Those wonderful Christmas Markets

Well, if you only have really one day plus travel time, Stuttgart and Esslingen are good choices. I would probably fly into Frankfurt if you could as it's quicker to get to Stuttgart from there by train, and you can check out Frankfurt's market while you're there, which is supposed to be nice. My sister and I are traveling to Germany and France this winter for the Christmas markets, and we are heading to Stuttgart and Esslingen as well.

Where do you pick up your river cruise?

We took the bus from Stuttgart to Esslingen 2 weeks ago, and everyone we talked to raved about their Christmas market, especially the medieval part. Even without a Christmas market, Esslingen is well worth a visit.

https://www.esslingen-info.com/en/events/esslingen-christmas-medievalmarket

Hi, my oldest daughter and I went to Christmas Markets last year and had a fantastic time! We stayed in downtown Stuttgart almost across the street from the Christmas Market. During the day, we took the easy train/tram up to Esslingen for their market. Yes, the medieval market is a lot of fun, and their Christmas mug was a cute crock which I brought home.

We just took trains to our locations, and the location previous to Stuttgart was Munich. I think it was two hours or less. I liked the style (carved wood, etc.) of the booths in the center of Munich more than the ones at Stuttgart which are known for their decor. Strasbourg, France was my favorite Christmas Market scene.

We went to Austria, Germany & France. This December I’m going to lots of cities in Germany,

You don't say where you're cruise is leaving from, but if you fly into Frankfurt or Munich it's an entire day wasted traveling to Stuttgart. Don't do it. There are very good markets much closer to either airport.

Frankfurt has an excellent Christmas market(s), spread out all over the city and rather unappreciated in this forum.

Mainz and Wiesbaden are also really good. I prefer Mainz, but I really like the city. Wiesbaden is a little smaller but very good.

Bad Homburg has a really good market also, and it's rarely visited by Americans.

Heidelberg is world famous; large and touristy, but I've gone the last three years running.

The Rhein villages are frankly disappointing, but the larger cities on the wine road also have markets. Neustadt is okay, but I prefer Bad Durkheim, especially if they do it in conjunction with late night shopping.

Bad Kreuznach is an attractive small town with a good market.

Sankt Wedel is a lot closer to Frankfurt than Esslingen and has an excellent Medieval themed market with local crafts and puppets shows.

Koblenz has a good market, but an excellent Winter Garden at the fortress above the city. One of the best things to do at Christmas!

And Munich also has a number of markets spread around. It's a big city. but nearby you have:

Nuremberg, one of the most famous worldwide. Crowded, yes, but something quite special.

Augsburg, very easy to get to; a five minute walk from the train station, and really overlooked by Americans.

Rothenberg, another tourist favorite. Particularly beautiful at night when there's a snowfall.

Amberg, one of my favorite smaller markets, just because nobody goes there. a really pretty town.

Regensburg, another easy to get to spot, has very good markets.

Just to give you an idea of travel time, all of the places I've mentioned are (more or less) an hour from Frankfurt or Munich. Stuttgart is 3-4 hours, and Esslingen further. That's one way, and depending on the trains being one time. Don't waste your precious two days by spending 8+ hours traveling.

One further note, the above are just a few of the markets that will be open, there are many, many, more.

Just to give you an idea of travel time, all of the places I've mentioned are (more or less) an hour from Frankfurt or Munich. Stuttgart is 3-4 hours, and Esslingen further.

KGC, I'm not sure where you're getting your times from, but those times are inaccurate. I just checked DB tickets for early December, and there are trains that will get the OP from Frankfurt airport to the Stuttgart train station in 1 hour and 20 minutes; and that's direct with no transfers. There are a couple that are around an hour and a half to 2 hours (w/one transfer) but it's nowhere close to the 3-4 hours you mentioned.

And I have no idea why you're saying that Rothenburg only takes an hour from Frankfurt or Munich. From Frankfurt, it would take around 3 hours from station to station, and there are two transfers. If the OP travels from Munich airport to Rothenburg, you're looking at 4-5 hours. Check the Deutsche Bahn website, and you will see what I'm talking about. Rothenburg is notoriously difficult to get to. There are no direct trains from any place there, except maybe a neighboring town, but certainly not from Munich or Frankfurt.

And if the OP goes to Nuremberg from Munich airport, the fastest ticket direct without transfers takes 2 1/2 hours. If the OP travels from Frankfurt to Nuremberg, it's a little bit less, two hours without transfers, but still longer than going from Frankfurt to Stuttgart. If the OP were to go to Regensburg, they would have to stop in Nuremberg first before getting there, so then you've got extra time added on.

Stuttgart and especially Esslingen are absolutely beautiful Christmas markets and are extremely convenient to get to from Frankfurt Airport and even Munich. There's no reason in the world why the OP shouldn't go there, especially since they can get there in a relatively short period of time.

If you land in Frankfurt, it makes a great hub for the following markets as well as being a great market. It has improved over the last few years, expanding so it isn't so crowded. Various concerts in the downtown churches every evening, brass band playing from the gallery of the Alte Nikolai overlooking the market on Wed. and Sat. evenings.
Mainz
Wiesbaden
Limburg
Marburg
Seligenstadt
Michelstadt
Bad Homburg (weekends only)
Büdigen 2-6.12 (this town is like Rothenburg, but all original with massive stone walls and towers)
Idstein 4-6.12

Mardee I don't look for ICE inside Germany. I use the DB ticket and regional trains. With that it's 3-4 hours to Stuttgart from Frankfurt. Same with driving. From FRA to Mannheim is at least an hour. It's 2.5 hours on a good day from there to Stuttgart. That's how I travel, and I do those routes fairly often. I've also got some experience with the trains and drive between Munich and Stuttgart. The regional route is great if you want to see places most tourists will never visit. The drive can suck; it's one of the worst autobahn routes.

RodT is a bit of a flyer, but it's less than 2 hours from Munich to Ansbach, and a cab ride of less than 20 minutes will get you to RodT. And let's face it, that's a nice market.

The point being, that there are a lot of Christmas markets closer than Stuttgart, and IMHO better ones too. Part of that is I dislike Stuttgart. It's got lousy public transport, and driving there is horrible. If it wasn't for the museums I'd never go there. But the museums are really good.

Thanks for the replies and help everyone!
I will be there on a Monday and Tuesday so markets that are only open on weekends won’t work. I’ve done a lot of river cruising so I have been to markets already on the Danube and Main. I’m still researching and thank you for the suggestions.

Stick to the larger cities which have the larger markets. Many of the small villages have great markets but they are small and we find not worth the time to go. Especially by train. IMO. Rothenburg is a complete waste of time. No it is not beautiful in fact last year it had two rows of products, that’s it. So disappointing. That was our fourth visit and I give up.