Which Christmas markets are best for a long weekend trip?

Budapest of course

There are Christmas Markets all over Germany. They are much the same. I would try to visit a city you like and take the Christmas Market as a bonus. If you flew into Munich, there are multiple markets in the city itself. The main Christkindlmarkt in Marienplatz is packed on weekend evenings so plan to visit some others like Schwabbing in the evening.

Our favorite market/town combination is Regensburg, which is about 1 1/2 hour north of Munich by regional train. Regensburg has a main market downtown and a Romantic Era Market at the Thurn & Taxis Palace right near the train station.

https://mcchelsea.smugmug.com/Advent-2010/Regensburg/

https://mcchelsea.smugmug.com/Advent-2010/Thurn-and-Taxis-Palace-Market/

Other folks can give you similar good choices outside of Frankfurt or Stuttgart or...

We also enjoyed the large market at Stuttgart and a trip one afternoon to the Medieval Market at Esslingen.

https://mcchelsea.smugmug.com/Other-1/Esslingen-2013/

Good Christmas Market choices abound. It is a fun time of year to visit Germany.

Thanks Gary.

I went to Christmas markets in nov/dec 2015..... Regensburg and Budapest were my favorites.

Happy Shopping!!

Kim

If you go to a hub city like Frankfurt, you can visit multiple markets all within a 1 hour train ride or less.
Mainz, Wiesbaden, Heidelberg, Marburg, Limburg, Rüdesheim, Seligenstadt, Worms, Hanau, or Darmstadt and on select weekends depending on your dates of travel you can go to Büdingen, Gelnhausen, Idstein, Bad Homburg, Kronberg, or Eltville.

Broken Arrow? Reminds me of Broken Bow...... (great fishing)

Alsace was my favorite (Colmar, nearby villages, Strasbourg). Close to Stuttgart which has a huge market and the extra special medieval market at Esslingen.

I second what Ms. Jo says. I been to the Frankfurt area twice for Christmas to stay with family. They took us to 5 of those and they were really quaint in a small town kind of way. The one in Frankfurt at the Römer Square was the only place where I heard English spoken. Staying in or near Frankfurt does allow you to access many smaller town Weihnachtsmärkte.

It depends what you like. The big ones are very much geared towards spending on trinkets while the small ones are more intimate with unique food and items to purchase. I suggest small towns . I go home every year and love Fulda Christmas market or the one in Schlitz has the biggest candle in all of Germany. The most unique one for me was last year where they make all the wooden candle holders. I am planning on going back there this year for sure.Its in Annaberg Buchholz. The people were so friendly and the most unique Christmas market. Either way you will enjoy them all I am sure.

A third vote for Jo's suggestion.

Just pick one city as a base and make some day trips out to nearby markets. I've found there is more difference between the smaller local markets (small towns and theme markets like creche or medieval markets) than the big main markets between cities (Nuremberg, Dresden, Frankfurt, Munich). If it were me I'd pick Munich as Salzburg and Nuremberg are cheap/easy day day trips on a Bayern Ticket, plus there is a good selection of local markets in and around Munich including a creche market and medieval market and last because it is a major airline hub and therefore easy to get to. The same argument could probably be made about Frankfurt.

DJ

We just did a Christmas market tour in December. We landed in Frankfurt and drove 2 hours or so to Rothenburg ob der Tauber. LOVELY great first impression of Germany and the markets! Stayed there 2 days, then on Bamberg, Nurnberg, Salzburg, and ended in Munich. Wonderful Christmas markets in all the towns. As someone else mentioned Munich has several and we really like the market in the Schwabing district; very different with true artisans.