Hi! I have some time off in December and am thinking of planning a trip to Western Germany to see some of the christmas markets. I have already been to the Bavaria area so I dont really want to travel there again. I am in my mid-20s and will most likely be traveling alone and staying in hostels. I was thinking of flying into Luxembourg stay there for a day/night, travel along the Mosel and Rhine rivers and end in Cologne for 2 nights. I am looking for suggestions of where exactly to stay and for how many nights for the remaining 6-7 days. By reading other posts it seems like Trier, Cochem, and Koblenz are good places to stop but I am definitely open to others. I am also not sure if things will be open in smaller towns in December. Also is Frankfurt worth fitting in? Thank you in advance!
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
Cochem would be nice. It would make a good base for visit to Zell or Berkastel.
I'm not sure I would want to stay in Koblenz; it's not much of a sightseeing stop (although Deutsches Eck is interesting).
If you want a small town experience, Treis-Karden or Braubach would be good places. The town of Braubach is at the base of the Marksburg hill, and the Marksburg (click on information) is open (with shorter hours) in the winter. Note, Burg Eltz is closed at that time of year.
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
Fewer hotels will be open, and some restaurants may close seasonally, but most of the castles that you can visit should remain open, if with reduced operating hours. For a young guy, Trier is a good option, because it hosts a university. Unless you hit Cochem during it's Weihnachtsmarkt, it will be dead. Koblenz will be sort of in-between.
I would try to place myself in Rüdesheim on a Friday or Saturday night. At your age, you may enjoy some of the bachorlette/post-wedding parties that stumble into town throughout the night to take in the live Schlager music. It might be a little less hopping than during the warmer months, so if things are dead, you could consider jaunting off to Wiesbaden, Mainz or even Frankfurt.
Posted by
Frankfurt, Germany
9222 posts
Just about all of the towns along the Rhine are deader than a door nail except for some of the larger towns, like Rüdesheim or Boppard. Going to Braubach will just be depressing. I walked through both Kaub and Braubach on a day in late November, as well as in Feb. and everything was shuttered up. You could have heard a pin drop.
I have done the trek up to the Marksburg in the winter, with snow and ice and this is not very much fun. The shuttle train won't run in the winter. This is not a castle really worth bothering with in the winter.
The Christmas market in Rüdesheim is often packed to the gills if you are there on a weekend. It is pretty, and the chair lift ride around dusk (15:00 or so) is interesting, offering great views of the Rhine.
Koblenz certainly has more to see than just the Deutsche Eck. It has some great old churches to explore.
http://www.koblenz-touristik.de/en/places-of-interest.html
Mainz, Wiesbaden, and Frankfurt all have large Christmas markets. If the weather turns funky on you, you will be happy to be in a city that has some other activities besides the markets. Frankfurt has about 30 museums to choose from, as well as lots of historical sites. Mainly medieval churches, Jewish history, and the Holy Roman Emperor stuff.
http://www.kultur-frankfurt.de/portal/en/Museums/Start/0/0/0/0/1441.aspx