Itinerary December

Looks mostly good to me, though an additional day/night in Berlin would be desirable.

Salzburg has no "t" - "z" normally represents the "ts" sound in German.

The German word for zoo (Zoo) is pronounced "tsoh".
The German word for dozen (Duzend) is "doo-tsend"

Sometimes though you will see the "ts" sound spelled "tz" at the end of a syllable after a short vowel, as in the German word for "sentence" - (Satz)

(I know, you were dying for this explanation.)

Just remember that the 26th is also a holiday in Bavaria.

I'd do RodT on the 24th, Nuremberg on the 25th, and then go to Bamberg on the 26th, stay overnight, and then on to Berlin. But if you do this make sure you have reservations for your meals on the 24th and 25th.

Russ- LOL! Thanks for the info. I was so focused on using the correct-berg or -burg. I dropped the ball on the other. :)

KGC- Thank you. I knew that the 26th is a holiday too. It's been tricky trying to figure how to make the best use of our time. I'm hoping maybe some museums will be open on the 26th. I believe there are some in Nuremberg. Hopefully, Rothenburg might have some too.

A lot of museums will be open either the 25th or 26th. Check their websites.

Is your itinerary more flexible? My wife, our adult daughters and their husband and fiancé were in Germany from Dec 16-29, 2024. We visited Regensburg, Nürnberg, Augsburg and München (Munich) in that order. We were in Munich from the 22-29 because even though many things are closed 24, 25, and 26, there’s a lot you can do with careful planning. In Munich, many shops and the Christmas market on Marienplatz are open until 2 pm on Dec 24. After that, several beer halls are open a bit longer. On Christmas Eve night a church service is a great way to finish off the day. A selection of museums are open Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Many good restaurants are open Christmas Day for dinner. Reservations are essential. Some online research will tell you which ones. We did a day trip to Kloster Andechs on Dec 26 and had a great time. I‘ve not been to any other German cities on Dec 24-26, so I can’t speak for what is available there those days. But if you are in Munich, there’s plenty to do. Thus, I’d consider changing your dates to be in Munich over the „main“ Christmas days, unless there’s a „can’t miss“ Munich attraction you must see which would be closed Dec 24-26. Feel free to message me if you’d like our Munich Christmas holiday itinerary.

Thank you Dan! That is good to know. We are tied into staying in Nuremberg (we have tours scheduled), but good to know about Munich. It's another option even as a day trip. We did book our Christmas dinner reservation in Nuremberg so we are good there.

Another idea if you’re interested:
In December, we took a day trip from Munich to Garmish to visit the Partnach Gorge. It was pretty incredible. You can find YouTube videos on what it looks like when it’s frozen.
https://www.partnachklamm.de/en

Thank you for the suggestions!

When we planned our Cmas market trip in 2023, we chose to stay in Salzburg area from Dec 23-26.

We visited Salzburg on the 23rd (shops and all Cmas markets open), Orbendorf (home of Silent Night) on the afternoon/evening of the 24th, Salzburg Cathedral and market on the 25th (main market open Cmas day) and transitioned to our next destination on the 26th.

In Nuremberg (stayed here prior to Salzburg), we stayed in a family room at the Nuremberg Youth Hostel. It's in a castle, was very lively with school groups and families and very convenient to the market. Our two teens (16 and 17) enjoyed the atmosphere and ability to explore a bit on their own.

Enjoy your trip!