Christmas Markets

https://search.ricksteves.com/?button=&date_range=2y&filter=Travel+Forum&query=Christmas+markets

There is a wealth of info here, so you're in luck! It is a frequent topic.
Review the above link, see what interests you, and come back when you have a draft itinerary. It. Is important to firm up your schedule soon, because many hotels are already fully booked. When I went in 2019, I found some hotels were fully booked by June.
It is a magical experience, and I wish you an enchanting trip!

We'll be in Europe beginning around 12/1 for at least the entire month of December.

I think Christmas markets are great fun. That said, for a lengthy visit like yours, I think most people will have a more rewarding timeif they prepare itineraries that are based principally on the OTHER things you want to see and experience in Germany and in Europe more generally. Christmas markets are everywhere in Germany - there must be 2-3 thousand of them - and market activities are strikingly similar from place to place.

For some variety, I suggest you look into some "themed" markets. "Medieval" markets might be fun for you. A few call themselves "international" and attempt to bring in merchandise from different parts of the planet. Others try to keep everything local. Some specialize in wood sculptures. Some places have their own unique Christmas cookies. But I would be cautious about overdoing the market visits, which is easy to do. And there are many nice towns and cities that are worth visiting on their other merits.

FYI, contrary to some of the comments you will read on this forum, some Christmas markets in Germany DO remain open into January.

It is perfectly possible to AVOID the most popular markets where hotels are booked up and pricey if available... and to still have a lovely market experience and perhaps an even more enjoyable time without the crowds.

Train travel on the regional train system in Germany does NOT need to be purchased in advance and cannot be "booked" with specific seats anyway. The Deutschland Ticket (month-long pass, 63 Euros, see link below) is an ideal product for someone staying a calendar month or longer if you wish to use the regional trains, S-Bahn, subways, and municipal buses during your stay. If you are traveling extra-long distances (like Berlin > Munich) you will ALSO need to pre-purchase and reserve journeys and seats on the long-distance train system - the ICE, IC, EC etc. trains - at the DB website.

https://www.seat61.com/websites/deutschland-ticket.htm

You won't need to book in advance on even long distance trains except for dates very close to christmas - but if you do there is chance of big discounts compared to flexible prices. At the moment you can't book for most of December because the annual timetable revision is early in December, try from October.

Wow, some great tips here. Thank you so much! Thank you Pat for the warning on booking hotels.

Thank you Me.Crewe for letting me know about the train schedule.

Russ, we'll have plenty of time to for visiting everywhere I think. We'll be based in Paris for quite awhile, and I have a laundry list of places to visit. Likely some I haven' even considered, like places you were saying. So thank you.

Ditto Russ’ info. For us the markets were a bonus. I’m glad we spent most of the time on regular tourist activities

I visited some Christmas markets last December. Here are some basic thoughts that might help you. I do not like dealing with huge crowds, so I knew I did NOT want to visit the big markets in Vienna, Munich, or Cologne. We also did not want to be changing locations every day or so. We picked three smaller cities to stay in for 4 nights each, and then took some day trips from them (never longer than one hour by train). We flew in/out of Zurich, then stayed in St. Gallen (this was lots of fun, not so much for the markets but just to experience a much less visited area). We stayed in Basel, then took day trips to Colmar and Lucerne. We also stayed in Freiburg and took day trips to Baden-Baden, and Ravenna Gorge.

There are so many wonderful markets to visit; it is important to choose your locations and sizes that fit YOU. Just remember, some of the smaller markets are only open on weekends, or even just one weekend.

Great advice above. There are tons of lists on the internet. Here is one: https://www.europeanbestdestinations.com/best-of-europe/best-christmas-markets-of-all-the-time-in-europe-all-stars-edition/

Since I live in Frankfurt, I think it is a great place to hub. There are lots of wonderful markets all within an hour by regional train. My favorites are Marburg, Limburg, Seligenstadt, Michelstadt, Mainz, Wiesbaden, Bad Homburg (weekends only) Ronneburg Castle (weekends only and medieval) 1 weekend only in Advent - Büdingen and Idstein. The market in Frankfurt is quite nice with concerts in many of the churches each evening of Advent, brass band playing from the gallery of the Alte Nikolai church in the old town square on Wed. and Sat. and even a market in the city forest. Daytime, there are lots of museums to visit in many of these towns, covering all kinds of themes.

Apparently, we need to book trains now to visit in Germany.

As me.crewe has pointed out... booking the long-distance trips in advance will provide big discounts. Additionally, you will be able to reserve seats (for an additional set fee) ...a good idea. The fares themselves are bargain basement, but only briefly; prices rise as tickets sell for those cheap train-specific "saver fare" tickets.

If you want some of these saver fares, read the conditions for cancellations carefully prior to purchase. Also, please note that the advice that you must wait until October to buy tickets is in error. As of today, tickets are available at the DB website through December 12.

Let's use Berlin > Munich as an example for how these long-distance fares work. I see a saver fare for 100 Euros/2 adults for the Dec. 10, 8:36 departure. Buying at the last minute is vastly more expensive...That same saver fare, bought today for travel tomorrow, while still providing a small discount over the full-price fare of 372 Euros, costs you 300 Euros/2.

Here's another option for saving on the long-distance trains - the German Rail Pass. Let's say you have 3 long-distance train trips to make during your visit... Berlin > Munich, Munich > Stuttgart, and Stuttgart > Cologne. The GRP can be bought once you arrive in Germany. 3 trips on 3 separate days during your month-long stay will cost 380 Euros/2 for 3 "flexi" travel days on the "GRP Twin-Pass":

https://assets.static-bahn.de/dam/jcr:d05b60e7-f0ce-4e40-816e-b56c478920a3/PreiseGermanRailPass2026_IntBahnDe.2025-12-17-11-40-05.pdf

If your plans include ADDITIONAL long-distance travel days, you can instead get a 4-day (432 Euros) 5-day (478 Euros) or 7-day (554 Euros) Twin-Pass.

And sometimes these passes go on sale... In December of 2025, the 5-day GRP Twin Pass, when bought online from Eurail, was discounted to just €365/2 adults...

Besides the money savings, the advantage with these twin-passes is that you have no obligation to book travel on specific trains months in advance - "flexi" travel days means that you can select travel days and travel times at will as you go without being tethered to a tight schedule.