Late November to Christmas
The Christmas markets, done properly.
10 towns across 4 countries, walked over 5 winters. Tell us which ones you want and we build the route around you — there is no fixed departure.
The markets we have actually walked
Not a list copied from a guidebook. Every town below is one we have spent a December day in, and every photograph on this page is ours.
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Freiburg im Breisgau
Germany
5 photographs
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Mulhouse
France
7 photographs
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Colmar
France
6 photographs
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Strasbourg
France
17 photographs
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Stuttgart
Germany
4 photographs
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Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Germany
14 photographs
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Nuremberg
Germany
15 photographs
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Basel
Switzerland
7 photographs
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Prague
Czech Republic
13 photographs
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Paris
France
16 photographs
December 2024 — eight days
A route we ran ourselves
This is not a package you can buy. It is the shape of one trip, shown because it is easier to react to something real than to a blank page. Yours would be different.
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01
Freiburg im Breisgau
Germany
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02
Mulhouse
France
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03
Colmar
France
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04
Strasbourg
France
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05
Stuttgart
Germany
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06
Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Germany
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07
Nuremberg
Germany
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08
Basel
Switzerland
Three countries in eight days, ending in Basel. It works because the distances are short and the trains are good — not because anyone was rushed. Most days had one market and one long lunch.
How yours would work
You pick the markets
Some people want the big three — Nuremberg, Strasbourg, Rothenburg. Others would rather have Colmar and Mulhouse to themselves. Both are good trips; they are not the same trip.
We handle the awkward part
December accommodation in these towns goes early and gets expensive late. Trains between them are simple once someone has worked out the connections. That is the job.
Book well ahead
Christmas markets run late November to Christmas Eve, and the good hotels in Rothenburg and Nuremberg are gone months out. Start in summer if you can.
Which markets do you want?
Tell us that, your rough dates and what you are comfortable spending, and Doug will come back with a route — and an honest view on whether December is the right time for the trip you have in mind.
Start planningTown by town
104 photographs, in the order the trips ran — Freiburg through to Basel, then the other winters.
Freiburg im Breisgau
Germany · 5 photographs
Mulhouse
France · 7 photographs
Market huts in front of the Temple Saint-Étienne 
The little train and the stalls on the square 
At the market, the Temple Saint-Étienne behind 
The Temple Saint-Étienne lit red against a blue evening 
Under the red-lit front of the Temple Saint-Étienne 
Painted fronts along the square at dusk 
A patisserie box at the counter Colmar
France · 6 photographs
Strasbourg
France · 17 photographs
A winstub front under the Christmas lights 
The cathedral spire lit gold against the night 
White lights strung the length of the street 
Ornaments and greenery hung over the lane 
An illuminated angel across the street 
The west front of Strasbourg Cathedral after dark 
At a stall of carved nativity figures 
Half-timbered fronts lit blue and pink 
The old houses of Petite France under the lights 
The cathedral tower straight up from the square 
The market huts at the foot of the cathedral 
A quiet corner away from the stalls 
A plate of tarte flambée at the market 
The row of market huts running down the square 
The great tree lit above the crowd 
The cathedral front in full floodlight 
Under the market lights in the old town Stuttgart
Germany · 4 photographs
Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Germany · 14 photographs
The Christmas tree inside the Käthe Wohlfahrt shop 
An empty lane in the early morning 
The market square and the town hall 
The town hall tower above the stalls 
At the Plönlein, the two towers behind 
St James's church at the end of the street 
The Plönlein, the most photographed corner in town 
Duck and dumplings at dinner 
A gate tower lit against the dusk 
The valley below the walls in the fog 
A tower on the town wall after dark 
The church tower in the mist 
Painted fronts along the market square 
A gate arch and the clock tower beyond Nuremberg
Germany · 15 photographs
Outside Lebkuchen Schmidt, the gingerbread shop 
The Schöner Brunnen fountain and the Frauenkirche behind 
The children's carousel on the square 
Glühwein in hand by the Ferris wheel 
Street lamps and the market roofs at dusk 
The red-and-white stall roofs from above 
A lamp above the stalls, the castle beyond 
The gilded clock on the tower 
The Frauenkirche above the crowded market 
Old houses in the lanes off the square 
St Sebaldus church behind the stalls 
The market at its busiest, the church lit behind 
Looking down the length of the stalls 
A timbered house on a quiet lane 
The Frauenkirche and the fountain spire together Basel
Switzerland · 7 photographs
The same days, away from the stalls
6 photographs taken in Basel on the same days as the market above, and not of the market — this is what the rest of a December day there looks like.
Prague
Czech Republic · 13 photographs
Lit facades on Wenceslas Square 
The length of Wenceslas Square after dark 
The family on the Old Town Square 
By the Christmas tree in the square 
The Týn church over the red roofs 
The Old Town Square and the Týn church by day 
A baroque altar and Christmas trees, over the heads of the congregation 
The statue of St Adalbert inside the basilica, flowers at its foot 
The Old Town Hall tower at night 
The Týn church and the tree lit together 
Dinner at the long table in the cellar 
Inside the church, the gilded altars behind 
With a trdelník outside the bakery door The same days, away from the stalls
12 photographs taken in Prague on the same days as the market above, and not of the market — this is what the rest of a December day there looks like.
The Charles Bridge at night, lamps lit 
Scooters lined up on the castle square 
St Nicholas in the Malá Strana from the street 
The silver tomb of St John of Nepomuk and its figures 
The full west front of St Vitus 
The Týn church and the Marian column lit at night 
The castle and the bridge reflected in the river at night 
In front of the astronomical clock 
The bridge and the castle at sunset 
A vaulted beer hall cut into the rock 
Painted eggs stacked on a market stall 
On the bridge at sunset, the castle behind Paris
France · 16 photographs
The boulevards radiating out from the Arc de Triomphe 
The Eiffel Tower over the rooftops at dusk 
The Champs-Élysées lit for Christmas from above 
A lit street in the old quarter 
Crêpes outside a corner café 
The tree under the station roof at La Défense 
Place Vendôme in the rain 
A department store front lit for the season 
At the Marché Gourmand sign 
The market chalets and the carnival ride behind 
Chouquettes and pastries stacked on a stall 
The gilded carousel lit at night 
The carousel and the crowd on the market street 
At the market with the family 
The Louvre courtyard and pyramid at night 
Outside the Louvre in the cold The same days, away from the stalls
10 photographs taken in Paris on the same days as the market above, and not of the market — this is what the rest of a December day there looks like.
The Champs-Élysées at night from the arch 
The city lights from the top of the arch 
The tower over the rooftops in gray weather 
Looking up the spiral stair of the arch 
Under the vault of the Arc de Triomphe 
The Seine at night, the tower beam sweeping 
In the catacombs 
At the entrance to the ossuary 
Sacré-Cœur from the steps below 
In the Louvre courtyard by the pyramid Start planning
December fills early — the good hotels in Rothenburg and Nuremberg go months ahead. If you are thinking about this winter, now is the time to ask.
Tell us your markets