By the third day of triple digit heat, I’m ready to switch my thinking to my coming Christmas Market trip. I will have two days before meeting my ship before a river cruise. I have been to many markets and prefer German or Austrian Christmas markets. I will be cruising the Rhine but have also done the Danube and the Main. I’m thinking of Stuttgart and Esslingen which get good reviews here. I plan to fly into Frankfurt or Munich and train somewhere. What say you?
Posted by
Duluth, MN🌲
12410 posts
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?
Posted by
3809 posts
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
Posted by
Idaho, USA
9815 posts
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,