Christmas Markets **General/Annual Bumper Thread**

Yamanoto

Was lucky enough to get to Budapest & Prague over the last month and found both cities lively and really captivating spots.

Only had time to scratch the surface, but will definitely be making a return visit.

I wouldn't be put off by naysayers at all OP - go for it

edeldonlon

Just back this weekend and had a fab time. Would go back tomorrow. Hotel was fab and so were the restaurants. No problems with the locals everybody was very helpful. The christmas markets are lovely.

grimm2005

Just to echo what everyone else has said about Budapest: was there last weekend for a few days and loved it, my second time there. Very cheap, some really great pubs and clubs and plenty to do. I will say that the Hungarians aren't the friendliest of folks in my experience and are pretty rude but this seems to be more in the service industry I found. There was one in my hostel who was grand and another who did a walking tour, also grand. If the naysayers are complaining purely because of this then they must be sensitive souls. One of my favourite cities in Europe. Feel free to PM me if you want specific recommendations!

mel.b

Getting ready yo move o from Cologne and would highly recommend the markets - lots of lovely, crafty things to buy, it's not just all Christmas decorations. And so much food - i wish i spoke German so i could work out what half of it was. I visited 5 of the markets - the only one i didn't get to is in the Belgium Quarter.

I stayed in a great hostel near Rudolfplatz called Die Wohles....something (sorry will look it up later) Highly recommended.

While the markets were beautiful, other than that i didn't get a really Christmassey vibe from the city. One the main Shopping street there were a few extra lights up and the one that connects that to the Dom (hohe strabe) didn't have any lights or decorations up.unless you like Shopping it's probably not somewhere i'd head for a city break either.

I'm going to rank it a close second behind Salzburg - markets here just as good or even better but Salzburg has more atmosphere.

Now onto Heidelburg.

zagmund

We went to Berlin last weekend. To be perfectly honest, the markets we went to were mediocre on the craft front. We went to Alexanderplatz (the pile 'em high approach) and Gendarmenmarkt (the classier end of things - you have to pay €1 to get in).

Mrs Zag (who knows more about such things) felt that the level of craftsmanship was lower than you would get in Ireland. Having said that, we can now move on to what appears to be the actual reason for Christmas markets - food & drink. Both markets were well supplied with all sorts of hot food stalls as well as a couple of bars selling mulled wine as well as the usual sort of bar stuff. It made for a pleasant eating und drinking sort of experience for sure.

Most of the stands in both locations looked to be cloned from each other. There was the laser wood cut stand, the furry hat stand, the bauble stand, etc . . . which seemed t be getting most of their stuff out of boxes with Chinese writing. There were definitely a good few individual stands where people were actually selling their own crafts, but they appeared to be in the minority.

Someone asked a few pages back about escorted tours to the markets - we saw a couple of those and to be honest they didn't look like much fun. Apart from anything else, it involved groups of 20, 30, 40 people stomping en-masse through already crowded markets, but without having any time to stop and look at the shops. They got in the way of people trying to walk slowly around, and they just seemed to storm past the stands.

z

mel.b

Having a rest here now in Heidelburg. It's about 2hrs by train from Cologne. It's much more picturesque than Cologne with a lovely loooooong Aldstat amd the ruins of a castle overlooking the city. There's also a funicular you can get up to the castle (and further if you want, worth it to catch the old car that seems to go up an almost vertical slope). There are a few small markets scattered along the Aldstat and one up at the castle. Mostly food and drink, but a few jewellery, candles, xmas decorations, wooden things and some other bits and pieces. The Aldstat has christmas lifhts all the way along it and the smaller streets that run off it also have lights or decorations up so it just feels more festive. Shops seem to open to at least 8pm on the Sat evening which is nice. Really big crowds out too, although i've decided that the locals come out everynight to stand around, chat and drink mulled wine Sounds alright to me!

Staying at Lotte hostel just next to the funicular station in the Aldstat and it seems fine.

Tomorrow onto Starsboug & Colmar.

mel.b

Arrived in Starsbourg about an hour ago after spending the day in Colmar. Colmar is a beautiful town, similiar to Rothenburg o.d.Tauber and the old part of Annecy, but much bigger. The Christmas markets were spread around the city, but they are nothing special - the same food and drink, christmas decorations etc. what makes Colmar pretty is the buildings and the amount of Christmas lights and decorations - they are everywhere. Everywhere i turned i wanted to take another photo.

Strasbourg seems to be on another planet with regards to lights and decorations though - simply stunning and can't wait to get out and explore.

mel.b

So after my mini Christmas market tour of Cologne, Heidelburg, Colmar and Strasbourg i've come to the conclusion if you've seen a market with 30 stalls, you've seen a market with 130 stalls. They are all pretty much the same - food, drinks, christmas decorations, candles, jewellery etc etc.

So instead of going somewhere with the 'best' christmas markets, pick somewhere that is where you want to and has some interesting sights etc as well. Out of the 4, Strasbourg was easily my favourite with an interesting mix of architecture styles, good shopping, amazing Christmas lights and decorations, easy to walk & get around and small markets scattered throughout the city.

I'll try to get some photos up this weekend - flying home to Australia tomorrow.

saggycaggy

I know this is super early but just looking for small bit of info so I can plan ahead.

Hoping to take my mum away to the Christmas markets this year as a surprise and from what I've been reading I think Cologne will be lovely.
I'm just wondering is Cologne easy to get to from Dublin-are there direct flights or do we fly to a different airport and get a train?
I really want to go somewhere that's handy to get to ideally!

Thanks,

Caroline

mel.b

saggycaggy wrote: »

I know this is super early but just looking for small bit of info so I can plan ahead.

Hoping to take my mum away to the Christmas markets this year as a surprise and from what I've been reading I think Cologne will be lovely.
I'm just wondering is Cologne easy to get to from Dublin-are there direct flights or do we fly to a different airport and get a train?
I really want to go somewhere that's handy to get to ideally!

Thanks,

Caroline

There are direct flights from Dub to Cologne and then a train into the city so that is easy. The markets themseleves are nice and BUSY, but once you are away from them the city imo didn't seem very Christmassey.

saggycaggy

mel.b wrote: »

There are direct flights from Dub to Cologne and then a train into the city so that is easy. The markets themseleves are nice and BUSY, but once you are away from them the city imo didn't seem very Christmassey.

Awe great thanks for that mel.b -would you recommend other Markets over Cologne for all over Christmassy feel to it?? I think i'd just want somewhere nice to walk around,eat ,drink and experience some lovely Christmas vibes etc (and not too expensive to get to!)

mel.b

saggycaggy wrote: »

Awe great thanks for that mel.b -would you recommend other Markets over Cologne for all over Christmassy feel to it?? I think i'd just want somewhere nice to walk around,eat ,drink and experience some lovely Christmas vibes etc (and not too expensive to get to!)

I've been to a lot of Christmas markets inc cologne, nuremburg, heildburg, vienna, salzburg, budapest, brussels, brugges, ghent, salzburg and colmar. Hands down imo is Strasburg for the christmas feeling. The markets are not huge or spectacular but the lights and decorations are incredible. Colmar also makes a nice day trip from Strasbourg. You can get there by flying to paris and getting the tgv to Strasbourg or fly into basel airport and train from there. I'll try and link to my facebook albums of strasbourg & colmar to give you an idea.

mel.b

I hope this works

Strasbourg
https://m.facebook.com/melissa.barnes.9256/albums/10153023472798979/?ref=bookmark

Colmar
https://m.facebook.com/melissa.barnes.9256/albums/10153023143613979/?ref=bookmark

saggycaggy

mel.b wrote: »

I hope this works

Strasbourg
https://m.facebook.com/melissa.barnes.9256/albums/10153023472798979/?ref=bookmark

Colmar
https://m.facebook.com/melissa.barnes.9256/albums/10153023143613979/?ref=bookmark

Thanks so much for that Mel.b, I really appreciate it. I'll let you know where I go with in the end:)

ScottSF

For Cologne (highly recommended for Christmas Markets) you can also fly to Dusseldorf. It's possible those flights will be cheaper or at more convenient times from Dublin airport. From there it is just a short train ride from that airport to Cologne city centre. You can also do a day trip to Bonn by train which used to be the capital of West Germany for more market fun.

Here is a travel blog post from a few years ago that includes some nice photos of the Christmas Market experience in Cologne. As you can guess, food is a big part of the enjoyment.

spurious

Memmingen (where Ryanair fly you to for Munich) has a cute little Christmas market and a very Christmassy feel to it. There's only flights on Saturdays, but you could fly in, get to the market, stay one night in Memmingen and then use a Schones Wochenende train ticket (about 40 euro for four people travelling) to go by train (not express trains) to another city (Cologne maybe? Or Frankfurt?) and fly home from there on the Monday or Tuesday.

If going to Frankfurt remember Ryanair's 'Frankfurt' is a long way from Frankfurt. We got a reasonable price on Lufthansa to Dublin plus a free bag to fill with Stollen and tree ornaments.

saggycaggy

mel.b wrote: »

I hope this works

Strasbourg
https://m.facebook.com/melissa.barnes.9256/albums/10153023472798979/?ref=bookmark

Colmar
https://m.facebook.com/melissa.barnes.9256/albums/10153023143613979/?ref=bookmark

The links don't seem to be working for me Mel.b?

Thanks Spurious-god it's so hard just to pick one, I kinda don't know what will be the deciding factor as they all seem lovely and Christmassy and that's all we're looking for really-maybe just somewhere that's easiest to get to

Thanks.

donadoni

Munich has about 10+ christmas markets all over the city. There are daily flights with air lingus at that time of year.

While the chances for a bit of snow have decreased recently (climate change?) there is a very christmasy feel all over the city. Furthermore Munich is pretty unique in offering quite a special christmas market. which is a bit more like a winter festival that goes on until New Years eve. It`s called the Tollwood festival.

http://www.worldguide.eu/wg/index.php?

StoryID=178&ArticleID=189http://www.tollwood.de/english/winterfestival-2015/

DavyD_83

saggycaggy wrote: »

The links don't seem to be working for me Mel.b?

Thanks Spurious-god it's so hard just to pick one, I kinda don't know what will be the deciding factor as they all seem lovely and Christmassy and that's all we're looking for really-maybe just somewhere that's easiest to get to

Thanks.

I'm starting to plan a trip for this December,
So, anybody who went for it last year; where did you go for in the end, and how did it workl out?
Pros, cons, tips and advice all appreciated!
Will be myself, wife and then 15month old daughter (which may make thingsa a bit different than if it was just the 2 of us), hoping for family Christmassy break that won't blow the whole Chrtistmas budget

ScottSF

For me and my wife the Christmas Markets in Germany have the most to offer and there are so many of them in cities around the country. My typical advice is to search SkyScanner.com for Dublin TO "Germany" for your preferred dates and to view the list of destination cities, sorted by price. If price is a big concern then research the lowest priced ones for holiday opportunities.

Then consult the Christmas Markets websites to read about those markets and to also find out what nearby cities you can visit by train for day trips.

http://www.germany-christmas-market.org.uk/
http://www.christmasmarkets.com/Germany.html

Also search for blog posts about those Christmas Markets.
> e.g. Google "blog Christmas Market " + city

Then consider Airbnb if you want to stay for more than 4 or 5 nights in one place. Otherwise book a cancellable/refundable hotel now that meets your needs and revisit the booking decision in October or November to see what else if available or deals offered.

mel.b

My advice after having been to a number of different Christmas markets is to go somewhere that you want to visit anyway and that has a range of different sights to see. Cologne for example has a famous Christmas market but once you have done them, the city isn't all that great (IMO). Strasbourg in France however has a smaller market but there is just so much to see in and around the city. The size of the markets will vary but essentially they are all the same so I wouldn't choose a destination based on the market but rather on what else there is to see. For that reason, Strasbourg, Vienna and Salzburg would all be high up on my list. Nuremburg also because of the great day trips to Rothenburg o.d.Tauber etc that could be done too. The market in Nuremburg is gigantic but after you have done the first few rows you have seen it all as it just keeps repeating (even the stalls look the same). All the markets get incredibly crowded as well.

mel.b

saggycaggy wrote: »

The links don't seem to be working for me Mel.b?

Thanks Spurious-god it's so hard just to pick one, I kinda don't know what will be the deciding factor as they all seem lovely and Christmassy and that's all we're looking for really-maybe just somewhere that's easiest to get to

Thanks.

Sorry saggycraggy, just seen your post now. If it's not too late here are the links.

Strasbourg
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10153023472798979.1073741838.809633978&type=1&l=b1473ec61e

Colmar
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10153023143613979.1073741837.809633978&type=1&l=43656f7619

Cologne
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10153022458618979.1073741835.809633978&type=1&l=f79fcfa593

ScottSF

Nuremburg is an excellent choice for a long weekend if you also want to learn more about its dark role in WWII history. The Nazi Documentation Center and rallying grounds are as this blog post states, sobering. Yes the market is the biggest but not the best IMHO.

From Nuremburg can also take a day trip to visit the markets and fascinating city of Regensburg, Germany as well. When I visited I flew to Frankfurt and then had a few hours in that city/market before taking the train to Nuremberg. You can also get there from Munich but the trains I found to not be as convenient from the airport.

For Cologne which I thought was a wonderful city with so many Christmas Markets, each a little different, you can also combine with with day trips to Bonn and/or Dusseldorf. Definitely a top choice for me.

So as I advised you can't go wrong with most of the medium-sized cities and markets as long as you explore the nearby cities by train as well and take the time to explore the historical attractions. I usually just see what direct flights are bargains and then do a bit more research online.

saggycaggy

mel.b wrote: »

Sorry saggycraggy, just seen your post now. If it's not too late here are the links.

Strasbourg
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10153023472798979.1073741838.809633978&type=1&l=b1473ec61e

Colmar
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10153023143613979.1073741837.809633978&type=1&l=43656f7619

Cologne
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10153022458618979.1073741835.809633978&type=1&l=f79fcfa593

ah thanks a mill Mel.b, lovely pics-roll on Christmas eh! Myself and my sister have decided that we're going to take our mum to Budapest.


Nothing booked yet but looks like an interesting spot-might try out the Baths in December too! Thanks for your help!

schemingbohemia

We were in Vienna last December, amazingly interesting city with some good Christmas markets. You could fly (as we did) into Bratislava for quite a bit less than Vienna and get the bus direct from the airport to Vienna (takes less than 90 minutes).

miamee

schemingbohemia wrote: »

We were in Vienna last December, amazingly interesting city with some good Christmas markets. You could fly (as we did) into Bratislava for quite a bit less than Vienna and get the bus direct from the airport to Vienna (takes less than 90 minutes).

I went to Bratislava at the ned of November when the Christmas market season had just started and the one in Bratislava was small but lovely. Lots of very inexpensive items for sale plus all sorts of delicious sweet treats, and hot drinks including Gluhwein. We went on a one night trip to Vienna while there and while the Christmas markets all over Vienna were amazing, the prices were a LOT higher, in some cases for the very same items. The old city of Bratislava is very picturesque and easy to get around, you'll have seen the whole city within a couple of days and there are just two market places; the main square and at the front of the opera house. The one at the opera house had an ice skating rink (€1 for an hour, €3/4 euro more if you were renting skates as well), there was a stage for music acts on in the evenings and almost all of the stalls there were food and drinks - a great spot at night.
Vienna just seemed more polished and large, there were little markets all over the city so lots of wow factor when you turned a corner and found an unexpected market; however as I said, also much more expensive. I'd wager a lot of it is catered to tourists as well whereas in Bratislava it was full of locals.

ms.sunnyb

Hi,

Want to arrange a trip for my parents to some Christmas markets in December. Anyone have suggestions for which European city is best that won't break the bank but also has a lovely atmosphere? Was thinking Bruges, want somewhere where there is enough to do for three days and not involve an extreme amount of walking.
Would appreciate any advice,

Thanks

Celly Smunt

I'd suggest koln if your looking for good markets in a compact city.

Generally though I find them all the same, I'd pick the city over the markets and in that case I'd pick Munich.

Heard good things about the Polish markets too.

cdeb

Brugge is lovely. Christmas market is nice; wooden huts around an ice skating rink in the main square. A bit beyond, there's plenty of cobblestone streets (and chocolate shops!) to explore. The cobblestoned area is pedestrianised; sometimes there's horse and traps passing through which can really take you back a couple of hundred years. Along the canal is lovely too.

If you've any interest in museums, there's a chocolate museum, a diamond museum and a chips (frites) museum - can't go wrong with that! Obviously plenty to drink too.

All fairly compact, which would sort the walking issue. Fairly easily accessible from Charleroi airport if you want a Ryanair bargain.

Plenty of other places I'm sure, especially in Germany, but I've been to Brugge in December, so that's what I know about!

fdevine

Been looking into this myself as regards destinations.

Germany seems to be the home of the Christmas market with markets in all the major cities. Brugge you already know about.

Further afield your have Prague which is very popular and also Budapest.

Alot of the tour operators are advertising Christmas market city breaks with transfers and guides but seems to add a couple of hundred onto the self booked prices.