December Christmas Market / Germany/Switzerland Itinerary

Jo in Frankfurt has done extensive research into Christmas markets in Germany. Hopefully she will rock up soon with an assist. What she doesn't know about that stuff doesn't need knowing.

Jo recommended Seligenstadt (outside of Frankfurt) to me last year. Absolutely lovely little town that was perfectly accented by the Weinachtsmarkt. Jo and I were even there on the same day and managed not to run into each other.

Check out gate1travel.com they have a great Christmas Market trip set up. You might like.

From my post on the Graffiti Wall:
Büdingen - this is a walled, medieval town, that is well worth going to any time of year.The walls and all the Fachwerk houses are original, as this town has never been burned down or bombed. It has a very unusual 13 sided schloss that is still the residence of the former noble family. The Christmas market wandered through the town, down by the palace and then along an inner wall. This was the Medieval part of the market, using lanterns, candles and all hand-made items. Many of the stands at this market were being run by local organizations. Especially the food and gluehwein stands. Many cosy cafes. Büdingen is about 1 hour from Frankfurt, near Gelnhausen. Idstein - This was one of my favorite markets. The walk from the bahnhof is past fairly non-descript modern buildings and then wham! one is in the middle of the Alt Stadt and boy is it amazing. Some of the prettiest and most elaborate Fachwerk houses I have ever seen. The middle of the town is marked by the Hexen Turm and the fortress. All buildings here are original and the Christmas market wends its way up one charming street after another. The variety of stands was pretty good, offering lots of hand-made articles as well as the usual Christmas market stuff. Nice mix of food, drink and other stands. The nativity had some live animals, which was a great touch. Lots of different groups were putting on a show in the center, everything from brass bands, to kids in reindeer outfits singing Rudolph in German, to choirs. One of the high points in this town and a good reason to visit it during other times of the year, (well, besides the gorgeous houses) is the Union Church. The entire ceiling of this church is made of about 30 oil paintings that have been attached together to form a ceiling.

Seligenstadt - I really liked this market a lot too, mainly because of the indoor market they were holding inside of the Abbey, though the market in the Alt Stadt square was nice too. The Abbey was begun in the 800's, and is one of the largest and best preserved in Hessen. The quality of gift items here was the highest - beautiful, unusual hand-work. All of the stands were staffed by the artisans themselves. They present their work again at the Easter show here. Seligenstadt is about 30 min. from Frankfurt and is located along the Main river. Lots of Fachwerk houses, cosy little cafes and hotels. I would love to stay here for a day or 2. Bad Homburg - This is close to Frankfurt, just 20 min. on the S-bahn. A portion of the market is held inside the courtyard of the Schloss, summer residence of Kaiser Wilhelm. The rest of the market winds down through the grounds a bit and then out to the streets. Huge variety of items of all kinds, many hand made and excellent quality. This was a popular market for families as there was a mini-steam train going around the medieval tower that sits in the middle of the courtyard. We also toured the Schloss, which was well worth seeing. The Redeemer church next door is amazing. The entire ceiling is gold mosaic and the church is very Byzantine in style. Fit for a Kaiser you might say. Bad Homburg is a great place to stay for travel around the area if you don't want to stay in Frankfurt. *Wiesbaden - Lovely city with gorgeous architecture and a lovely market. The beautiful Markt Kirche sits in the middle of it and you can often climb to the top during the Christmas Market. It was snowing like crazy while we were here, making it hard to see stuff, but they had a large variety of items, nothing outstanding, but I would still recommend coming here as it is so pretty with the decorations. About a 45 min. ride from Frankfurt.

Rüdesheim - Beautiful location along the Rhine and most lovingly decorated. Many cafes for indoor dining along the streets with excellent prices. I have to say the stands, other than a random few, were more of the cheap, tacky stuff, similar to many of the souvenir stores that fill Rüdesheim. This was disappointing to me. I came here 3 times so had a pretty good chance to see them all. The Scandanavian and Mongolian stands were the best. If you ever wanted some reindeer hides, this was the place to get them! Riding the chairlift up to Germania was fun, especially after our big snows. Hour + ride from Frankfurt, but the train leaves every hour from track 24. Aschaffenburg - this was the smallest of all the markets and a little dissapointing to me, as a round-trip ticket from Frankfurt was 20 euro and it took an hour to get here. I thought it would be bigger. Nothing really exceptional here. I liked the Basilica here though and I think I would enjoy this town more in the summer, when I could go through the Schloss and see the Pompieaum (sp.?) The museum here is fantastic *Frankfurt - (you didn't think I would leave this one out did you?) The biggest market of all, and one of the oldest in Germany, dating back to 1393. It is spread out through the Römer, up to the Kaiserdom, down to the Main, and then up to the Liebfrauenberg. This was the liveliest Christmas market with a huge party atmosphere, as it seemed like as soon as everyone was done working for the day, they were down here, gathering around their favorite Gluehwein stand. Good choice of handmade items in the Paulskirche area. Lots of pottery / ceramic creations, wood nativity figures, and excellent doll house items. Having the brass band play on the gallery of the Alte Nikolai church twice a week is a plus, as it being able to go on a tour that takes you up there too (if it isn't snowing). Same thing with climbing the Kaiserdom steeple.

On the schedule to visit this year are the markets in Eppstein, Kronberg, Butzbach, Marburg, Mainz, and Gelnhausen. Will probably go back to all the other ones too, except for Aschaffenburg and Rüdesheim. Enjoy! Edit: just read the post from Tom. I forgot about Darmstadt, so add that one to my list too. Great museums there, like the Mathildehöhe and the Hundert Wasser building is astounding.

The best large city markets I saw last year were Mannheim (there's actually two separate ones within walking distance of each other) and Darmstadt. Heidelberg's was much too crowded the day I visited.

Thanks so much for the suggestions! Can anyone comments on the Basel or Luzern in regards to the Christmas Markets? We adore Switzerland so much I thought a quick couple nights there would be nice. Also, can anyone comment on the timing in the towns/cities we are visiting? While in Munich, I think one of our days will be dedicated to visiting Salzburg. My boyfriend has been saying for years how much he wants to visit Rothenberg..but is 3 nights too much and should I add elsewhere? Thanks again!

PBS did a program titled "European Christmas Markets" which I thought would make a good itinerary. I will have to take a close look at Jos recommendations. We stayed at the Hotel Riechskuchenmeister in Rothenburg a few times. Great location and the rooms and food were good. In Frankfurt I would recommend NOT staying at a western (US) hotel near the train station. That is unless you like being in the red light district. Good luck on your trip, my wife is envious.

@ John - Unless you are on one of the streets that is actually IN the Red Light District, you will never know that it is there. There are plenty of hotels near the train station in Frankfurt that are NOT in the RLD. It is perfectly safe and actually a very beautiful area to stay in as many of the buildings date from the late 1800's. Hotels like Hotel Nizza, Victoria Hotel, or Hotel Monopol are all located in lovely old structures. There are no American style chain hotels in this area, except for possibly the new Holiday Inn Express and that isn't in the RLD zone at all either. There are European style chain hotels, like the Ibis, but it is 3 blocks away from the train station and sits right on the Main River. Great location and with good prices.

Christmas Markets in the Hessen/Frankfurt area during your travel dates: * 21 Nov. - 23 Dec. - Rüdesheim Christmas Market of the Nations * 21 Nov. - 23 Dec. - Darmstadt Christmas Market * 21 Nov. - 23 Dec. - Offenbach Christmas Market * 23 Nov. - 22 Dec. - Frankfurt Christmas Market * 22 Nov. - 23 Dec. - Wiesbaden Twinkling Star Market * 24 Nov. - 23 Dec. - Mainz Christmas Market * 24 Nov. - 22 Dec. - Aschaffenburg Christmas Market * 24 Nov. - 11 Dec. - Seligenstadt Advent Market * 25 Nov. - 22 Dec. - Hanau Magical Christmas Market * 26 Nov. - 23 Dec. - Limburg Christmas Fair * 27 Nov. - 18 Dec. - Bad Homburg v.d.Hohe Romantic Christmas Market (on Sat. & Sun. only) * 9-11 Dec. - Bad Nauheim, Mountain Christmas * 10-11 Dec. - Eppstein, Old Town Christmas Market * 10-11 Dec. - Kronberg, Castle Christmas Market * 10-11 Dec. - Hessen Park, Traditional Christmas Market * 10-11 Dec. - Altenstadt Christmas Market * 10-11 Dec. - Steinau Castle Christmas Market * 10-11 Dec. - Castle Ronneburg Historical Christmas Market