As winter holidays are coming near, Christmas markets are becoming more and more popular in European countries. But it is necessary to mention that German Christmas markets are in the spotlight. Aromas of mulled wine, chocolate, caramel, and gingerbread are already in the air. When a fairy tale comes to life, it is impossible not to feel the atmosphere of magic.
Shop windows and house facades are decorated with wreaths, garlands, and spruce branches, and in the evenings, thousands of lights light up on the streets. On the squares, under the shadow of Christmas trees, small pavilions with souvenirs, gifts, toys, and treats are lined up. The festive and cheerful atmosphere of these places impresses all the visitors.
Though, the landscape and locations are also magnificent here. So, if you have made up your mind to visit Germany this Christmas, consider this list of the best Christmas markets in Germany.
1. Christkindlesmarkt, Nuremberg
Nuremberg enjoys great popularity among tourists. And indeed, it is one of the best places to visit on Christmas in Germany. If you come to this marvelous place, you will be enabled to visit numerous picturesque sights of the city, such as churches, museums, and Nuremberg Castle.
But the most important place which you should obviously visit here is Nuremberg Christkindlesmarkt. You can find it in the main square of the city. This Christmas market is considered the best in Bavaria and one of the most popular and most visited, as well as beautiful, Christmas markets in Europe. It is a picture of a real festive market.
A large Christmas nativity scene is set up in the center of the square. Today’s Christkindlesmarkt includes about 180 wooden stalls traditionally decorated with red and white striped fabric. This Christmas market in Germany is very old and represents the main idea of the great holiday. Here you will see a great variety of traditional crafts and delicious national foods. There is also a market for kids where you can entertain them.
The symbol of the Nuremberg Christmas Market is Christkind. For over half a century, a beautiful young girl from among the townspeople has been chosen for this honorary role. By tradition, the girl – the angel Christkind opens the Nuremberg Christmas market. The ceremony takes place on the city’s main market square, culminating in the angel Kristkind’s appearance on the balcony of the Church of Our Lady and the opening of Nuremberg’s Christmas market.
2. Cologne
This German town is famous for its majestic cathedral, situated just near one of the Christmas markets. A festive atmosphere reigns in the city, squares and streets shimmer with lights. New Year’s melodies sound all around, and the aroma of mulled wine, roasted nuts, hot chestnuts, gingerbread, and caramelized apples hovers. When you come here during the winter holiday, you’ll do two things at once: enjoy the cathedral’s beauty and wander around the numerous markets.
In Cologne, you will have an opportunity to admire a large Christmas tree and the charming atmosphere of the holiday. Besides, the market is located in a beautiful place, so many vendors will offer their festive goods to you.
The Christmas market in Cologne is the favorite among foreigners. There are seven Christmas markets here, including one on a Rhine cruise ship and the famous medieval fair in front of the Cologne Chocolate Museum. Here you can taste fresh Kelsch beer and mulled wine with ‘Shus,’ which means hot wine with rum or liquor.
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3. Schlachte Magic Christmas Market, Bremen
You can’t find a more fabulous city in Northern Germany than Bremen. Its main attraction is a bronze statue representing the well-known fairy-tale character “die Bremer stadtmusikanten.”
Visit Bremen at Christmas and discover the fabulous atmosphere of this fantastic and always sunny city in northern Germany. There is also another gorgeous place in Bremen, which you are supposed to visit. The Schlachte Magic Christmas Market is available for visitors during November and December. This Christmas market is exciting entertainment.
It is held on the beautiful banks of the Weser River. You will be significantly amazed with small wooden stalls made in medieval traditions. At this Christmas market in German, you will have an enormous choice of handicrafts. Marktplatz blooms cheerfully with colorful tents. They sell sweets, souvenirs, woolen items, figured honey candles, various lamps, and ceramic candlesticks in the form of Bremen houses, toys, pots, Christmas slippers, sweaters, gloves, and much more. And even you’ll be able to treat yourself to pork hocks and hot mulled wine.
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4. Hamburg Christmas Market
If you come to Germany during the Christmas season, make sure to visit the Hamburg Christmas Market, one of the most attractive places in this country. The largest Christmas market in Hamburg attracts millions of visitors annually with its innovative approach to commerce and extensive entertainment program.
Walking around it, you will see a gorgeous view of the Alster River. In addition, this fabulous market provides you with an impressive variety of entertaining activities. For example, you can attend different parades and even amuse your children with a visit to Santa.
Why is this market in Germany so much appreciated by tourists? The answer is straightforward. Incredible Christmas delight and happiness are the main things. Moreover, Hamburg is a harbor city. So you can please yourself with two exciting activities: a visit to the festive markets and a boat trip around the well-known harbor.
More: 15 Best Europe’s Places for Christmas Shopping
5. Marktplatz, Stuttgart Christmas Market
Another one of the best places to visit on Christmas is Stuttgart. This city is an excellent choice for those who are fond of cars, mainly German brands. Various automobile manufacturer museums are open for tourists throughout the day.
But there is one thing in Stuttgart that will take your breath away. The market is over 300 years old and one of the largest in Europe. The Stuttgart Christmas market is one of the most charming in Germany, retaining its traditional feel with a less “touristy” vibe. Undoubtedly, you will be fascinated with the brilliant surroundings of this Christmas market in Germany. The terrific Old Castle of the city stands next to it. Hundreds of tiny sparkling lights make this place a real miracle. In numerous small shops, you will find all kinds of traditional German glühwein, handicrafts, and other things.
I can tell you a little about the Stuttgart Christmas market. You need to come here and see everything with your own eyes. Afterward, you’ll understand why this market surpasses all the others around Germany.
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6. Munich Christmas Market in Marienplatz
I’m sure that Munich is one of the most often visited cities in Germany. At Christmas time, it becomes extremely popular. Such city sights as the Residence Palace of Munich and Neuschwanstein Castle are admired by lots of tourists.
If you are lucky enough to spend Christmas in Munich, don’t forget to stop at one of the Christmas markets and purchase some of the Bavarian specialties. The range of goods at the fair has hardly changed over the centuries: here, you can buy Christmas gingerbread, traditional dolls made from dried plums and almonds, and wooden crafts from the neighboring regions.
The smell of mulled wine, Christmas sweets, incredible gifts, and souvenirs for the whole family – you can’t get to know Christmas Munich without visiting this fair. Undoubtedly, you’ll be greatly astonished, and festive merriment will not leave you for a long time.
More: 10 Amazing Christmas Traditions around the World
7. Lucia Christmas Market, Berlin
If you are eager to have an unforgettable holiday this year but still can’t decide which city is the most appealing for you, think about Berlin. Checkpoint Charlie and Brandenburg Gate are the places that will definitely strike you with their splendor. But the must-see event of the holiday time is the Christmas market. More than 70 Christmas markets are held annually here, the variety of which is not inferior to the city.
Of all the Christmas markets in Berlin, the Lucia Christmas Market is an incredible one, known not only to the people of Berlin but to the whole country and the world. The fair at Kulturbrauerei is dedicated to the Scandinavian patroness of the world, St. Lucia, and it is impossible not to notice the Scandinavian theme here.
You can hear sweet German traditional songs playing throughout the market, with flags fluttering from the beautifully decorated stalls. In addition, this fantastic market includes small stands made from wood. Their owners will offer you hot drinks like glühwein, chocolate, and delicious German foods. Don’t miss the opportunity to try Bratwurst and Schmalzkuchen.
You may prefer some smaller places for Christmas shopping. In this case, you can drop into other excellent holiday markets scattered throughout the city.
8. Dresden Christmas Market (Dresden Striezelmarkt)
Dresden is one of the most romantic cities in Germany, and its charm is sometimes surpassed on the eve of the holidays. The streets and squares of the historic center turn into one big Christmas fairy tale. No matter how trite it may sound, if there is somewhere a place that will cheer you up, which is not, then this is pre-holiday Dresden! The glow of lights, the hot aroma of spiced wine and baked apples, and the sounds of Christmas music spread throughout the city.
Of course, the main decoration of the city in December is the Christmas market, one of the oldest and most beautiful in Europe. Like almost 600 years ago, Germany’s oldest fair is held on the Altmarkt market square. About 200 merchants from all over Saxony come to Dresden to sell their goods: traditional souvenirs, household items, Christmas decorations, and food.
The very name of the market was given by the Christmas “stritzel” – braided stuffed with poppy seeds or apples. The main event of the fair is connected with it: Stollenfest Christmas Cake Festival. A giant Christmas cake weighing about 2.5 tons is solemnly carried through the city streets. Then the royal court baker and the most beautiful girl of the holiday (Stollenmädchen) cut it into pieces. Pieces of the pie are sold to the guests of the fair, and the proceeds go to charity.
9. Leipzig Christmas Market (Leipziger Weihnachtsmarkt)
Leipzig is a city where every street is saturated with a century-old history, which makes you fall in love with it from the first step. On the eve of Christmas, this city is where you want to return to time after time.
The Leipzig Christmas market tradition dates back to 1458, making it the second oldest market in Germany. More than 250 stalls are located in the historical part of the city, on the central square. The adherence to centuries-old traditions and culinary diversity make the Christmas market in Leipzig one of the most beautiful in Germany.
In addition, right in the city is the world’s largest free-standing advent calendar with an area of 857 m2. And that is not all; The Saxon spruce Christmas tree and the 38-meter-tall Ferris wheel are also some of the market’s most eye-catching features. Finally, the music that can be heard on the square deserves special attention. After all, it is performed by a group of trumpeters from the balcony of the Old Town Hall.
10. Frankfurt Christmas Market, Weihnachtsmarkt
Finally, Frankfurt, the metropolis of three hundred banks and the global financial center, turns into a real Christmas wonder for a whole month and also hosts one of the most popular Christmas Markets in Germany. The metropolis’s authorities are proud that every year they install the highest Christmas tree in the country. In the evening, 1000 LED lights are lit on the square. The facades of half-timbered houses around the square reflect all this light, and it seems you are in a fairy tale.
The Christmas market in Frankfurt is one of the richest in traditions and customs. Today, Frankfurt’s main Christmas market on Römerberg Square and the neighboring streets of the city center is still one of the largest and most beautiful in Germany. Every year it gathers more than 200 participants and about 3 million visitors. On the shelves of shops, there are many products of masters from the Ore Mountains: puppets, candles, nutcrackers, tin toys, Christmas tree decorations, as well as traditional Frankfurt ceramics, and a bunch of other gifts.
Throughout history, the Christmas market has evolved from a traditional market to a meeting place, facilitated by many heated street cafes where you can sit with friends and family and have a good time. In addition to traditional mulled wine and fire punch “feuerzangbule,” fried sausage, gingerbread chestnuts, and almonds, you can also taste local Christmas dishes her, special Christmas gingerbread (Brenten) and marzipan cookies with almonds (Bethmannchen and Quetschemännchen), which you loved so much Goethe. In addition, aromas of cinnamon, mulled wine, roasted chestnuts, and traditional Christmas pastries hover around.
FAQs about Christmas markets in Germany
Are you interested in any of these Christmas markets in Germany? You can share your ideas and plans for this holiday.
Below, we have compiled a list of the most interesting questions about most popular Christmas markets in Germany: