European Christmas Markets: The Highlights of Germany, Prague, and Strasbourg

Ahhh European Christmas markets are THE BEST! They are magical. Last winter, we spent about two weeks exploring as many Christmas markets as we could, primarily in Germany. We also visited Prague and Strasbourg. Thankfully, we had a car for most of the journey, which made it easier to hop around and visit some smaller, local markets.

Many are quite similar in the treats and trinkets to purchase, but some offer unique touches like live music, firepits, animatronics, or even St Nicholas himself. They are all festive and full of Christmas beauty. They are wonderlands!

Gluhwein (a delicious warm mulled wine) is a staple of European winter and is basically available whenever and wherever you are. Thing to know: there are deposits on the cups. So they’ll charge you an extra euro or so when you order, but when you return the cup, you’ll get the deposit back. Or if you like the mug, keep it as a cheap souvenir!

Below, we’ve listed the highlights from each market that we visited, starting with some of our favorites.

Strasbourg, France: Best Overall

If you only get to visit one European Christmas market, this is THE ONE! It is over the top. The store fronts are decked out with Christmas decor unlike any other place. Strung lights and garland? Think bigger. Teddy bears hanging out of windows, animatronic store displays, gnomes climbing up walls, Christmas trees hanging over doors, “snowing” in alleys, and really anything else you can imagine. We’ve never seen anything like it. It’s pretty magical!

We explored during the day and night. I’d highly recommend both. At night, it can be a tad hard to see and appreciate all of the details. However, you also need to see it all lit up! Strasbourg had the most beautiful tree of all of the markets we visited.

We had so much amazing food too. It had a lot of the same staples as the German markets, but also had some of the delicious French cuisine such as baguettes, fondue, eclairs, and crepes. Besides the booths, make sure to go into a boulangerie to get some extra delicious bread and pastries. Our favorite eats here: olive and tomato focaccia and coffee eclair. Yum!

Chiemsee, Germany: The Best Smalltown Market

We really loved this local market! I’m not sure if tourists ever visit this one. Without a car, it’d be pretty hard to get to. It was small and unlike any of the others we saw.

Listening to the traditional music while cozying next to the firepit was a huge highlight of this spot. Most of the markets don’t have live music, so it’s extra special when you find it. The booths sold local crafts and other trinkets we never saw at other markets. Everything was cash only. We also had our favorite pretzel here. Everything about this market was fantastic!

Nurnberg, Germany: Best for Families

Prior to visiting the Strasburg market, this was my favorite 'big’ market. We really enjoyed it here! From the main market (which is massive, lined with rows and rows of booths), we checked out the unique markets just a short walk away: the kids market and the international market. Nurnberg was the only market we visited that had these specific additions. The kid market was super neat! It contained a galore of animatronics, a carousel, a ferris wheel, crafting, and other fun activities for children.

The booths did sell a lot of the same stuff as other markets, but it also offered some unique options. My favorite was one with endless amounts of pieces for doll houses. It even had 3 different pretzel sizes for the dolls! Another favorite find of this Nurnberg were the sausages. We of course had nurnbergers, but also had another cheese sausage- both were delicious. Greg says his favorite things were the sausages, gluhwein from the Italy booth, and the smell of the roasted nuts.

Munich, Germany: Best Medieval Find

We happened to stumble upon this medieval market before going to the main Munich market. A great authentic find! This was the only medieval market we found on our journey. It had firepits, live traditional music, pigs roasting, and the best cheese sausage. They really go all out in the medieval theme. The band even had a wooden flute (which was super cool!). We shared a dragon fire drink, which is basically a gluhwein-on-fire served in a big goblet. If in Munich, you’ve got to check this one out.

Bad Reichenhall, Germany: Most Unique

On our very last night, we drove to a market in the Alps hoping to see snow again. It was a wild night! Luckily, we visited on December 5th, which is the time to be at an Alpine Christmas market. This is when St Nicholas and Krampus appear. St. Nicholas gave me an apple; I didn’t know who/what Krampus was.

We didn’t know when Krampus would arrive, but we knew right when it was happening. We heard weird noises and knew ‘he’ had arrived. ‘He’ wound up being a whole crew of furry-horned-devil-like creatures flocking the streets, some wearing cowbells. People followed them in the streets. Krampus would whip the naughty (yes, with a real whip!). It was actually a little scary (we kept our distance), but something definitely to experience. It only happens in the Alps twice a year- December 5th and 6th.

Heidelberg, Germany: Best Backdrop

With mountains, a castle, and fall colored trees, this definitely took the win for best backdrop. We were surprised that it wasn’t packed with people (although, it was noon on a Wednesday). It had multiple markets, so make sure to walk around so you don’t miss out on anything. The view next to the ice rink is the best!

The above were our favorite markets. Continue on for a glimpse of some of the other markets we visited:

Wurzburg, Germany

The market was huge and covered many streets, but it was really too busy to enjoy. We went to the bridge and drank some wine to take a break from the crowds. This was a big beautiful market with lots of options, but it was just too busy for us.

Tip: Try not to avoid weekends if possible!

Fussen, Germany

This was a very small market that took place in a courtyard. We didn’t find it necessary to spend much time there. However, Fussen offers a beautiful mountain backdrop and the town is just a short drive to the Neuschwanstein Castle, so worth a visit just for that.

Prague, Czech Republic

When we visited, the main market had not quite opened (missed it just by 2 days!), but thankfully, the castle market was open. That’s actually where we spent Thanksgiving Day! Most of the huts were food. Good food! We had a chicken kebab and some sort of potato/cheese/sausage/cabbage dish. Being abroad for holidays can feel a little weird and non-traditional (at least for me), but it’s fun to find a special way to spend the day.

PS: Prague is amazing!

Munich, Germany (its’ other markets)

We visited three markets while in Munich. We liked them all, but the medieval one was the best.

Before the main market opened, we visited a smaller one. It was compact and super crowded, but quite cute. It had storytelling huts with animatronic characters. Quite entertaining and unexpected.

We happened to be at the main market for the lighting of the tree. It was neat seeing the parade of trumpeters- really cool actually (and unexpected). Aside from the first day festivities, I’d say this one was similar to some of the other big markets. There is a nearby ice rink, which we visited on our first night. I’d highly recommend a visit there!

We had so much fun visiting all of these Christmas markets. If you love Christmas lights and festivities, I hope you get to make a trip to Europe one of these holiday seasons :)

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