Christmas market dilemma

We’ve gone to Strasbourg the past three years (during our Thanksgiving trips to Paris) and have loved it! Big tip: make sure you go on a weekday. The weekends are so jammed that you can hardly walk.

The Markets are most alive in the evenings so plan some fun daytime things too. Strasbourg and Nuremberg Markets don’t open until Nov 27.

Please include :
Strasbourg and Colmar, Stuttgart (and Esslingen). We finished in Rothenberg, because of the town, (the markets were small.) All magical and different.

Do firm up plans asap as hotels will already be in short supply- especially on the weekends. I'll look for my 2019 Trip Report.
This will be magical for all!

Nuremberg is farther - but it's also GERMANY - and one of our favorite markets. We go over to them every other year. It is crowded because it is SO SO good. Amazing items and food and a great town. There is a great RS video on YouTube about the Nuremberg market. Find it !! The town is so good with half timbered homes, old wood bridges and canals, many cathedrals, a castle, lots of Hitler stuff. We love Hotel Victoria.
Our fav route is to book MultiCity tickets - fly into Vienna which has MANY markets and needs 3 full days minimum.

We use the train. We make our way to Saltzburg for a couple nights, Nuremberg for 3 nights, Regensburg for a night, then to Munich as it's so easy to fly home from there and the markets there are ok (not our fav, but an easy airport). If you are going this year, you are behind if you haven't booked hotels. We book a year in advance for the best price and location.

Paris is pretty, but the Xmas markets are not authentic and underwhelming w/Chinese imports.

Heidelberg is good. Cologne is very good, but the town is underwhelming.

Strasbourg & Colmar are stunning and festive, but NOT Germany - so not our favorites, but still very good.

Regenesburg is good, especially their PRIVATE market - Thurn & Taxis which you do need tickets for.

The Smokers, Nutcrackers, Pyramids are GERMAN and you will will see them in the GERMAN markets - be sure you aren't getting the Chinese imports which you will see in France, Belgium, Switzerland.

Passau also has a good market and a good town

Unless you plan on buying tons of Christmas items, realize that you will spend maybe 2-3 hours at a market, so make sure that there are a lot of your normal tourist interests in the places you visit.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/christmas-markets-switzerland-france-germany-2019

Found it!

PS- Yes, Alsace area is NOW French, but remember the region went back and forth between Germany and France for decades! The German influences are ingrained and intertwined.

I disagree with the above post about 2-3 hrs in a market. We spend much more than that in many of the markets as most of our fav ones have concerts, musicians, choirs in the main area and we absolutely love those and have been known to stay all day and way into the evening eating, drinking, seeing cathedrals, listening to the concerts, shopping, etc. The markets in Vienna, Nuremberg, Salzburg, etc will need much more time than 2-3hrs (for us anyway). That's why we stay 2-3 days in each town so we can enJOY the market and the town.

@ChinaLake.
Yes, this was my concern. This trip is to go to German markets, (Paris is a bonus) and the reason I am doubting Strasbourg and Colmar.
We have been to Strasbourg before for 4 days so I feel like I’ve seen most of it, other than the markets. I’ve also been to Cologne, before kids, and it was okay but hear the markets are nice.

"I will say I do not want to leave Europe without getting a traditional Nutcracker and pyramid." Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains) eastern Germany along the Czechia boarder. Out of your way, but a nice area. Definitely a different feel and not as many tourists. Glück auf! https://www.erzgebirge-tourismus.de/weihnachtsmaerkte

Strasbourg is the most decorated town Ive ever seen, The waves of lights make it magical. Buildings decorate from ground floor to roof. Even as a senior, I gasped when I first glimpsed the decorations. Have fun!.

”Please include : Strasbourg and Colmar, Stuttgart (and Esslingen)”

My daughter & I went to Strasbourg, Stuttgart & Esslingen last year for the Christmas Markets (Vienna, Salzburg & Munich, too). We ended in Paris but didn’t plan to spend time in the Christmas Markets there. As we walked by two of them as we were out at sites, they were lame - more like county fair type stuff.

Strasbourg was amazing for the Christmas Markets with the city so festive! It was our most expensive hotel, so we were just there one night. Stuttgart was our least favorite (but still liked it a lot), Esslingen’s medieval market was great! The whole trip was such a fun experience that I am going back this year just to Germany to head to 11 cities that I haven’t stayed in previously. I am avoiding Nuremberg because an extremely crowded market doesn’t sound fun at all to me. Other than that location, enjoy whichever cities you decide have enough interest during the day for you. Then enjoy the markets for the evening ambiance.

Suzann, I go to the Christmas Markets almost every year. We love them and my husband, daughter and I all bring an extra tote bag so which we fill with Christmas decorations, food and gifts. The best place to buy quality nutcrackers and a pyramid are close to the Ore Mountains (Erzgebirge Mountains) where they are made. Though it is out of the way, the multiple markets in Dresden are fabulous, and our all time market. See if you can get there for two nights. Other thoughts are:
Alsace has the best decorated towns, really over the top and your daughters will love them
Nuremberg is great, don’t go on a weekend. I’ve bought many nice things there over the years.
Regensburg has a great private market, the Thun and Taxis that has an admission (at least 10 euros) on the grounds of its castle, very atmospheric and worth the cost.
Heidelberg and Düsseldorf are both nice, but not worth visiting at the expense of the others mentioned.
If you are not seeing quality German made nutcrackers and pyramids in the markets, go to a tourist gift store. Don’t overlook the famous Kathe Wohlfahrt stores and pop up stalls at the markets.
Paris is very mediocre for Christmas Markets. If you are set on going to Paris, one day take the RER train to Paris Disney instead. Your daughters will love it - especially the new Frozen land!

You will find authentic nutcrackers and pyramids at almost any market. If they are cheap, they aren't authentic.

I found Stuttgart to be a lovely market, with highly decorated stalls. Looks so beautiful compared to Nuremburg where all of the stalls are alike. Esslingen was a favorite and unique. Strasbourg and Colmar are both fantastic, but are getting too crowded. Weekday visits only. Frankfurt has a beautiful market too with decorated stalls. Nearby Mainz is great too. Both have wonderful museums for rainy days or a break from the markets. There are some smaller towns with great markets too. Not as many stalls but the ancient architecture sets them apart. Look at Marburg or Limburg if you are near Frankfurt. On weekends, the market in Bad Homburg is great and has the most handmade items I have seen in a market. The setting in the Taunus mountains is lovely at sunset and the market surrounds the only original palace from Kaiser Wilhelm 2.

We enjoyed the markets in Freiburg and Baden-Baden. We went to Colmar on a weekday and left (train back to Basel) about 6:00; we were still able to enjoy the lights before leaving. We later read that a few days later, on a weekend day in Colmar, people were unable to move due to the crowds. We chose not to go to Nuremberg as we did not want to experience the crowds.

With your bookends of Paris and Dusseldorf set, take a look a Google Maps to get a perspective on how much travel you want to build in. Is this all by train?

Strasburg has such a great reputation, I think you make it your first stop after Paris. Even though you've seen the city itself, it's probably worth a visit for the markets. Then, reread what MsJo and Jean have posted. No disrespect to other posts, but many find their frequently offered perspectives very helpful. Nuremberg has somewhat of a love-hate reputation in this forum regarding Christmas Markets. Some think it's great, others feel it is too crowded.

Also, are there specific aspects of architecture and history that you want to fucus upon? For example, this region was once part of the Roman empire. There are places, Trier for example, that have significant Roman ruins and history. Conversely, as I'm sure you know, some of the cities were almost totally destroyed in WW2 and the architecture is all relatively new.

Thank you everyone for your insights and perspectives. After chatting with my family we decided to spend a few days in Strasbourg and will not visit Nuremberg on this trip. The descriptions and photos won me over. Next time we will go to Nuremberg and other places.
The bad news is we waited to long and now most hotels are full, including my favorite Hotel Beaucour, or there wasn’t room for all of us to begin with.