Christmas Market Recommended Accommodations

I have never done Christmas Markets, but I found this sight once and it has a lot of information. https://www.europeanbestdestinations.com/christmas-markets/

In Nuremberg we liked the Motel One Nürnberg-City. It is close to an entrance to the train station underground. From there you can walk in comfort, taking an underpass to inside the wall. You come up at the arts and crafts portion of the market. We also liked the Art and Business Hotel but it tends to fill up with reservations and is more expensive.

We stayed at the Altstadthotel Weisse Taube in Salzburg. It is very near the market, not a great price. I found Salzburg to be pricey, especially during Christmas Market Season.

We best liked the combination of markets and sights at Regensburg between Munich and Nuremburg. The Weidenhof Hotel is well located near the train station and in the pedestrian zone. Prices are generally more favorable there.

Hi Adrienne,

Funny you posted this. I'm looking now for next year when my friend and I are returning for a Christmas Market trip. I want new my friend wants to repeat. We'll see who wins. We've been to Munich and Salzburg markets. Both are great. Salzburg is smaller but the location is hard to beat. There's much to see right in old town where the market is to keep you busy. We did the Sound of Music tour which was fun if you're a fan of the movie. It's so beautiful. Marienplatz in Munich is large. We took day trips to Dachau concentration camp and Neuschwanstein Castle. You can easily take the train and do them yourself or book tours. Defining how long you'll be in each area will give you more ideas of things to do from this well traveled group.

If we return to Germany/Austria I want different hotels in each city. Two I found doing a quick search, hotel Schlicker, very close to Marienplatz and the metro line. And hotel Stadtkrug which is right in old town Salzburg. Not sure of your price point but both looked good for location and ease of transit. Mind you I've only done a quick search.

If Germany/Austria wins we'll day trip to Nuremberg and Stuttgart, which both have large markets plus interesting sights. I'll hope to eek out one more day of vacation so we can day trip Oberammergau.

Good luck in your search. Report back on your experience. I'd like to read your thoughts.

I would try to avoid Nuremberg during the weekends. It is the biggest and on the weekends it is crowded. We did it on a Wednesday and it was just right. I did love the international Market there. They brought in stalls from each of their sister cities, so that was fun to see. The churches here are amazing. The arts and crafts section I would agree is really cool. Nuremberg puts out a great brochure with a map that came in very handy.

Munich had an out of the way, tiny, middle ages market which was cute :) It was up near the residence. I also loved all the stalls in the pedestrian zone for the Altstadt.

On my list for the next time we visit Germany/Austria, is the Silent Night Chapel near Salzburg. It is my favorite Christmas Carol, so I am excited to see it.

It is such a magical time!!!

I agree with the advice to try to hit Nuremberg during the week, not on a weekend. It's hard to even move in the main market area during a weekend evening. A friend and I stayed at Hotel Victoria and really liked it. It's just inside the old city wall very close to the train station -- perhaps a 5-minute walk? It's a short walk from the hotel to the Christmas Market.

I have taken a couple of trips to Salzburg, including one for the Christmas market(s). For both trips, I stayed at Gästehaus im Priesterseminar Salzburg. One part of the (gorgeous) seminary building has been converted into rooms for rent. These rooms are simple, updated, and spotless; they have en-suite bathrooms/showers. The seminary offers a good German breakfast every morning and is just across the river from the Old Town (about a 10-minute walk to the Christmas market). A single room is 67 euro/night; it looks like a double can be had for around 120 euro/night. Most front desk staff speak English except for one daytime person, but she usually works with someone who speaks English.

In Nuremberg, it is worth also making a stop at the Handwerkhof Nürnberg, which is also just inside the old city wall near the train station. It has shops with artisan/handcrafts -- from leather to glass.

I've been to the Christmas Markets in Munich twice. I highly recommend the Platzl Hotel (https://www.platzl.de/en/). It is a couple blocks off of the Marienplatz and around the corner from the Hofbrauhaus. We went to Nürnberg as a day trip from Munich.

For Bratislava, we stayed at the Raddisson Blu right on Hviezdoslav Square (https://www.radissonblu.com/en/hotel-bratislava). You literally walk out the front door into one of the markets. Perfect location. The rooms were a little dated but we were there 3 years ago and they were updating then.

In Prague, we've stayed twice and loved the Hotel Pod Věží (http://www.podvezi.com). (We will be back in two weeks) It is located immediately off of the Charles Bridge on the castle side. One of my favorite hotels in Europe. (We've already booked for this December when we'll be back for the Christmas Markets.)

I'm surprised you're not going to Vienna. Vienna actually has 8 or 9 small neighborhood type markets scattered throughout the central area of the city and a huge one in front of the city hall. Truly amazing! BTW Bratislava to Vienna is a little over an hour apart by train.

Have you looked at your timeline and travel route? If it was me, I'd probably fly into Prague and out of Munich. By train it would be easy to do Prague - Bratislava - Vienna - Salzburg - Munich. You could day trip to Nürnberg. Graz is easy to get to from Vienna but not so easy to Salzburg. Dresden is pretty far north and would be pretty out of the way.

Depending on how long you have, or maybe for your next visit, consider Strasbourg, France (which has had a market since the 1500's - https://noel.strasbourg.eu/en/les-marches-de-noel). You can easily fly into/out of Frankfurt (which has a nice market as well) and train to Strasbourg. The Alsace markets at Colmar, Riquewihr and Obernai are very nice and can be visited in 1-2 days. Strasbourg is a great place to visit.

One final piece of advice, check what date the markets open. Each city often has different dates.

Agree with the above post - Victoria Hotel Nuremburg. It is a great location - next to the local artists area and an easy walk to the market. And right across the street from the train station. We are spending 4 nights there this December.

Just wanted to throw out there that we did Munich, Salzburg, VIenna, Prague, Berlin 2 years ago - and for my favorite markets, Vienna wins hands down! Might want to consider throwing it in....

Here is my blog - though I had to migrate sites and don;t have any of the pictures uploaded yet... but you can read where we went.

kim

In addition to checking when each market opens, also find out when each CLOSES -- not all run through Christmas Eve.

oops forgot to add the link! and getting motivated to put a few pictures in!

https://onatangentweb.wordpress.com/category/christmas-markets-2016/

Thank you to all of you that have replied. I have been convinced to go to Vienna instead of Bratislava and Graz. We may take a day trip to Bratislava, but not yet sure. We did Christmas markets in 2015 in Germany and France, but we want to try new ones this time. Your suggestions have really helped!

Thank you again and I'm sure I will post more once the time nears. :)

We did a day trip to Bratislava from Vienna on the Flix bus and I enjoyed the city!

My husband and I did the Christmas Markets in 2015 and I will first tell you that if Vienna isn’t in your plans, consider changing your plans. It was the best city we visited for the Christmas Markets. So fantastic that we are also planning another Christmas Market trip this Nov/Dec and Vienna was on top of our list to go see again.
In Nuremberg, we booked the BEST location. Our room literally had a view of the main, huge Christmas market. We stayed at the Sorat Hotel Saxx and loved opening the window to look out at the market and hear the music.
In Salzburg, we stayed at The Bristol. It is located between Mirabol Gardens and Mozart’s teenage Home. It was a beautiful room with a beautiful view of the castle but it was the most expensive hotel of our trip. We also did the SOM tour. FYI, their market closes early but had live music from the top of some of the buildings.
In Munich, we stayed at The Platzl. I liked the location, easy walking to attractions and around the corner from the Hofbrauhaus.
This year we are going to Amsterdam, Berlin, Vienna, and Budapest. Decided to book Air BnB for Amsterdam and Vienna since we are familiar with those cities. But booking hotels for Berlin and Budapest since those will be new to us.
Hope you have a great trip!

My husband and I made our first market visit this past year. The itinerary looks great and given that you can't "do them all" I only hold these additions out as thoughts: Berlin and Leipzig.

The Gendarmenmarkt in Berlin was my favorite "big-city" market. (Perhaps you did this on your earlier market visit)
Leipzig was my favorite general location for roving musicians, Krampus, and numerous markets close together. This was a destination to hear the boy's choir of Saint Thomaskirche.

Dresden, presumed to be the oldest market, is interesting to see but be prepared for crowds!!! We enjoyed a chance to hear the cathedral boy's choir for Advent Vespers on a Saturday afternoon and a Santa's parade Saturday morning. We drove into the Ore Mountains to Aue for the Miner's Parade on Sunday - complete with snow!
The main Prague market opened the day we left Prague but a local guide suggested we go to the market at Namesti Mira (a section of the city easily reached by metro); this was a great market which he described as having more reasonable prices. In addition there is a market on the grounds of the castle which was not large but fun for the experience).

Enjoy! I can't wait to go back again.