Transportation from Hotel to Christmas Markets

In Frankfurt, most of the markets are near public transport. '

Colmar is small enough to walk between things. Munich also has excellent public transit.

Why hotels on the edges/outskirts of town?

Frank II-
Thanks for your reply, very helpful! I was hoping to save money by staying farther out. I have checked some prices, one on a hotel someone just suggested and it's partially sold out and $375 a night. I've checked so many, I can't even remember which city at this moment!

If I may ask, why look for a hotel on the outskirts? I usually like a place in the city center and easy walking to sights and restaurants.

Paul-Hoping to save money. We don't mind walking at all!

I'd skip Frankfurt. We go over every other year and it is very underwhelming compared to others. Frankfurt has gotten better these past couple years, but there are still better. Plus, the town is so cosmopolitan - it lacks the quaint, old German feel and architecture. Consider Vienna, Saltzburg, Regensburg (esp the private Thurn & Taxis Market), Nuremberg, Munich is easy to fly home from - not our fav markets - but a great town.
Taxis are plentiful as are subways and trams. Book ASAP - you are late - we've already booked our hotels for 2025.

Vienna - Hotel Das Tyrol
Nuremberg - Hotel Victoria
Munich - Hotel Schlicker

Book direct with hotels, not 3rd parties like Booking -- we see people get turned away every yr while we are checking in who used 3rd party sites.

All are very walkable to markets and in the old town area.

If you are on facebook, there are very helpful Xmas market groups

Use a sight like Booking.com to do some research on locations and prices, as well as look at prices of chain hotels that might be out in the outskirts. Booking has a range of properties, locations are exact, and the platform is easy to use.

Keep in mind that longer transit commutes and taxis have cost, spending money for transport, easily 20-30m euro a day for a couple, adds up. I also get a great amount of value being able to take an evening stroll around the city center, without worrying about transport back to my hotel. At the minimum, if I look for a hotel in the outskirts, it is near a metro or train station, I have done that in Amsterdam where hotel prices are crazy, and I will be doing that in Munich during Oktoberfest opening weekend, but those are maybe more extreme cases. In Munich, we are actually staying in Freising, a very nice town in it's own right, For Amsterdam, have stayed in the great towns of Haarlem and Leiden, or in Sloterdijk, some five minutes from Centraal. Basically all of those locales offer their own appeal, beyond the target city.

The Frankfurt market has grown and gotten so much better over the last 2 years. It is a beautiful market. On Wed. and Sat. a brass band plays from the gallery on the Alt Nikolai. There are concerts of some sort in all of the churches that are around the Market. Visit the rooftop market by the Kleinmarkthalle at sunset. Just food and drink, but fabulous views. The market in the City Forest by the Goethe Turm is a different and fun for the kids to run around.

The hotels on the outskirts are not usually cheaper. Look at Motel One, Moxy, the Ruby, Flemings City Center or Riverside, or Hotel Schopenhauer

I agree with Ms. Jo. We were at the Frankfurt market last year and thought it was beautiful. We enjoyed it as much as all the other markets we visited.

And make sure you leave time in Frankfurt to take the Frankfurt on Foot walking tour.

It's excellent. I took it a few days prior to the markets opening up but the stalls were already there but not open.

Yes, the hotels for the Christmas season are getting booked now. One place I like in Garmisch opened their books last week and sold out the whole two weeks in 24 hours. If you stay outside the city center just stay near a tram or subway station and you'll be okay, but as some folks have already posted, you're not going to save a lot of money this way. The popular towns/cities sell out every year. $300+ is pretty much a norm, I'm looking at Paris and Zurich this year and they are well over this for a good place.

Thanks everyone for your replies-it really is helpful! This will be our first trip to Germany/France region. It's A LOT to figure out, but I am sure it will be worth it!

We took a side trip from Colmar to Freiburg and LOVED the market there. This was in 2018, but I doubt much has changed. We stayed at this very nice hotel, just a few blocks away from the markets:

https://www.schwarzwaelder-hof.com

Very affordable.

Thanks everyone-so helpful!

I was a little surprised by the hotel prices in Colmar. I decided to do a non refundable room at Hotel Turenne which was much more reasonable than other hotels in the area. It's not in the center of town, but only a 5-10 minute walk. I found weekend prices to be much higher in most towns than weekdays.

Chinalake you might want to pull back just a bit and consider what the OP wants. They want a place this year, not next. A quick look at any of the booking sites will show you there is nothing in the city centers of Nuremberg, Vienna, Strasbourg, etc still available for DEC 2024 at less than $300/night.