Hello fellow travelers!
I have personally gone to a few Christmas Markets but I wanted to see what others thought was a festive and interesting market or festival. Planning a trip for December of 2019 with my sister who wants to experience the holiday season in Europe.
Hoping people that are celebrating now will respond to this post.
Any Christmas market or festival that are happening in Germany or any place in Europe would be helpful.
Thank you in advance for your replies.
There is a lot of good info on this recent post. People are still responding.
The markets are pretty much the same in different locations.
Normally (4 trips) we picked the cities that we want to see and took their markets as frosting on the cake. Regensburg was probably our favorite and does has a "Romantic Market" at the palace, but the goods are the same as elsewhere.
https://mcchelsea.smugmug.com/Advent-2010/Regensburg/
https://mcchelsea.smugmug.com/Advent-2010/Thurn-and-Taxis-Palace-Market/
Munich has multiple markets but the crowds were overwhelming.
Our most atmospheric stop (2 times) was Rothenburg.
https://mcchelsea.smugmug.com/Advent-2010/Rothenburg-ob-der-Tauber/
We have also been to medieval themed markets in Munich, Esslingen on the Neckar and Würzburg. They were a bit unusual.
The markets are pretty much the same in different locations.
I disagree to that point and tend to see that more detailed and differentiated.
Even Christmas markets in Germany have very different atmospheres, especially in terms of religious and cultural background. In Berlin for example you will find very different atmospheres which are described on a page of VisitBerlin.
Example: In southern and western parts of Germany you would find more the catholic storytelling in "Christkindl" style which is very different to the northern parts, they are more into other versions such as crafts-markets and Saint Lucy. Also the regional kitchens get into the food offering of the markets as well as different preferences of art handscraft, e.g. wood carving arts in Erzgebirge. Wooden Christmas mills are really beautiful but not everyone's taste.
Some markets in big German cities have much more modern entertainment factors, e.g. Cologne Cathedral market or Berlin at Alexa (closed this year) or the one at Rotes Rathaus with flying Santa, giant wheel and other fun stuff. Berlin has also other very specialised Christmas market versions, e.g. the winter edition of Green Market which is a fully vegan weekend Chistmas market.
A sevret tip and recommendation are the Christmas markets on the countryside from and for locals. In Brandenburg state around Berlin are several smaller markets with own focus (map). In Schleswig-Holstein one of the most visited markets in its area (Germans only before that entry here) is one in the middle of nowhere between Kiel and Lübeck at Gut Stockseehof.
Also NRW state has a lot of very special markets - a very good overview is provided by tourist office. They tried to group up markets in atmospgeric groups.
Finally it is such a matter of taste and preferences for atmospheres. The best market for one can be the worst for another person. Therefore I do not provide recommendations. OK, just one: My mom loves the one at Berlin's Charlottenburg Palace.
Have been to 7 markets so far this year (none of them new) - Frankfurt, Frankfurt Höchst, Mainz, Weisbaden, Rüdesheim, Idstein, and Büdingen. These are all easy day trips from Frankfurt, so you don't have to move around.
Other markets I have visited over the years are Heidelberg, Bad Homburg, Ronneburg Castle, Eppstein, Stuttgart, Colmar, Strasbourg, Munich, Gelnhausen, Asschaffenburg, Seligenstadt, and Eltville. Some of these are also easy to reach from Frankfurt in an hour or less. Asschaffenburg and Heidelberg are a bit farther, but still good day trips.
The small ones held on just one weekend are usually the most charming ones and offer lots of handmade items from locals. Large ones can be charming too, if they are spread out around the city and offer different markets. Stuttgart does this extremely well. Strasbourg too.
The rain is not helping with the atmosphere, but once it gets dark it all looks pretty.
