The Best European Christmas Market Itinerary
With so many highly rated Christmas markets located all over Europe it’s hard to decide which ones to visit first and which to save for another time. With the holiday lights, festive decorations, delicious smells and overall Christmas cheer, you’ll want to see them all! My advice is to follow a route that will allow you to see the most of the best in a reasonable amount of time. This European Christmas market itinerary will tell you how. 😊
Getting There:
I’d say the most centrally located European city to fly into for Christmas market exploring is Frankfurt. Frankfurt works as a great base for day trips to nearby cities with Christmas markets if that’s your prefference. It can also potentially cut your cost on airfare as flying into larger cities can frequently be more cost effective than flying into smaller ones.
For this specific European Christmas market itinerary you’ll want to start in Basel, Switzerland. If flights to Basel are costly, check out alternative forms of transportation to get there from Frankfurt (ie bus and train).
As for traveling between cities and markets themselves, the train (or bus) works perfectly.
Some Tidbits About the Christmas Markets:
- In case you didn’t know (because I actually didn’t) there’s multiple markets in each city. Don’t worry. They’re really easy to find. Start with the market in the city center and the rest will be close by. Market maps are available too if you need a little guidance.
- The markets are open roughly from around 11am until after dark. So don’t feel the need to rush over to them first thing in the morning. In fact, I recommend getting there around 1-2pm or so. This allows you to see the markets during the day and also at night when everything is all lit up. You get the best of both worlds without spending the ENTIRE day in the cold.
- At the markets you’ll find a wide variety of items for sale such as Christmas ornaments and decorations, blankets and linens, winter accessories, jewlery and all kinds of delicious treats. If (like me) you’re not much of a shopper, don’t worry! They’re still worth visiting. There’s something magical about European Christmas markets that shoppers and non shoppers alike can appreciate.
Itinerary:
Basel, Switzerland
Your Christmas market exploring begins in Basel. Plan to spend 2 nights here. Assuming you’ve had a long travel day to get here you’ll want to get a good night’s rest. Spend the next day checking out the markets themselves.
Colmar
Next up is Colmar. **On a side note these markets and decorations were my personal favorite!** You’ll want to spend 1 night here, OR spend another night in Basel and take a day trip to Colmar. (I would make this decision based on the cost of hotels. I personally stayed in Basel an extra night and made a day trip to Colmar as that was FAR more cost effective.)
Strasbourg
Your next stop is Strasbourg. This is quite possibly the most well known of the European Christmas Markets. I’ve also frequently heard it recognized as the FIRST Christmas market in Europe. That being said, I personally found that hotels were mostly full and or extremely expensive when I tried booking a few days in advance. If you run into the same scenario this is what I suggest. Arrive in Strasbourg with your luggage in tow. Plan to store it either in luggage storage at the train station, or through Radical Storage. Radical Storage is a great service where you can find a participating location to store your luggage, make an online reservation, drop your bag off and then pick it up at a later time. Super easy and convenient! Pick your bag up at the end of your time in Strasbourg and then travel to Heidleberg for the night. (If you do choose to stay in Strasbourg, you would need 1 night).
Heidelberg
If you spend the previous night in Strasbourg you need to stay 1 night in Heidelberg. If you don’t spend any nights in Strasbourg you’ll need to spend 2 nights in Heidelberg.
Frankfurt
Next up is Frankfurt. You’ll want to spend 1-2 nights here. 1 night if you’d like to stay a night at your next destination, and 2 if you’d like to make a day trip out of the next stop.
Cologne
Visit Cologne as either a day trip from Frankfurt or plan on spending 1 night there. *These were my second favorite markets and decorations.*
And that’s it! That’s your best European Christmas Market Itinerary. Europe is beautiful at any time of year. But there’s definitely a little extra beauty and magic added in when it’s decorated for Christmas. I hope you get to experience it and enjoy this European Christmas market itinerary as much as I did.
Safe travels friends.
CE
