Christmas Markets **General/Annual Bumper Thread**

Libbybelle

How do you think Krakow compare to the big European markets? Have booked a weekend there on Dec 6th, purely because it was the cheapest to get to. Are the Krakow markets very small in comparison?

Tiriel

Went to Stockholm before for markets and it was fantastic - lovely atmosphere and beautiful city.

Was in Bruges early Nov. last year but markets not yet up - think they were just getting ready - so if the markets are essential, that one may not be an option. However, it is a beautiful city and felt really Christmassy even without the markets, still a good few Christmas shops and decorations etc.

Schalker

Nueremberg is the most famous in Germany. Christkindlmarkt

Gal44

Hi all, Want to book a Christmas market break in early December, cant decide between Munich and Cologne.. any feedback would be great

ProudDUB

Never been to either one, but there have been several threads about Christmas markets started here in the past couple of months. If you use the Search function above, you'll probably be able to dig them up. Lots of useful info in 'em !

WIZE

I lived in Germany for 8 years and Loved the Christmas Markets
( Weihnachtsmarkt )

Plenty of Gluhwein drank and Bratwurst eaten.

Both Cities are great but nearly All cities in Germany have Weihnachtsmarkt.

I found Dortmund's one one of the best but i lived there.

This year like last year i will be going to the one in Hyde Park in London.

WIZE

Here is Dortmund 2013

http://media.dortmunderweihnachtsmarkt.de/docs/flyer/2013-GB-Flyer.pdf

Passenger

Considering Munich for Christmas too. Aer Lingus are flying to Munich airport for a reasonable fare in December, the city center seems pretty accessible from the airport, and hotel prices are decent too.

ollaetta

Been to both Cologne and Munich markets. Both cities have several different markets and to be honest you won't go wrong with either.

Liked them both but if I had to pick between them Munich is the one I'd go back to.

Cointreau

Can't speak for Cologne but went to Munich last year and thoroughly enjoyed it, you can't go wrong with it. The medieval market in particular was great, but i'm a sucker for that sort of stuff

callmekenneth

Hi, anyone have any experience with christmas markets? i am looking to book somewhere for early decemeber, am thinking maybe bruges but i'd like it to be cold too, what about prague or germany?

spur

Can only comment on German ones - they're fabulous!

We've been to Munich a few times and that's my favourite! We've had very cold times and cold times there - I don't think we've ever seen snow there, but the atmosphere there is really Christmassy - there are a good few markets there, but most of them are walkable from each other. There is Tollwood, which is walkable (but a long walk) and it's different - we went there and I didn't like it, but lots of people absolutely love it.
We went to Dusseldorf and it was snowing there! There aren't that many markets in Dusseldorf and in a day you've seen most of them - they have some fabulous lights though and the markets are worth revisiting at night. While I enjoyed it there, I wouldn't go back. We did day trips from there to Cologne and Essen. Cologne I don't think we saw all the markets, but around the cathedral is just awesome! Essen is much smaller, but it was magical - it was snowing all the time we were there and that added to the ambience. German rail travel is just brilliant, so doing day trips is simple (neither of us speak German nor can read more than a few words)
We went to Berlin another year - now I love Berlin, but I wouldn't advise it for Christmas markets - they were lovely there, but we found the travelling back and forth between markets quite tiring and we felt we didn't get the same buzz - I think you're taken away from the Christmas atmosphere a lot in Berlin - more so than in the smaller cities where it seems to be just all markets. We went to Potsdam from Berlin and it was a nice day trip.
This year we plan on going to Heidelberg and hope to do a few day trips from it.
My regret the last time we went to Munich is that we didn't go to Salzburg - it's an easy day trip from there, but we just didn't organise ourselves to do it. (But I suspect we'll pay another trip to Munich in a few years - we simply love those markets)

We've bought lots of stuff there over the years - and each year swear we have enough!! We brought back a crib from Munich last year - they have a crib market - their crib scenes are huge - almost a village scene. We have brought back lots of smokermen over the years. We brought back a wreath as well last year - had been admiring them for years. We've also brought back lots of candle holders - they do such fabulous ones - painted scenes onto glass.

Some of the shop do wonderful window displays as well - there is one big store there that does spectacular ones and I can't remember the name of the store - but they usually have 5 or 6 windows and there are kinds of scenes in there - loads of animation etc - and as enjoyable for an adult as a child.

In the markets as well there is loads of food and drink. They do fried potato things that are just delicious - they grate potato and form a patty and fry it - doesn't sound much, but they are delicious - can't think of the name of them now. (They are probably a guaranteed coronary!) I don't like their sausages, but they are all over the place too. Some places do some great bread stalls. And of course can't forget the gluwein - taste lots of it as the taste varies a lot - and you'll find one you like and go back to it again and again. Different cities do different things, some have lots of different mugs, some have all the same - we have a collection at this stage - you pay a deposit which is returned if you return the mug - our rule now is one mug kept!!! (They're all so lovely)

Wherever you go - enjoy it! You'll get a wonderful Christmas feeling.

chopper6

I was at the one in Heidelberg just before christmas about 5 years ago.

It certainly cannot compare to the larger ones in the main cities but Heidelberg in December is amazingly atmospheric...quiet and almost devoid of tourists. You can take a trip to the castle in the morning and more or less have teh place to yourself.

Ms.Sunshine

I am heading to Berlin this year in Late November for them and can not wait! We are staying In a Hotel in Alexanderplatz so will be in the heart of them as there is one just outside the hotel door also Berlin is a great city so there is plenty to do besides the markets!

I haven't been to Prague for a christmas market but I have been for a visit and thought it was a beautiful city. It is really romantic!

kerry4sam

Ah Christmas Markets sound wonderful so they do If you are travelling this year to any, Hope you all Enjoy!

BenEadir

Is there a Christmas market in Salsburg? I've been meaning to go back for years but haven't got round to it. A Christmas market would allow me to kill two birds with one stone.

Ben

flahers

We visit a lovely city called Muenster, close to Dusseldorf quite a lot as husband's sister married there. We have been to many of the larger city markets and the market in Muenster surpassed all of them. There are four different markets dotted around the city, all huge and the array of things is to die for, much better than what we saw in Munich and much more reasonable. Check out Christmas markets in muenster. The city is small and beautiful and aside from markets shops are brilliant too. You fly into Dusseldorf and take a train direct from airport or car hire and drive very easy too.

undo

I agree with all that has been said before - you cannot really go wrong in any German city. I am from Dortmund myself and very much recommend the market there. Dortmund always has a huge Christmas tree (~ 45m tall) built of thousands of real trees. It looks fantastic. Many of the larger cities have multiple markets that you can walk/tram between. Two quick comments on things that were said before:

- The grated potato pancakes that were mentioned are my favorite too. They are best with apple sauce. The name differs by region, it could be "Reibekuchen," "Kartoffelpuffer" or "Reiberdatschi."

- Salzburg has a fantastic Christmas market. Relative to the city's size, the market is just huge. Salzburg is a ~2 hour direct train ride from Munich, so Munich and Salzburg can be ideally combined into a single trip.

Ms.Sunshine

Can you travel from Berlin to another Christmas market located in another region or even country? Would it be possible to do as a day trip?

undo

You could easily travel from Berlin to Potsdam. Potsdam is just outside Berlin, maybe as far away as Bray is from Dublin.

If you wanted to go slightly further, you could visit Leipzig - only 1:13 hours from Berlin by train.

fastrac

We did Munich and Salzburg last year and both were excellent. There is a regular train service through a very scenic route between both . There are several markets in Munich and I would recommend doing the one at the town hall off peak as it gets very crowded at weekends.Be sure to take the funicular to the castle in Salzburg . It is just beside the market.Most important to dress for the cold .

coylemj

The Mooney Show on RTE1 radio today (Mon 28th) did a big piece on Christmas markets in mainland Europe with the travel guy Eoghan Corry, should be on the RTE player.

poteen

Went to Cologne last year. Enjoyed it alot. Lots of great markets with nice mulled wine and foods. Felt 2 days and nights were enough and this allows for some morning sleep ins, shopping and a trip to the Catherdral.

navigator

Any town in Germany has a nice Christmas market. Choose the town you prefer to visit, and you won't be wrong.
Personally, I prefer quite small towns (Bamberg, Freiburg, Regensburg).

miamee

coylemj wrote: »

The Mooney Show on RTE1 radio today (Mon 28th) did a big piece on Christmas markets in mainland Europe with the travel guy Eoghan Corry, should be on the RTE player.

The link to the podcast is here: http://www.rte.ie/radio1/podcast/podcast_mooney.xml

Thanks for that, I'll have a listen to that today

ncmc

My hubby and I are off to the Christmas market in Krakow on Dec 6th, how does it compare to the big German markets. Also, can we expect it to be very, very cold in Krakow in early December?

undo

The market in Kraków is much smaller but also very nice. It has the usual food, crafts and mulled wine.

sophya

Booked a trip in late November to Berlin. Read that there's 60 Christmas markets, anyone got 4/5 of the must see ones to narrow it down?

Passenger

Looking at Munich for December. Can anybody recommend a cheap but decent quality hotel/hostel in the center?

munchkin_utd

Passenger wrote: »

Looking at Munich for December. Can anybody recommend a cheap but decent quality hotel/hostel in the center?

how cheap?
and, is it essential to be at the centre?
And when "in december", cos its a long old month.

Theres a sale with accorhotels at the moment finishing tonight that has hotels going half price, so if you get an economy hotel that doesnt cost the earth in the first place, and half that price, its cheaper than a hostel.
http://www.accorhotels.com/gb/hotels-offers/promotion-19896-.shtml