The Christmas Markets of Europe
The Christmas season is a wonderful time to visit Europe. It is colder and sometimes the weather can be difficult so sometimes people shy away from heading to Europe. Thats unfortunate because Europe comes alive in fantastic decorations, seasonal foods and of course the amazing Christmas markets. We visited our first Christmas markets a few years ago when we went to The Netherlands and Belgium in December. We fell in love with the Christmas markets right then. They have local shops with great prices that sell many different things, great food that is affordable and a wide variety of activities. Its nothing like the markets we have in the US and they are all free to visit. During the tail end of the pandemic we tried to go on a great Christmas market tour to the major markets of Austria, Germany and Switzerland but due to lockdowns that trip was cancelled. We finally made it back to European Christmas Markets while on a Viking River Cruise during Thanksgiving. The markets had just opened up and we got to get our fill of Mulled Wine and Christmas wonder. We have visited one of the oldest Christmas Markets in Europe at Strasbourg, France and some smaller markets in small villages. They all have a unique character. Lets go on a Christmas journey in Europe!
Brussels, Belgium - Winter Wonders
Our very first Christmas Market to visit was the very large Winter Wonders Christmas Market in Brussels, Belgium. It is multiple miles long and meanders through the heart of Brussels. When we visited they had a theme of celebrating one of the countries of the European Union each year. The year we went they were celebrating the Country of Finland. They had activities and food from Finland throughout the market. Near the main square they had a Northern Lights experience, and they had a dome movie about Finland. In the main square sat the largest Christmas Tree I had ever seen at multiple stories tall all dressed in beautiful blue Christmas lights. A large nativity scene sat near the tree. We spent multiple nights walking through the market. They sold toys, Christmas Decorations, clothing and everything in between. Each Christmas market sells unique things particular to the country you are in and in Belgium there were plenty of great Chocolate and Waffle stalls. We ate at the Christmas market each night and got Italian food, and sausages another night. They had other activities like a laser light show on the front of a historic church and ice skating. The mulled wine (a warm wine mixed with spices like cinnamon) is very affordable (a couple Euros) and comes in souvenir cups. You can keep them or return then to get a Euro back. We of course kept ours. Our first Christmas market got us hooked on visiting Europe during the Christmas season.
Bruges, Belgium - Winter Glow
We took a great day tour using Viator that took us to the beautiful cities of Ghent and Bruges. Bruges is know for the canals, swans and beautiful churches and architecture. Ghent is also a great city to visit and is famous to US Citizens as the place the Treaty of Ghent was signed there to end the War of 1812. We got to see the Ghent Christmas Market but we were there during the morning so few shops were open. We did get to visit the Bruges Christmas Market. I do not recall their theme while we were there but they had a great market in their main square surrounded by historic buildings. Like most cities in Europe it was decorated with more Christmas lights than we usually see in the US and was full of shops and activities. We didn’t get a lot of time to visit being a tour but we did get some chocolate and some hand made Christmas ornaments. The festivities truly get you into the Christmas spirit!
Cologne, Germany - The Angel's Market
In 2023 we took a quickly planned Viking River Cruise during Thanksgiving and a couple days before we left I looked to see if there where any Christmas Markets open that early. We found that one of Cologne’s many Christmas market was open for its first night when we arrived. Cologne has multiple themed Christmas Markets spread throughout the city. We took a tour of Cologne including its massive Cathedral where a famous tank battle occurred in WWII. After the tour was done we hopped into an Uber and rode away from the city center to the Angel’s Market. As the name states its theme was beautiful angels and you found them all over the market with dazzling lights. The market was packed which surprised me a bit but it seemed people were ready to get into the Christmas spirit early. Like most Christmas Markets there were plenty of shops and we bought some great Christmas crafts and Cologne Cathedral souvenirs. They also had plenty of food. We got a German Pretzel and we saw so many other foods like Spätzle, Sausages, and waffles shaped like the Cathedral of Cologne. Before we left a choir was singing Christmas songs in German. It was a great start to what ended up being a Christmas Market Cruise that spanned three different countries!
Koblenz, Germany - Ehrenbreitstein Fortress Christmas Garden
While we were there during the day when we visited the historic city of Koblenz we went to the imposing Ehrenbreitstein Fortress that is high on the bluffs of the Rhine River Valley. While we toured the massive 1800s era fortress we saw the decorations for what would amazing and unique Christmas experience at night. Throughout the fortress they had Christmas lights and decorations for what they call the Christmas Garden. It would be unique walking through a winter wonderland in a military fortress. This was not a Christmas Market as you would need to go into Koblenz itself for that but they did have stalls setup for food and of course Gluhwein (mulled wine). We would like to experience that at night someday!
Rüdesheim am Rhein - Christmas Market of Nations
In the evening we went to the small Rhine River city of Rüdesheim am Rhein. We found out that they had a Christmas market and we were there during its first week it was open. Thier theme is the Christmas Market of Nations where they invite people from around Europe and the world to sell their goods. For a relatively small city it was a pretty large Christmas Market. We walked the historic cobblestone streets and stopping at interesting shops. We bought Olive Wood good from a Palestinian man who came to the market. We bought unique art made from grape wood that was a castle carved into the wood that collapses. A couple from Northern Germany selling wood working and they customized a welcome sign by burning our name into the wood. All the prices were very affordable. It was late so we did not have time to see it all. We did visit the food stalls and got custom made Spätzle that was amazing and great German sausage. Its another great Christmas Market to visit that has a neat theme.
Turckheim, France
While on a World War Two tour of the Battle of the Colmar Pocket, we stopped by the charming small French town of Turckheim. They have a great museum on the battle there. After the museum we headed to the small but beautifully decorated Christmas Market. They had a Nativity scene with a small petting zoo of animals for the Children. They had what looked like a giant advent calendar that looked to be a live show. Each stall was colorfully decorated and looked like a fantasy world. They had a nicely decorated Christmas tree and other decorations. It was a small market but one of the most beautiful we had been to. We bought amazing textile ornaments from a lady from the area. She wrapped them and added ribbon so even the packing was art. She was very proud that some of her hand sewn items where going to the United States from her small town. While the huge and more famous Christmas Markets are great, you can still find wonderful small Christmas Markets with their own charm and uniqueness!
Strasbourg, France - The Capital of Christmas
One of the oldest Christmas Markets in Europe can be found on the central island around the massive Cathedral in Strasbourg, France. It has been going on since the 1500s and many different Christmas traditions came from the Alsace Region of France. The Alsace Region of France is the same region Beauty and The Beast is set in. In Strasbourg you see the homes that look like you are in Beauty and the Beast. When we visited on the cruise the market had not opened yet and the center of Strasbourg was pretty quiet. We took a train from Basel, Switzerland to come back and visit this historic and huge Christmas market. We visited the Alsace museum where they told stories about Christmas in Strasbourg. The market is massive and there is heavy security when we visited as you make your way to the island surrounded by rivers in the city center. There are hundreds of stalls and many different activities for all ages there. Like all Christmas Markets there was great food and they also had White Mulled Wine that we had not seen elsewhere. This market was packed with people since its so famous. Like Brussels it had a huge Christmas tree and a nativity scene. We spent time walking through and buy handmade Christmas ornaments and other souvenirs from the stalls. They call Strasbourg The Capital of Christmas and it is with such a big display of Christmas Spirit!
Basel, Switzerland
Our last stop on our impromptu Christmas Market cruise was the Western Switzerland City of Basel. Basel is on the last area of navigable River on the Rhine before you get to the Rhine River Falls. We stopped there and took a couple days to visit Basel. From there we went for one day to Strasbourg and toured the museums, fountains, churches and the lake in Basel. Basel is the home of Lindt Chocolate and beautiful buildings. In Basel, they have a Christmas Market in two different squares. They once again had a large Christmas Tree and nativity scene and many different stalls and food options. They also had a unique Magical Christmas Courtyards where different businesses decorated their courtyards in different Christmas themes around the city. They had a Pyramid for the Mulled Wine that we got and they had a stall serving Premium Swiss Hot Chocolate that was amazing. We got fresh homemade potato chips and one night we went into an indoor stall that served Swiss Fondu. We had never tried it and it was nice. The food prices are high in Switzerland so the less pricey Christmas Market offerings was great. We got Sausage for one of our dinners as well. We once again brought a variety of Christmas items including postcards and paintings of Basel at Christmas time. Our bags where stuffed with great items so we couldn’t get anymore at that point.
Amsterdam, The Netherlands - Amsterdam Light Festival
While there is a Christmas Market in Amsterdam we did not see it on our visit as it didn’t seem to be in the central area of Amsterdam where we were visiting at the time. We visited a few years back Pre-Covid so things could have changed. We did visit the Amsterdam Light Festival on the Canals. It wasn’t quite like I expected it to be (I expected traditional Christmas lights like back home). We took a night canal cruise to see the display and got our mulled wine for the ride. The Light Festival is a variety of lighted modern art installations around the canals. One I remember vividly was using old washing machine drums and the different colored lights shown through the holes over the canal. There were many different unique Christmas art exhibits as we cruised the canals. We did see some traditional lights but not quite as many as other European cities. It was a nice cruise and we would like to try out a Dutch Christmas Market in the future!
Christmas in Dublin, Ireland
While we did not make it to any Christmas Markets in Dublin as they were later in the season, we did get to see the beautiful decorations all over Dublin. We were only in Dublin for a flight layover (overnight) but we headed into town and the decorations were wonderful. The entire city was ready for Christmas. Just seeing the well decorated city is worth a visit to Europe during the Christmas season!
Visit the Christmas Markets!
The Christmas Markets in Europe are amazing and something that you should go see at least once. We have visited many different markets but have so many others to visit. Vienna and Munich are said to be some of the best markets in Europe. There are also many other markets in the United Kingdom and countries like the Czech Republic and Slovakia (I’ve heard Bratislava has a great market). There are so many different ways now days you can visit the markets. You can go on your own like we did in Belgium and ride trains to different cities. If you want a more guided experience companies like Trafalgar and Gate 1 amongst others provide guided bus tours that visit many different markets in multiple countries. Companies like Viking River Cruises now offer Christmas Market cruises that hit the markets along the rivers kind of like we did. In the US the only market so far I’ve been to that is similar to the European Markets is one in Balitmore, Maryland and its not free to visit like it is in Europe, I heavily recommend going to the Christmas Markets of Europe and I bet you will be hooked on them like we are!
