Help me plan my Xmas Market trip please

I think 4 nights spread between Cologne and Aachen might be slightly more time than you need. I could see Aachen as a day trip from Cologne, with the first 3 nights in Germany in just one place. That way you can play it a bit more by ear, seeing Aachen on whatever day suits you.

I have never even heard of Merode.

Drachenburg and Merode are more accurately referred to as palaces than castles, which in Germany is reserved for those medieval-era structures that served purposes of security and defense against invaders.

I'm fairly sure Burg Eltz (a genuine castle) was on your list since it's Rick Steves' favorite castle in Europe. While it is an interesting castle and worth seeing for sure, it's a slightly odd-duck for a medieval castle, with all its fancy furnishings from much later periods. If you'd like to tour a true castle that is, looks, and feels medieval, then Marksburg should be on your list. Personally, I think it's a shame that Rick can't muster up a little more enthusiasm for Marksburg. Many of his readers seem not to know about Marksburg. Like Eltz, it has never been toppled or badly damaged. And like Eltz, it gets around 250,000 visitors per year. But here is where Marksburg differs from Eltz:

• Its location is much quicker to reach from Cologne and the other popular Rhine towns than Eltz. Marksburg lies within the town limits in of Braubach, on a promontory that overlooks the the rest of the town, and is only about 12 train minutes from "big-city" Koblenz, the area's train hub. You can walk up from Braubach's train station to the castle in less than 30 minutes. If the uphill walk isn't what you had in mind, it's a short taxi ride.

• The town of Braubach has restaurants, rooms, and other services right in town.

• Marksburg is open year-round.

Some photos of Braubach (3 pages of them) from 7 years back, and the Marksburg website:

https://www.stadtbild-deutschland.org/forum/index.php?thread/7322-braubach-am-rhein-und-marksburg-galerie/

https://www.marksburg.de/en/circuit/#/

So I could see you spending 3 nights in Cologne and 2-3 nights in Koblenz, with a small detour to Braubach for Marksburg.

Koblenz, besides being a major rail hub, has its own Christmas Market as well as a Christmas Garden at Ehrenbreitstein Fortress. There's an aerial cable car that gets you across the Rhine River and up to the fortress.

https://www.christmas-garden.de/en/koblenz/
https://www.seilbahn-koblenz.de/homepage.html

Depending on the time you have, other nearby towns might make for good day trips as well. Rüdesheim, Cochem, and Trier can all be reached by direct regional train from Koblenz, and all 3 have markets and other things to see/do.

I second the Marksburg recommendation. You won’t be disappointed. Also Trier is an amazing town. Fantastic churches and some of the best Roman ruins/sites north of the Alps. Be sure to drink some local wine, too.

I like Haarlem quite a lot. It's where I stay when I go to Amsterdam first and foremost because I have friends who live there, but the town also is a lot more quaint and a lot smaller than the chaos of Amsterdam. The Central Market is great during the summer and high recommended. I haven't been there in December, so I don't know what it is like then. The architectures is cool. There is an old windmill that can be toured. There are a few museums. You could easily fill a whole day there, so you should find plenty for your half day.

While Amsterdam has the Anne Frank House, Haarlem has the Corrie ten Boom House. The house was owned by a Dutch family and served as a safe house for Jewish people and resistance members. The family was eventually ratted out, and its members went to concentration camps. Corrie ten Boom survived her camp and went on to be a Christian evangelist. A tour of the house allows you to see it in its original condition. If this sounds of interest to you, reservations have to be made well in advance. For example, next available tour right now is June 27, with a smattering of availability in July, and good availability in August.

I will also add my endorsement to everything Russ said. I have been to both Burg Eltz and Marksburg Castle. The exterior of Burg Eltz is cool, but the interior struck me as a glorified version of the Biltmore House, the late 19th century home of the Vanderbilt family that is up the road from me. Marksburg had a true medieval feel inside and out. I loved it.

I neglected to mention MAINZ, another outing option from Koblenz with good sights and a good Christmas market too.

BTW, Germany's most scenic train ride lies just south of Koblenz. The trip from Koblenz to Rüdesheim takes you along the Rhine's east bank. The trip to Mainz shows you the same scenery from the west bank.

The reporter in the video below makes two of several possible west-bank stops on the way from Cologne to Mainz:

https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-most-scenic-railroad-line/video-64603096

Hi Everyone, thanks SO MUCH for your prompt and detailed responses! I am now very much looking forward to Marksburg Castle. At some point I'll see Eltz, but knowing that there's a great castle on our trip makes me smile. I have learned that we'll miss the Haarlem Christmas market, as it's only one weekend, but the city looks so interesting, I don't mind, as we'll get enough Christmas markets in the rest of the trip. I would love to see Rudischeim and Mainz, but that would mean continuously hopping from city to city and I'd rather try to do day trips from a hub vs packing up every few days. I think that I will come back in the summer sometime to do some biking and hiking and see that section south of Koblenz- it looks beautiful. The Christmas market and show in the Fortress (which I was not aware of) look to be a nice addition (albeit very long day trip) from Cologne. You've all been so very helpful - thank you!

You don't have to go all the way to Marksburg to see a castle. Go to Koblenz. The Fortress Ehrenbreitstein is a huge castle, that actually was used and fought over, and they have a fantastic Winter Garden light show at Christmas time. Add in the Eck, and the city's Christmas market, and you'll have a full day. It's about 1-1.5 hours by train, and they have 2-3 trains an hour between Koln and Koblenz.

Thank you for the suggestion about the fortress!! I am getting so excited for our trip.... can't wait til December!!

The tourist office of NRW state is working on a list of Christmas Markets next to castles - hope they have content soon.
https://www.nrw-tourism.com/christmas-markets/castles

I recommend to visit also a Christmas Market of a smaller town.

Thanks - appreciate the link to the markets near castles!!

I am sorry Brenda, but your Christmas Market is turning into a spring or summer sightseeing experience. You are in the heart of Xmas Market land but really staying in one great city way too long. We are flying to Frankfurt Dec 1 for 21-day Christmas trip. This is our number 5 Christmas Market trip and have seen the famous and not so famous. I am spending you the first two weeks of this year's trip.

Day One: Sunday Nov 30, 2025: Flight Day:

Day Two: Monday Dec 1, 2025: Essen: Driving from Frankfurt Airport to Essen Germany 2 hours and 50 minutes. Staying at Motel One for four nights.
Day Three: Tuesday Dec 2, 2025: Dusseldorf: This morning driving 35 minutes to Dusseldorf for the Christmas market. Returning to Essen and staying at Essen Motel One.
Day Four: Wednesday Dec 3, 2025: Duisburg: This morning driving 20 minutes to Duisburg for the Christmas market. Returning to Essen and staying at Essen Motel One.
Day Five: Thursday Dec 4, 2025: Dortmund: This morning driving 30 minutes to Dortmund for the Christmas market. Returning to Essen and staying at Essen Motel One.
Day Six: Friday Dec 5, 2025: Aachen: This morning driving 1 hour and 27 minutes to Aachen for the Christmas market. Returning to Aachen and staying at the Hotel Restaurant Bismarckturm for three nights.
Day Seven: Saturday Dec 6, 2025: Aachen: This morning driving 43 minutes to Monschau for the Christmas market. Returning to Aachen and staying at the Hotel Restaurant Bismarckturm.
Day Eight: Sunday Dec 7, 2025: Aachen: This morning driving 37 minutes to Maastricht for the Christmas market. Returning to Aachen and staying at the Hotel Restaurant Bismarckturm
Day Nine: Monday Dec 8, 2025: Antwerp: This morning driving 1 hour and 42 minutes to Antwerp for the Christmas markets. Staying at Motel One for three nights.
Day Ten: Tuesday Dec 9, 2025: Ghent: This morning driving 44 minutes to Ghent for the Christmas market. Returning to Antwerp and staying at Motel One.

Day Eleven: Wednesday Dec 10, 2025: Bruges: This morning driving 44 minutes to Bruges for the Christmas market. Returning to Antwerp and staying at Motel One.

Day Twelve: Thursday Dec 11, 2025: Bonn: This morning driving 2 hours and 32 minutes to Bonn for the Christmas market. Staying at Bonn’s Motel One for two nights.

Day Thirteen: Friday Dec 12, 2025: Koln: This morning driving 32 minutes to Koln for the Christmas market. Returning to Bonn and staying at Motel One.

Day Fourteen: Saturday Dec 13, 2025: Mannheim: This morning driving 2 hours and 47 minutes to Mannheim for the Christmas markets. Staying at Mannheim’s Motel One for three nights

Hi LifeTimeTravel, thank you for so much information and such a detailed itinerary. You're right in that we are trying to plug in sightseeing with the Christmas markets. I was worried that focusing on only markets would be too monotonous/we would get burned out. We do love architecture and history, so wanted a blend of both. I know that Dusseldorf is close to Cologne so figured we could add that one in, but wasn't sure if Duisburg or Essen were worth spending an additional 2 hours roundtrip on a train. (We have been to Europe many times but have never driven there, and I am uncomfortable doing that for the first time when there may be snow, and also because English is my only language.) We have been to Ghent and Bruges in the past so we're going to skip those and go from Brussells to Antwerp for their Christmas market. I just recently learned that we can take a train directly from Antwerp to the Amsterdam airport, so we will simply fly RT to Amsterdam vs open jaw into Amsterdam and out of Brussels. We've decided to include Monschau since we've learned that it's about an hour bus ride from Aachen. Thus our trip now seems like this:
Day 1 - leave for Amsterdam
Day 2 arrive Amsterdam
Day 3- Amsterdam with perhaps dinner in Harlem in the square. (We are too early for the Xmas market there.)
Day 4 - train to Cologne, see Cologne catherdral and wander through the markets
Day 5- Cologne and if we are up for it, Dusseldorf, since it's only a 25 min train ride
Day 6- day trip to Braubach to see Marksburg castle, afternoon/evening in Koblenz at those markets, return to Cologne hotel
Day 7, train to Aachen/bus to Monschau
Day 8 Monschau
Day9- bus back to Aachen, enjoy Aachen all day (cathedral, Rathaus, markets)
Day 10 - train to Brussels, leave bags in train station and wander through markets there. After a few hours, take train to Antwerp. Evening in Antwerp
Day 11- Antwerp
Day 12 - leave for home.

I'm trying not to pack too much in. Other than the initial train from Amsterdam to Cologne, all trains are about 30 min to 1 hour. I am also wondering if I should just add 2 extra days to go to Bruge and Ghent... we loved the cities but were there recently. It might be fun to see their markets though.

If you have any other suggestions, I'm happy to listen. Thank you!

Do Ghent and Bruges, if possible, you won't regret it. Matter of fact we are going for Christmas Markets and will be there this summer. Just brought Christmas Market tickets from United Airlines Chicago to Frankfurt round trip 1812.00 for two. Yesterday they were 150.00 more. Caught them cheaper today.

Thanks to everyone for your input. One thing I would suggest (if you don't already know).... once you book your trip, use 'google flight tracker" to track prices. I can't speak for all airlines but if you find the same flight offered at a lower price, American Airlines will give you a travel credit for the difference. We now have a few hundred dollars in flight credit because our flights dropped in price.