and gloves and one lonely guy selling ( or not selling, it looked like) reindeer hides as rugs. Eew.
The city looks pretty though, and the Son et Lumiere in the Grand Place was lovely.
To be fair, there appears to be an authentic Christmas 'Fish & Chips' vendor on Frankfurt's Zeil -
https://youtu.be/7R0FfdUodhU?si=An7kZp5ZmY3S3IrC&t=1278
I love all this input! I love Christmas and the festivity at Christmas - and don’t care at all about items being sold at markets (I am a bad shopper). But I love the lights and the hustle and bustle and general happiness.
I also don’t care about authenticity. Like Ms. Jo, I am not sure how you determine that - I think most countries have their own definition of Christmas. I think uniqueness might be my key word (and thus need to get to Ravenna Gorge).
But I am easy to please and would probably enjoy all of the ones mentioned, although I probably lean toward being more like KRS in my enjoyment of the lights. :) I had missed the lights link, so thanks, Lindy, for reposting that! I see several places on that list that are going to call my name!
In my constant replanning of a Christmas/Winter trip, lol, the lights are also a draw for me. I'm not much of a shopper and probably not much of an eater at a Christmas Market but the lights and decorations sound like fun!
I had to laugh though...in the info on the Edinburgh Christmas Market mulled IrnBru is featured which sounds appalling but they do have vegan pigs in blankets to go with, lol!!
Pam, I laughed at that, too. 🤣. But it definitely falls under the category of “unique”. Lol!
Really I think it falls under "U-Neek", hahaha!!!
TexasTravelMom, so its okay that I go to the Budapest market this year? Even though ............. you know ..........
Actually, I've been to the Budapest market in at least 3, maybe 4 different years (lost count) and not less than 5 times so far this year. Yea, its good but the truth is that I have to walk through the market to catch the tram to the hardware store and I have been doing repairs this past week.
The Budapest Christmas Markets get nothing but good press. Two others that seem to always get good press are Strasbourg and Zagreb. I guess people noticed that this is the fourth time in 5 years that the market got voted best in Europe, so a suggestion, come mid-week. Its pretty busy this year. What was nice is that i noticed that the most common language among those visiting was Hungarian.
The vendors were all prescreened again as is done every year so everything is Hungarian made handcraft or typical cultural fare. And they got rid of the horrible unified IPad credit card interfaces (that only lasted one year thank goodness). So, nothing German. Wait, thats not true. One booth had something that looked a lot like a Frankfurter. .
Pam, LOL! I can picture vegan pigs in a blanket - - but not hot mulled Irnbru. 🤦🏻♀️
Mr É. Yes, I think you should go to at least one Christmas market daily - no repair excuses necessary. 🤣 Budapest might make my list for 2024. But I am really liking the idea of the Baltics for lights. Or Romania. Or Poland - Krakow and Gdansk look lovely.
That's sn interesting list they published. I might go wandering too. I'm thinking Bucharest, Crayola, Sofia. But I need to find a German to travel with so it will be authentic.
Kara and Nate, you tubers just started programs on Christmas markets they have attended in this month. Three per episode. Brussels, Munich and Salzburg in this first program. They grade atmosphere, food and some kind of warm spiced Christmas wine. They show the markets but aren’t shoppers. They are blitzing 9 countries in the three episodes.
Shouldn't we refer to these as Winter Markets so they are more inclusive?
Not unless they are like SJ said Brussels is - with no Christmas theme. If Santa Claus or St. Nicholas or Christmas trees are there, then it’s a Christmas market.
For those who, like me, are fans of all the lovely colored lights, Christmas Garden is interesting. The link for Stuttgart: https://www.christmas-garden.de/en/stuttgart/
Scroll down to the bottom of the page for others. It does not seem to be the same year to year, as last year I saw Frankfurt and Malaga on the list, and they're not there this year. At least one somewhere, some yea,r is on my list.
Frankfurt is not having a Christmas Garden this year, but they do have the Winter Lights in the Palmengarten, like every year.
Koblenz has a fabulous Christmas Garden that I went to last year and thinking about seeing again this year. They are in lots of cities now.
Oh, goodness. Apparently what I love has a name - a Christmas Garden! Link saved and I do need to include one every year!
I’m headed up to Stuttgart on Friday for a short Christmas market tour. I was reminded in this thread about the great review Ms. Jo left last year about the Ravenna Gorge market, and was ready to ditch a day’s existing plan to squeeze that one in. But their website says tickets are all sold out this year. So, now I want to see it even more! If they restrict access to a certain number it means it will be more tolerable and hopefully more magical. The pictures are gorgeous. And I always trust Ms. Jo. Oh well, another time. From the looks of the lists here, there are lots of markets yet to plan for.
The Christmas Garden at Berlin's Botanischer Garten is lovely. It snowed a bit while we were there, which added to the festive feeling. While in Dresden we saw advertising for Christmas Garden at Schloss Pillnitz that looked beautiful.
Well if you're going to include Christmas Gardens (be still my beating heart!) then you must include Kew Gardens at Christmas. Andrea just posted a report about traveling there and in the replies, TexasTravelmom contributed some gorgeous photos of Kew at Christmas!
So, Frankfurt, Berlin, and Dresden Christmas gardens noted! And yes, Nelly, Ravenna Gorge has been on my list, too, for a couple of years, after seeing pictures.
Christmas at Kew was done really well. After being there and visiting Strasbourg and Colmar last year, I decided the lighting displays are what I enjoy more than the shopping market experience (although I like that also). So thank you to everyone who has shared!
For those of you who want to go to Ravenna Gorge market next year, tickets go on sale in Oct.
If you want to go on the torch walk there, that includes your ticket to get in, plus a shuttle ride back to Hinterzarten, you can book that here: https://www.schneeschuhakademie.de/erlebnisangebote/weihnachtsmarkt/index.html
I booked this on 2 Oct. to make sure we got a ticket. It was 37€ p.p. for everything. Spending the night at one of the adorable guest houses in Hinterzarten was a treat, with a yummy breakfast the next morning.
@Ms Jo - thank you for the tip! Putting it on my calendar for next October to see if we can make another trip next year
Thanks for the link, Ms. Jo. I have it bookmarked and google mapped. It probably won’t fit in 2024, but maybe 2025. I can see several stops it could work well with…..
I’m in Strasbourg right now and the markets are really nice. I’m not here to buy anything, but everything is very festive. I was in Colmar a couple of days ago and enjoyed the festivities there as well. I started in Bruges and while I enjoyed it, if markets were my focus I wouldn’t choose it. I was in Cologne last weekend visiting family and the markets there were really nice too. I’m looking forward to Ravenna Gorge on Friday with Ms. Jo. I’m sure the torch walk and market will be the highlight of the trip, thanks to her.
Another Christmas market that really deserves a bit more attention is Jamtli in Östersund, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knjkKwc4RZE
Andrea, this sounds like a great trip!
Badger, the market looks pretty magical. I then started looking at a good way to get there and it looks like in winter, flying would be the workable option, unless you take the train and make a stop along the way (otherwise, it’s a really long day of travel). Things to consider…… :)
I was passing through Edinburgh this morning on my way to a "new" day trip destination for Edinburgh in East Lothian and looked in on the Christmas market.
The mulled irn bru was nowhere to be found. Mulled wine, cider and gin, but no irn bru. I intended to try it.
Maybe it's an urban myth or maybe it was on the West market, which opens later than the East one.
I would say the Manchester and Liverpool, UK Christmas markets, which I recently visited, are off the beaten path for most readers of this forum. The German sausages cooked on those massive grills are very tasty, especially with a cup of hot rum punch, but if German fare in the UK isn't sufficiently authentic, at the Liverpool one there is a booth serving "scouse" (and a wide variety of other choices also, at both). And traditions evolve; Christmas trees were a newfangled German import at one time, as well.
Isn31c, maybe either an urban myth - or an experiment gone bad that disappeared quickly? 🤣 But for sure, if you find it, report back!
Slate, an excellent point about all traditions evolving. At some point, it becomes difficult to pinpoint “original”. And at some point, “different” becomes fun. :)
I visited Szentrndre yesterday. If you are in Budapest for four or more days it's worth the effort . Only a few "traditional" market stalls but the entire old town is arts, crafts, antiques, food so all the little shops are as hood or better. The tree and Christmas lights were pretty sweet too.
About 40 min outside Budapest on the H5 commuter train. Be sure and validate your ticket ... I forgot about it 😬
I keep saying next time for Szentendre …. Maybe it really WILL be next time, since I keep waiting till I am there and the boat is running. Off to add another day to Budapest to my trip. 🤦🏻♀️
But it won’t be Christmas…..
The town is sort of a year round Christmas market.
I then started looking at a good way to get there and it looks like in
winter, flying would be the workable option, unless you take the train
and make a stop along the way (otherwise, it’s a really long day of
travel). Things to consider…… :)
It's not that hard to travel to Östersund, it's five hours by train from Stockholm. There are also night trains that take a bit longer if you prefer to travel while sleeping. Or as mentioned you can fly from Stockholm to Östersund.
If you plan to visit, keep in mind that it is only a three day event that takes place from friday and ends on the second sunday of Advent.
Badger, good to have that correction. I bet, in my VERY quick search, I was seeing the night train and not the 5 hour connection. If anyone were to come upon this thread in the future, dates for 2023 in Östersund look like Dec. 8-10.
Mr. É, well, that read brought up all kinds of thoughts. 🤣 No mention that the committee ever even went to the applicant cities. But Brno might be interesting enough for a stop. The “local” aspect was nice - but the dragon was just funny….
dates for 2023 in Östersund look like Dec. 8-10.
Correct, and it should be 6-8 in 2024.
TTM all the surveys and lists are "cooked" but it's a source to begin researching from. Oh, except when a certain city makes the top of the list. That's always accurate.
Having a White Christmas here ... I🥳
