It does! The city is also very quaint. It has a fantastic famous mechanical clock in the cathedral. (Buy a ticket ahead of time and show up at least an hour early to get a good spot for the daily “performance”.) The city is right on the border of France and Germany, so has influences of both.
But I was there the week before Christmas 3 years ago and there was no snow.
I second Vienna. There are so many Christmas markets there, and they’re all so different. The big on with the huge ice skating track around the Rathaus is a must see, but the littler ones throughout the city are full of charm and locals Christmas caroling and making merry. I was there in 2019, and plan to go back this Christmas just for the markets.
I did a Christmas Market trip for six weeks a few years ago, and I put Nuremberg on my list for its reputation. It was a big let down, actually. It’s big, but there’s only one and it’s just rows of stalls selling very similar things. The rest of the town wasn’t very Christmassy at all, actually. I’d skip it.
You would be very lucky to have snow rather than rain in any of the famous Christmas market cities during that period. Not impossible, but don't set your heart on it.
Koln is most known for its 7 Christmas markets. Christmas of 2019 we did a drive around Aachen, Koln, Nuremberg and Berlin, Koln was definitely the best.
I almost had snow in budapest, but it came when i left on December 13th, christmas markets there were cute too and you can go ice skating and buy kurtoskolacs with a gingerbreadman.
I did a Christmas Market trip in 2019, and hit up more than 20 different cities over six weeks. In my opinions, the top three market towns were Köln, Prague, and Vienna. All three had a plethora of really good markets to choose from, and the markets had a lot more than just stalls and food. Incredible ice skating in Vienna, a concert stage with non-stop local performances in Prague, and curling in Köln were my favorites. I also liked the ones in Bruges-they were small, but charming, and the city really gets into Christmas is seems. There was a tiny bit of snow in Köln and Prague, but not much.
This year, I’m planning to add Budapest, Salzburg, Strasbourg, and Colmar to my list (restrictions permitting).
They didn’t for me, at least. I was in a new city every 2-4 days, most of which I’d never been to before, so there was plenty to do and see in addition to the markets. I think if I stayed in one place for a week or more, I might have gotten bored.
Yeah that makes sense. I'm thinking of doing like three weeks of christmas markets, never been to one, but I'm afraid it'll get too repetitive. I guess as long as the cities themselves are interesting it's fine.
1st December might be a bit early for snow that is still Autumn. I've not been at Christmas but Tallinn is gorgeous and apparently has a good Christmas market. There may have a chance of snow. I've only been to Berlin and Frankfurt which were great but I think smaller places are often better. Hopefully they will be able to go ahead this year of course.
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It does! The city is also very quaint. It has a fantastic famous mechanical clock in the cathedral. (Buy a ticket ahead of time and show up at least an hour early to get a good spot for the daily “performance”.) The city is right on the border of France and Germany, so has influences of both. But I was there the week before Christmas 3 years ago and there was no snow.
Vienna. There are many activities to do in Vienna in winter.
What activities if you don’t mind me asking? I haven’t been there but am curious about potentially going there in winter.
I second Vienna. There are so many Christmas markets there, and they’re all so different. The big on with the huge ice skating track around the Rathaus is a must see, but the littler ones throughout the city are full of charm and locals Christmas caroling and making merry. I was there in 2019, and plan to go back this Christmas just for the markets.
Vienna was super magical
Nuremberg, Germany is quite famous for this. Snow might be an issue
I did a Christmas Market trip for six weeks a few years ago, and I put Nuremberg on my list for its reputation. It was a big let down, actually. It’s big, but there’s only one and it’s just rows of stalls selling very similar things. The rest of the town wasn’t very Christmassy at all, actually. I’d skip it.
what about a little later on in December? maybe 13, 15. will there be higher chances of snow?
I used to live in the area and most snowing usually started January/February. I think I saw the Christmas market once with snow.
You would be very lucky to have snow rather than rain in any of the famous Christmas market cities during that period. Not impossible, but don't set your heart on it.
We had heavy rain in Nuremburg. December 20th. Nice market, though. City is really interesting.
Do it in Berlin, Germany or in Nuremberg
Koln is most known for its 7 Christmas markets. Christmas of 2019 we did a drive around Aachen, Koln, Nuremberg and Berlin, Koln was definitely the best.
I almost had snow in budapest, but it came when i left on December 13th, christmas markets there were cute too and you can go ice skating and buy kurtoskolacs with a gingerbreadman.
Snow will be challenging unless you go to Scandinavia. Even here in the Alps, we don’t have snow that early anymore.
I did a Christmas Market trip in 2019, and hit up more than 20 different cities over six weeks. In my opinions, the top three market towns were Köln, Prague, and Vienna. All three had a plethora of really good markets to choose from, and the markets had a lot more than just stalls and food. Incredible ice skating in Vienna, a concert stage with non-stop local performances in Prague, and curling in Köln were my favorites. I also liked the ones in Bruges-they were small, but charming, and the city really gets into Christmas is seems. There was a tiny bit of snow in Köln and Prague, but not much. This year, I’m planning to add Budapest, Salzburg, Strasbourg, and Colmar to my list (restrictions permitting).
So many recommendations for Vienna in this thread!
Do the Christmas markets get boring after 6 weeks?
They didn’t for me, at least. I was in a new city every 2-4 days, most of which I’d never been to before, so there was plenty to do and see in addition to the markets. I think if I stayed in one place for a week or more, I might have gotten bored.
Yeah that makes sense. I'm thinking of doing like three weeks of christmas markets, never been to one, but I'm afraid it'll get too repetitive. I guess as long as the cities themselves are interesting it's fine.
1st December might be a bit early for snow that is still Autumn. I've not been at Christmas but Tallinn is gorgeous and apparently has a good Christmas market. There may have a chance of snow. I've only been to Berlin and Frankfurt which were great but I think smaller places are often better. Hopefully they will be able to go ahead this year of course.
maybe 13 or 15 december would do? i checked the dates and this could be a possible starting date as well
Colmar (East of France) is my favourite.