Hi all! My friends and I (total of 4, we are 2 couples in our 30’s and 40’s) are embarking on our European Christmas market tour. We are flying into Paris. Our plan is the below:
16 - 17 Paris
17-19 Bruges
19-21 Brussels
21-23 Koln/Cologne
22-23 Strasbourg
23 wander or extend Strasbourg
24 - 26 Munich
26-29 Prague
29 - 1 Paris
The issue is on whether we should get a car and go throughout towns or whether we should take the train. My friend is leaning on renting car in Paris and returning in Paris. It’s cost effective but I’m not as sure if it’ll be very convenient. My friend speaks a bit of France but none of the others in the group do. Also, I’m thinking weather conditions, also parking. Since once we get to major cities, we will have to probably get hotels a bit further out and then get back to the center for markets.
Would really appreciate your suggestions!
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23626 posts
We did that run about five years ago. Spent Christmas in Munch and finally came home Prague. Had a car for Germany and wish we had not. Of the roughly fourteen days we had six days of snow and especially ice that just made driving slow and miserable. Since we live in the mountains snow and icy driving as not new to us but the big issue is how traffic gets jammed up and slow going. We used the train to and from Germany so wish we had stayed with the train and would do so in the future. We had picked the car up in Frankfurt and dropped in Munich. And because of the time of year we spent a lot of time driving in the dark evening hours. Driving in fresh snow pack on unfamiliar roads in the dark was not pleasant. And, of course, dealing with some GPS re-routings caused by traffic.
AND -- you absolutely should fly into Paris and return from Prague. It was save a lot of time, could be cheaper, and certainly more convenient. It is long ways from Prague to Paris especially if it is snowy.
Posted by
Ottawa, Canada
218 posts
Hi Chris720ty,
My wife, daughter and I are about to embark on a very similar Christmas market tour, arriving in Paris Dec 10 and finishing in Prague on the 30th. I considered driving for at least part of it, but decided in favour of travelling by train, for a number of reasons. First of all, it’s a LOT of driving. The return trip from Prague to Paris alone is more than 1000 km. (For us, that wasn’t a consideration, as we are flying out of Prague, but the drop off fee would have been outrageous.) Is it still possible for you to fly home from Prague? Another factor is the need for at least winter tires, and in some place snow chains, for which rental companies charge extra. And I don’t want to be putting chains on and taking them off. Then there’s the total cost, considering gas, parking, and the daily rental cost of a car that you’re not driving daily. It might cost less overall to go by car, but not by much. For you to compare, I have booked train tickets from Paris-Brussels-Bruges-Strasbourg-Munich-Vienna-Prague for about $350 USD each.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Ottawanderer,
Thank you so much for your input! And extremely excited about your adventure. I think you confirmed my reservations. I just have to convince my friend. Also, what site did you use to book the train? Was it just one site or did you have to go to each country train and book separately? Lastly, unfortunately i think it’s too late to change or flights. I’m sure it’ll be extra expensive. Also, we have already booked out hotel for new years in Paris and that is not refundable. Literally the one hotel I booked which isn’t. 😣
Posted by
The Netherlands
1588 posts
Just to be clear, are you planning to go this year? 2023? And you haven’t booked your transport between these places yet? If so, then you have left things pretty late I’m afraid.
Each of the countries you plan to visit has their own railway company. It’s always recommended to book your train tickets on the website of the railway company that will actually be operating the train. For your train trips to and from Belgium (Paris-Bruges and Brussels-Koln) use https://www.b-europe.com/EN This is the website of the Belgian national railway company for international trains.
For your train trip within Belgium, use; https://www.belgiantrain.be/en
Your other train trips can be booked on https://int.bahn.de/en
Prague to Paris is at the very least an 11 to 12 hour train trip or a 11 hour car ride. I would seriously reconsider going to Prague if I were you. If you insist on visiting Prague then I would suggest you to fly to Paris.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33840 posts
I'm a little surprised that on a Christmas market tour, where Germany is home of Christmas markets and they are all over and of the very best experiences, you only have two stops in Germany.
The Munich stop is not until the 24th, by which time the Christmas markets are usually finished. That's a shame.
Have you checked the opening hours?
Posted by
Green Bay
21155 posts
The Munich Christmas Market closes at 2 pm on the 24th, which means you will have to leave Strasbourg at the crack of dawn to even hope to find anything open for the last hour or so.
The Eurostar will get you to Bruges in 2 1/2 to 3 hours with connections in Lille or Brussels to IC trains. a lot faster than driving. Bruges to Brussels is by frequent IC trains (3 direct every hour) which you can buy tickets at the station. Brussels to Cologne by either ICE or Eurostar trains.
If you want to rent a car, rent in Cologne and drop in Munich. Take the Alex train to Prague. The Christmas Markets there stay open until after New Years. Then fly home from Prague.
Posted by
Uppsala, Sweden
6974 posts
Has your friend been to Europe before? The train is the obvious choice for this trip. It won't be convenient, and when looking at the cost you need to consider the total cost. I.e. not just the cost of renting a car, but also the cost of fuel, tolls and parking. And you are planning a trip to a couple of cities to visit Christmas markets, that are usually held in the very centre of the city. Finding a place to stay with parking will either cost a lot, or mean you have to stay in the outskirts. With the train on the other hand, you arrive in the city centre with no need to worry about parking.
In addition, there is also the travel time. High speed trains will save you a lot of travel time. The train takes you from Brussel to Cologne in 1 hour and 40 minutes, driving will probably take around 3 hours.
Also, what site did you use to book the train? Was it just one site or
did you have to go to each country train and book separately?
Buy from the company that operates the trains. In general, buy tickets in Germany and to and from Germany from DB, www.bahn.de and Paris-Bruges from Eurostar. Bruges to Brussels is just a local journey that you buy at the station.
Posted by
Ottawa, Canada
218 posts
I often use Trainline to book my trains and could have this time, but for most of my tickets on this trip I went to the individual railway sites. The main reason for that was that on some of the the longer routes I booked first class with seat reservations, and Trainline didn’t always allow me to pick my own seats (I could reserve, but the app chose the seats for me). I installed and used the SNCF and OBB apps to book trains starting of finishing in France or Austria respectively. (I also used cd.cz for a ticket within Czech Republic, as I actually have a stop between Vienna and Prague.) By the way, on a trip several years ago I took an overnight train from Prague to Cologne then on to Paris, as I also had a flight home from CDG. I don’t know what the routes are these days, but an overnight train is an option to consider.
Posted by
Paris
7303 posts
For the best Xmas markets you need to start with Germany! You're leaving Munich for too late, as it stands. And Prague feels far by train.
You could do Paris-Strasbourg-Munich-Nuremberg (replacing Prague)-Cologne-Bruges (just visit Brussels as a day trip may be)-Paris.
You might scramble a bit to reschedule everything, and beware of full trains around Xmas day!