European Christmas Markets

anonymous69

Hey,

Im hoping someone can help me out. Im thinking if going to one of the markets in December, but theres so many I dont know where to go. Im not looking to buy anything in particular, just the experience.

I'll be going for 3 nights, so preferably a city that has some decent sights aswell. Just back from Prague so cant go there

cailinoBAC

Nothing beats Vienna at Christmas. Sorry, don't really have time to elaborate at the moment, but I just had to say that...

H2G2

Probably can't compete with Vienna, but Birmingham's Frankfurt market in Victoria Square starts 21 November. El chepo Ryanair tickets and lots of cheap hotels means more dosh to spend shopping...

littlesurfer

I only ever did cologne in germany at christmas but its amazing...actually thats not true,,....i was in copenhagen......cologne had the edge though!

Padraig Mor

Have heard a number of times that Nurnberg and Cologne have the best markets. Checking out Munich's myself this year...

jos28

I can recommend Munich. I have gone there for the past 3 years. Great atmosphere at Christmas. Great place to buy perfumes/aftershaves for presents. About half the price they are at home.Clothes are also cheaper. You can take a trip from Munich to Salzburg, takes about 90 minutes. More great markets and a really nice city. Watch out if booking return flights with Aer Lingus. They always list a flight home on Sunday morning. I ALWAYS book this and they ALWAYS cancel the flight.You end up taking the later flight which gets into Dublin about 22.00.

ImDave

I would recommend Brugge in Belgium. It is a fabulous old city in west flanders, with good shopping through out the year. During Christmas they hold markets in "market sqaure" in the centre of the city. It looks fantastic with all the lights and there is a great atmosphere. Flights avilable with Aer Lingus Dublin to Brussels twice daily. If you book now you will get return flights for about €80 return p.p.

lord lucan

i was in berlin last december,great xmas atmosphere and loads of sights to see,highly recommended from me anyway:D

fits

Leipzig... Absolutely fantastic, off the beaten track, and well worth visiting. The market is humungous! Best christmas market I've been to.

Germany is famous throughout the world for its atmospheric Christmas markets and Leipzig has one of the best in the country. Beginning on first December every year, Leipzig's Christmas market on Marktplatz is a magnet for tens of thousands of visitors during the festive season. Visitors will find countless small stands selling sweets and christmas cake, Glühwein and christmas gifts. Choirs sing Christmas carols, and all sorts of festive sounds and aromas fill the air. The free-standing Advent calendar is the largest in the world and fascinates young and old alike.

missmatty

I went to Brussels and Bruges last December and Bruges especially is lovely. The Christmas Market in Brussels is really nice, I enjoyed the hot wine, local gin (jenivers) and food. Although I hear that Vienna, Cologne and Strasbourg are also highly recommended

2rs

Have done Copenhagen markets at Christmas and they were pretty good. I got a recommendation to go to Vilnius for the same thing so that is where I am going this year!

ronan.h

Have to agree with a few of the earlier posts, Vienna in late Nov early Dec is fabulous, especially if you get the snow! There's plenty to keep you busy over a long weekend...

watna

My family and I go to Austria a lot and Salzburg is far prettier than Vienna. However, I haevn't been to a christmas market in Salzburg but my parents have and said it was good. I've been to Christmas markets in Cologne (my bro was living there) and Vienna and Vienna was definitely better.

Imposter

Are you all talking about the Vienna market at the Rathhaus or a different one? I wasn't that impressed by it when I was there.

Sonnenblumen

It would be difficult to beat many of the German Christmas Markets, the most famous being Nuremburg, but Aachen, Dusseldorf and Munchen also very popular.

Timmy_d

Hi im thinking of booking a break for a few days and think il head over to munich or vienna for xmas markets,are these markets on all day? is the stuff over there fairly cheap?

finbarrk

I wonder is there any city in particular in Germany that is prone to getting snow around Christmas, the kids would love it. I'm thinking of going to Cologne for the markets but I could go somewhere else if there was a better chance of snow.

Tiesto

id have to recommend nurnberg.
Having lived there for nearly 2 years, its a beautiful city, not too big, not too small.. very easy to get around and there is plenty to do there..
check out hitlers architecture...
You can get a train to nurnberg from frankfurt airport.. takes about 2 hours 10 minutes or something like that..
But if ur thinking about going.. you'd want to book a hotel asap to get the best price..

QualderWahl

Sorry for posting OT but what brought you to Nürnberg Tiesto? I also lived there for 18 months in 2004 / 2005 and rarely came across any fellow Irish. I agree that it is a nice city with plenty to do. It's a bit of a coincidence to encounter another Irish ex-Nürnberger!

jelly4

What about trying Krakow...beautiful city and sooooo cheap... I was there last year and loved. Plus Ryanair have really cheap flights there at the moment!!

blorg

I was in Krakow before Christmas and it was very nice indeed, definately recommend it. Good market and plenty of snow.

Munich/Salzburg is a good combo too, Munich is a great lively city while Salzburg is very quiet and sedate (but also attractive.) Two countries for the price of one!

You might also consider the Baltic states which are also very easy to get to these days.

finbarrk

Are there Christmas markets in all eastern european cities?

Moanin

finbarrk wrote:

Are there Christmas markets in all eastern european cities?

I know that Prague has a very good one and you can fly Ryanair now from November

missmatty

I'm going to Stockholm end of November for Christmas markets, can't wait

Moanin

Heading to Bremen myself.I believe it's good.....

davidcondon11

anonymous69 wrote:

Hey,

Im hoping someone can help me out. Im thinking if going to one of the markets in December, but theres so many I dont know where to go. Im not looking to buy anything in particular, just the experience.

I'll be going for 3 nights, so preferably a city that has some decent sights aswell. Just back from Prague so cant go there

right now with the dollor so bad ,it hard to beat New york I am just back. or peddycoat lane in London .David

Timmy_d

Augh lads i cant decide which one to book,have the money n all...all these recommendations,il be going over on my own and would ideally like to fly direct from shannon,i cant cant imagine stockholm would be cheap,correct me if im wrong...