Christmas Markets **General/Annual Bumper Thread**

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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?

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

Passenger wrote: »

Thanks for that link but they're booked for mid December. City Center is important for accessibility to all attractions etc by foot.

sound job.

Just asking about the city centre thing because perversly you can be quicker to the attractions from edges of the city centre by using the u-bahn or s-bahn than someone staying in the centre walking everywhere.

Ms. Sunshine: Potsdam is a city just outside of Berlin, easily reached by commuter train. What you are thinking of is Potsdamer Platz ("Potsdam Square"), a square named after the city. That square is right in the center of Berlin, easily reached on foot from the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag parliament building. And yes, the Sony Center is in Potsdamer Platz.

Yamanoto wrote: »

I'm off to Munich in a few hours & got a great rate at the Holiday Inn City Centre - €47 for a superior double. Haven't stayed there before, so I'll report back & PM you the code / booking process if you're still intending to travel.

can I get that too please?

Hi,
Have never been Germany or to the Xmas markets and would love to hear some recommendations as to which city is best. Going for a long weekend in Devember. Flights seem to be most expensive to Munich unfortunately.
Any tips/help appreciated.
Thanks.

spurious wrote: »

Haven't been to Cologne, but of those three I'd pick Berlin just because there's so much other stuff to do there and to be fair, once you've seen one Christmas Market you've seen them all. You wouldn't fill a whole long weekend just traipsing around the markets.

Thank you!

Berlin is by far my favourite. Have been a few times and there is so many markets to choose from around the city that you will not get bored.

The nicest one is in gendarmenmarkt. Lovely Square and lots going on.

Thanks for the replies and recommendations...flights booked for Berlin now just need a well located hotel.
Thanks!!

Mauerpark gets so horrifically crowded I'm not sure it's worth it. There are other markets, too, so Google those. One thing to be said for Mauerpark is it's in Prenzlauer Berg, the nice, gentrified part of Berlin where you might not hear German spoken for miles. Lots of nice places to eat and shop (Oderbergerstrasse, Kastanienalee, Pappelallee, Schoenhauserallee). You can walk there from Alexanderplatz if you fancy it, towards Rosa-Luxembourg Platz and the up Schoenhauserallee. The area behind Hackeshermarkt would be particularly atmospheric that time of year as it's part of the surviving old city, and then further over towards Friedrichstrasse. Interestingly, it was the historic jewel of Berlin - Unter den Linden - leading up to the Brandenburg Gate that was preserved by the Communists during the Cold War. The old, bombed out 'centre' of the Western allies' sectors are hideous by comparison.

Best i've been to is Copenhagen. Unbelievable.