christmas market advice

Train travel would be easily doable. Two night stops to me still makes sense. It may modify your choice of places to stay a little. For example I wouldnt aim at Romantic Road villages, but Wurzburg, Rothenberg, Nurnberg, munich are all accessible by train. I dont know however which towns have the best Christmas markets

We like to shoot for 1-3 nights per stop. We are also re-visiting Christmas markets this year, taking my brother and his wife with us for the 1st time. We will make 6 stops in 10 nights. Würzburg and Regensburg are our most anticipated stops and our favorite towns in Germany. We are flying into Frankfurt (first night Aschaffenburg) and out of Munich. We are also stopping in Nürnberg and Rothenburg. We really enjoy traveling Germany this time of year. Rothenburg will be much quieter than in the summer.

If I were going specifically to see Christmas markets, I would also aim at about two nights per town. you would want to get a variety without constantly packing and unpacking. That way you also have time to appreciate the town without rushing. The Frankfurt to Munich plan above makes sense to me (except I would go straight to Wurzburg for first night). Wurzburg to Munich is basically Romantic Road with interesting villages along the way. Sounds fantastic.

we would be traveling by train-( I have only rented a car or traveled with a group before) does multi city stops( maybe the two nights in each town still sound doable?

We travel by train and enjoy it. It is economical with the Bayern-ticket (2-5 people for 28 euros) for travel within the state of Bavaria (Bayern). There is even a greater savings between Rothenburg and Nürnberg, which are part of the same local network (14.70 euros for a Tages Ticket Plus for 2 people). Two nights a stop is easily doable by train....I would only caution against taking a train into Nürnberg on a Saturday as the market is popular and the trains are packed, hardly room to breathe.

Nurnberg, Rothenburg have the best Christmas Markets. Oberaummergau is also charming and a short train ride from Munich. All in the same general area of Germany.

James has an excelent point. Dress warmly! When we were there in 2007 the cold air just went thru us, but after a wurst and a couple of glasses of Gluhwein we warmed right up!

@ Gary, have you been to the Christmas market in Regensburg?

Regensburg is the only Christmas Market that I have not visited of those that I mentioned. I have visited the town itself and it is one of my favorites in Germany. The town is a series of plazas connected by narrow alleys that set a very nice mood. One of the markets is at the Thurn & Taxis palace, which we have also visited. The town is worth the visit in any case and I have read that the 3 markets are very nice as well.

A link about the three Regensburg markets: http://www.germany-christmas-market.org.uk/regensburg_christmas_market.htm

Great link to the German Christmas markets- thanks! I agree that Regensburg is well worth any time there. Not to hijack the thread, as this question would properly go on the general Euro thread, but would longjohns/shirt,sweater & jeans/ hat, scarf, gloves & socks, and an Eddie Bauer down coat keep a thinblooded Southerner warm in a Christmas market?

The UK Christmas market link is a fairly good one, but leaves out all the smaller ones. Ones in villages, or small towns that may only be on for the weekend. Here is a link that will give you listings for all of Germany, divided into Lands, then towns..... http://www.weihnachtsmaerkte-in-deutschland.de/

Rothenburg (or Colmar, Fr) are two of the best, if not the best in Germany or across the border in France. We have been to them all.

Thanks everyone . Also, I had been wondering abt both Colmar and strasbourg.

Strasbourg has a nice market, actually several small markets, all within walking distance. However, if you plan on doing any shopping, you may want to bring a suitcase for all your purchases...