Hi All,
The esposa and I are contemplating a quick 8-day trip in late-November or early December. Would like to take in Christmas Markets, do some wine tasting in Alsace (and in the Moselle if that could work) and explore some of SW Germany. Obviously we don't have a lot of time and we've never been there at this time of year, so not sure what's worth doing and what isn't. We're very much open to doing smaller towns and villages if that works better. Any ideas on itinerary?
We did an 8 night trip in the area in 2023. We flew into Frankfurt, stayed one night and visited the markets there. Then we took the train to Strasbourg for 4 nights. We visited Colmar, Ribeauville, Kaysersberg, Obernai and Gengenbach by train or bus. Then we took the train to Cologne for 3 nights, and took the train directly to FRA for our return flight home.
The atmosphere in Alsace during this time is fabulous. They really go all out with the decor. Be prepared for intense crowds on weekends and at night. Shoulder-to-shoulder and you can’t move unless the crowd carries you type crowds. I would avoid the popular markets on the weekends and visit during the day during the week to do shopping. Return in the evening for the atmosphere. I do not recommend driving to the small villages. There is VERY limited parking. We saw cars parked on the road and in vineyards for a mile outside of town. Be aware that market time is PEAK season for many of these towns. Lodging prices will be high, and places get booked out months in advance. We booked our trip for this year in January.
The market in Cologne were our favorites, but the city was heavily bombed so little old world charm remains. But the markets were fabulous. Great variety of food, items for sale, entertainment and theming.
We visited the Moselle river area many years ago. It was very charming. Loved Trier (and they have a Christmas market), and there are so many adorable towns along the river.
It would be much easier to combine the French Alsace with the German Rhine-Pfalz wine region than with the Moselle. But wine tasting in Europe is mostly done in winestub, which are retail sales locations, much more so than at the vineyard or winery. There are exceptions, but Christmas is not a big time for this.
You could very easily fly into Zurich, or Basel, and then fly out of Frankfurt and hit several very good Christmas markets while staying entirely within "wine country". Consider Colmar and Strasbourg (best Christmas scene that I know in France), Neustadt, Heidelberg, Mainz, Frankfurt, and all the smaller towns enroute. Plus Zurich has a decent number of seasonal markets, as does Basel.
I would try to keep the ground travel fairly limited with your short time. FRA airport in and out, as travel4fun did it, probably makes a lot of sense. Here's a map of the various wine regions in the vicinity of FRA, Mainz, Wiesbaden and beyond:
"We're very much open to doing smaller towns and villages if that works better."
Germany's small towns can be very charming to visit in winter, but for booking rooms, be sure to pick a place with a daily Christmas market; other small towns and villages in the Rheingau, Rheinhessen, Mittelrhein, Nahe, and Mosel regions are worth a visit during winter's short daylight hours, but STAYING in some of them can mean a lot of thumb-twiddling once the sun goes down!
On the Rhine: Rüdesheim could be a good small-town base... a popular daily Christmas market, winter cable-car rides, Rheinweinwelt (wine-tasting facility) and proximity to Wiesbaden, Marksburg Castle in Braubach (see 3 pages of pics,) Mainz, Koblenz, FRA airport and Frankfurt, all of which are good for outings that offer general sightseeing and Christmas markets.
BERNKASTEL is probably the Mosel's most stunning old-world wine town. A daily Christmas market as well as proximity to historic TRIER and COCHEM for day trips - and winter cruise options as well - make it a good bet.
https://en.bernkastel.de/christmas-market
https://www.moselrundfahrten.de/en/trips/boat-tours/round-trip/17
As KGC points out, access to wine tasting experiences is a bit slim at that time; you can of course find wine at most dining establishments, but a shift in focus from wine to other things is probably wise. Trier, Germany's oldest city, has numerous options for sightseeing.
https://www.trier-info.de/en/places-of-interest
https://www.trier-info.de/en/museums
Staying in Trier - and doing outings to Cochem and to Bernkastel from there - is also a reasonable option. Luxembourg airport is quite close to Trier, btw.
Thanks to all for the excellent suggestions. We have something to start mulling over now. We'll post here on what we end up deciding.
