Christmas Markets Advice

Way too much. You will spend more time traveling than enJOYing the markets.

Always best to book MultiCity flights - fly into one town and out of another that way you don't circle back.

Cologne needs more than a day.

Less is more when it comes to the markets.

There are LOTS of facebook groups that will help you more and they will tell you the same. - join one called MAGICAL CHRISTMAS MARKETS OF EUROPE.

We go over every other year and feel we are pretty good at navigating the markets. We are returning in 2025 and here is our plan -
Fly into Vienna for 4 nights
Train to Salzburg for 3 nights
Train to Regensburg for 2 nights
Train to Nuremberg for 3-4 nights
Train to Munich for 3 nights - fly home

We decided we don't like day trips as we have learned there is so much more to do in each town than just the markets so we stay in most places a minimum of 3 nights -- which is only 2 full days which is really fast -- many places need 2 full days just to see the markets. Vienna needs 4-5 days to see just the markets, but the city of Vienna itself is stunning and needs time.

You probably need to drop a few more of these destinations than you are thinking. It would be a lot of ground travel. You'll be sleeping in a new place every night, perhaps? You are driving, I guess? Burg Eltz will not be open for touring; Marksburg in Braubach (near Koblenz) will, however.

We did our first Christmas market trip last year. We had been to all the locations previously, so this trip was JUST focused on markets. No other sightseeing. We spent arrival night in Frankfurt and saw all the markets there in about 4 hours.

Next day we took the train to Strasbourg. We spent 4 nights there, traveling by bus & train to Colmar, Ribeauville, Kaysersberg, Obernai & Gengenbach.

Then we travelled by train to Cologne, where we spent 3 nights. The markets there were our favorites. We did a half day trip to Dortmund.

My advice is: pick two cities that have multiple markets and travel by train between them. You are planning much too much moving around. You want to be at the markets when they open (usually 11), or as early as possible, so you can see what is in the stalls and do your shopping. They can get insanely crowded after dark (4pm) and on weekends. Shoulder-to-shoulder crowded. By moving every day you are losing time by having to pack, travel, find parking, drop off your bags, etc.

We are planning a trip in 2025 and considering Stuttgart as a base for 4 nights to see Heidelberg, Tubingen, Esslingen and Ludwigsberg. You might chose Cologne as a second base to see Achen & Monschau.

I agree with the others that you will be worn out with all the packing and unpacking. We went last year and this was our plan. We flew in and out of Frankfurt and saw the market there and in Mainz which is just a short train ride from Frankfurt. We spent five nights in Nuremburg as our main home base and did short day trips to towns that were short train rides away (Regensburg, Rothenberg, Bamberg, and Wurzberg). We loved the home base approach and seeing different markets each night. This might be a good compromise for your approach to see something different each day. I just would not want to be packing up, loading the car and then unloading into a new hotel each day. Once you settle on the approach, the markets are magical. I hope you have a good trip!!

If you want to go to Idstein, their market is only on one weekend - 6-8 Dec.
Büdingen is 4-8 Dec. and is one of my favorites if you like medieval towns with massive walls and towers.
From Frankfurt, you could see Mainz, Rüdesheim, Limburg, Marburg, Heidelberg, Wiesbaden,

We have always felt that there were more similarities than differences between the Christmas markets themselves. The similar decorated booths have similar goods. The main differences seemed to me to be in the towns. I could not consume this many towns in a week.

Base cities and day trips obviously work for many folks. We do not enjoy the out and back travel. We try to select stops carefully and spend 1-2 days in each location. It works for us; you have to know yourself.

Open jaws (fly into one airport and out another) work well if you have a lot of time to cover ground; but, there are so many places to see in the area of Frankfurt or Munich or Hamburg or Berlin, etc. that circle routes around a single airport work for us as well as linear routes between airports.

Day 1: Cologne
Day 2: Aachen
Day 3: Trier
Day 4: Cochem
Day 5: Heidelberg
Day 6: Karlsruhe
Day 7: Stuttgart
Day 8: Frankfurt

This you can do if you get up early, drive so you can be there before 1300, and then do nothing but the Christmas Markets. Which is not a good idea. Aachen is worth a couple days on it's own, as is Trier. Trier to Cochem along the river is a 4-6 hour drive (more if you stop along the way.) Heidelberg is a day or two, as are Karlsruhe, Stuttgart, and Frankfurt.

Pick 3 of these cities. And then, if you find you need to see more, look close by.