German Christmas

Just FYI regarding the decorating, you'll be here during market season. The Christmas markets in major cities open around Thanksgiving time. Some smaller towns only have Christmas markets on one day in November or December. Most German Christmasmarkets close up at Dec 25. A few German and most French ones (not sure about Swiss or others) stay open until Epiphany in January. Salzburg is an absolutely fantastic Christmas market. Stuttgart's is awesome as well.

Many of the Christmas markets in Germany seem to end on the 23rd/24th. So if you are going to be there a few days before Christmas I would look into those. The markets in Nurnberg and Munich were two of my favorites. Rothenburg is also a very cute town and an hour drive from Nurnberg. It is the home of the Kathy Wolfart Christmas stores and my favorite town in Germany. Just be warned most things are closed on Christmas day and the day after. If you are not planning on cooking I would stay somewhere that has a few restaurant options that would be opened. Have fun.

Thanks for the info. We are thinking of arriving on the 21st so definitely will hit the Christmas markets. Already getting excited about them! We love Rothenburg, and since the girls have never been there, thought that might be nice. We decided to eliminate Milan for now and just visit Germany and Switzerland. I just need help finding a hotel/castle/something that will have the homey Christmas feel. This will be our first time not being home for Christmas. Maybe a bed and breakfast? Anyone have an recommendations?

hi Kristin, This may not be of help, but we went to a few of the Christmas Markets in Austria last November. They were incredible! I mention this since you plan to fly into Munich and places such as Salzburg, Innsbruck, etc. are about 2 hours from Munich. We visited the Markets in Salzburg, St. Gilgen, Innsbruck, Hall in Tirol and Rattenberg. Rattenberg, which is 45 min. from Innsbruck, was our favorite old town Christmas Market. Salzburg and Innsbruck were fantastic also though. Actually, all were wonderful. Salzburg and Innsbruck have a couple of Christmas Markets throughout the old towns. Hopefully we can do it again someday. If interested, we have some pic's at: www.worldisround.com/home/pja1/index.html Paul

Check out the Graffiti Wall about Christmas in Europe, it might help.

If you want to go to the markets, you may want to arrive earlier than the 21st. The larger ones close down on the 22nd or 23rd. That only leaves you one or two days. If you are interested in certain ones, check the cities websites, as this is something that is scheduled way ahead of time. There are a very few cities who may stay open through Christmas and after, but not very many. The 24th is the huge Christmas celebration here and pretty much everything shuts down by about 1400. You will need dinner reservations at your hotel for this evening, as restaurants will all be closed. The 25th and the 26th are also holidays and all the stores will remain closed, but many restaurants will be open. For museums or tourist attractions, it is best to check the websites to see what their opening hours are on websites. You might check into staying at a ski resort sort of place, which will have Christmas packages, with sleigh rides, nice dinners on Christmas Eve, etc.

I second Jo's suggestion of staying at a ski resort because of the many things to do (including sleigh rides if it snows). Much more fun for the girls than a castle. Or rent an apartment in a farm stay situation where they offer all these amenities. These farms often have apartments in a separate chalet on the grounds and offer a wonderful vacation experience.

I never stayed here, but I was tempted. And some may be quick to point out it is not a "real" castle in that it isn't 400 years old. It was built relatively recently maybe? But if you want to feel like you are in a castle.... http://www.hotel-schoenburg.com/

Try this website: castleandpalacehotels.com, many options!