Looking for general advice, hotel recs, any other tidbits that might be helpful...I am in the very early stages of planning a quick tour of the Christmas Markets in early December 2024. For the week of Thanksgiving, we will be visiting our daughter who will be studying abroad in Copenhagen. The tentative plan is for us to leave Copenhagen on November 30th and fly to Munich, rent a car and drive to Nuremberg, Rothenburg ob der Tauber and Cologne to see the markets then on to Bruges (my favorite place on earth) then fly home from either Brussels or Amsterdam. Is one night in each of these towns adequate to see the markets or do we need more time somewhere? We know this will be a whirlwind trip but we will already have been away since Nov. 23rd so we only have about 5-6 days for this portion of the trip. My husband is very comfortable driving in Europe - he is Dutch - but will we encounter a lot of snow? Taking the train is an option. Thanks for any and all ideas you may have!
Posted by
Berlin
3008 posts
By this plan you would miss nice Christmas Markets of Northern Germany, e. g. in Lübeck, Goslar and in Bremen (Schnoor).
For driving be aware that wintertyres are must-have by law in Germany.
Also check for validity of foreign driving licences in Germany (permission is not the same like driver's license).
Posted by
Alsenborn, Germany
1488 posts
You may have some trouble renting a car for that plan. Usually they don't like to drop cars in different countries.
Rothenberg isn't that great a Christmas Market. I'd skip that.
Consider using the train, from Munich, Nuremberg, Mainz or Koblenz, Cologne, then Bruges.
Posted by
Salt Lake City
1528 posts
We lived in Germany for 6 years and made Christmas Market trips 5 more. Only one was very snowy. Still, I found winter driving on Autobahns a less than pleasant experience. For our Christmas Market trips we have taken the train.
Munich has several markets and Nuremberg has one of the most famous. They tend to be packed in the early evenings. Due to the crowds they are very similar experiences. We enjoyed the markets but less so than some less well known places.
I might substitute Regensburg for Munich. You can catch a direct RE train (1 hour and 17 minutes) from the Munich Airport to Regensburg. The city has two markets including a Romantic Market at the Thurn and Taxis Palace. The town is less overwhelmed and quite scenic in this season. Regensburg is easily covered on foot. It is our favorite combination of market and city in Christmas Season.
We love Rothenburg in Advent Season for its atmosphere. It is a little cumbersome to reach by train. It only has a tiny market but there are several stores there selling Christmas goods.
We visited Cologne's Market last Christmas. For my taste I thought the market was the best. Due to travel difficulties we were only able to spend a few hours one evening. Sadly, we had no experience with the town.
There are good Christmas Markets all over Germany. I would do my choosing based on transportation and the cities that I would like to see.