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Last year we took one of our absolute favorite trips to date: a European Christmas market adventure. 😍🎄 After seeing so many picturesque markets on Instagram, and researching some of the amazing cities you can find these markets, I knew I had to plan our own tour of the markets across Europe.

So after visiting six markets across four different cities, I’m sharing my top tips and recommendations for planning your own magical Christmas market trip!

When to visit

📆 The Christmas markets all have different dates and times depending on the location, but many start opening the week of Thanksgiving and end soon after New Year. So late November to New Year will be your best time to visit!

We chose to visit the first week of December and I feel like that was the perfect time to go. It was early on in the season so we avoided the bigger Christmas crowds, and we weren’t worrying about the crazy holiday pricing on plane tickets.

And the markets aren’t just open at night, they are open during the day too! Many of the markets we visited opened in the late morning (around 10 or 11) and you could start shopping and eating as soon as they opened. We really liked going early in the day to beat the crowds and do our actual shopping. Then we would go back later in the day for the magical lights, warm drinks, and all the delicious food. 🥨🍷🍫

Pro tip: Some of the biggest and most popular markets can be VERY crowded on weekends, so plan to visit those during the week, and visit smaller markets/cities on the weekend. We visited Cologne on the weekend and we had wished we had planned better since those markets are super popular and busy. Now we know for next time!

Cities we visited

On our trip we decided to visit Brussels, Cologne, Frankfurt, and Heidelberg (in that order). Once we landed in Europe, it was so easy to get from city to city by train. 🚂 We loved it and we were able to avoid all the chaos of the airport!

Ranking our top 3 favorite markets:

🤍Heidelberg: a smaller city full of charm, beautiful streets, an ice skating rink, and the BEST food we ate the entire trip. We would 100% go back!

💚Frankfurt: their largest market is situated in the historic square and had the absolute best backdrop of any of the markets we visited. The mugs were well themed, the stalls had great shopping, it was spread out enough so you didn’t feel cramped, and we loved all their drink options!

❤️Cologne’s Old Town: Of the 3 markets we visited in Cologne, this one was our favorite. The location was in the historic part of the city, the theme was so cute, and it had fun rides and a great ambiance!

We also visited the Angel Market in Cologne, the Cathedral Market in Cologne, and the Winter Wonders market in Brussels.

Tips for the markets

While I do feel like we prepared pretty well for our first trip to the markets (I read a looootttt of articles beforehand 🙃), we did learn some things that we would do differently the next time we go.

First up, bring cash and a credit card. So many of the markets accepted cards now, and some even required a card payment. But on the flip side, we also saw some stalls that said “Cash Only,” so you will want to be prepared for both! *And make sure that credit card has no foreign transaction fees. 👏🏻

Some of these markets are in smaller, enclosed areas, while others are spread through the main city center. We didn’t realize this when we first arrived at the market in Brussels, and we were so confused and thought we couldn’t find the “market” because we expected it to all be in one centralized location! But it was actually smaller stations set up at various points around the city. But all easily walkable.

When you go, GO HUNGRY. Gosh, the food was probably one of the most memorable parts of this trip! You will find no shortage of options, from snacks, to dinner meals, to every treat you could dream of. Some of our favs were the spaetzle, kartoffelpuffer, the German sausages, raclette sandwiches and fries, chimney cakes, and the waffles. You absolutely cannot miss those waffles. 🧇😋

👟Put on your walkin’ shoes, because you’re going to get your steps in! There tends to be a lot of walking when in Europe anyway, but you’ll also be strolling around these markets for hours, and some are pretty spread out too. So be prepared to walk a lot and even plan breaks to head back to your hotel to rest your feet or change your shoes.

I opted to bring one small crossbody bag that I could zip all the way up to keep any valuables from getting pickpocketed while at the markets. Make sure that you keep your items in a secure bag and avoid putting things (like your phone or wallet) in your back pocket. Some of these markets can be very busy, and we were even shoulder to shoulder in some cases, so it can be easy for things to get lost or stolen. We didn’t have any issues ourselves, but as I recommend for any trip, just make sure to be aware of your surroundings! 👀

So what’s the deal with the mugs?

I have to admit, the mugs were one of my favorite parts of the market. 😍 Every time we arrived at a new market, I quickly started scanning the crowd to see what cups everyone was carrying! Each market had their own unique mugs for all of their warm drinks (hot chocolate, mulled wine, kinderpunch, and more!) and you could walk around and get refills while you shop.

When you purchase your drinks, you’ll pay a small deposit for the cup (usually 1 or 2 euro) along with the charge for the beverage. Then, you can either choose to keep the cup, or return it to get your deposit back. Spoiler alert: we kept a lot.

One market we visited (Brussels) didn’t have actual mugs and they had plastic cups instead. The process was the same with the deposit and you could keep them too if you wanted.

What to pack

In case you were wondering….YES. It is quite cold at the markets! 🥶 Especially when you are spending hours outside and into the cold evenings. So plan and pack according!

Here is what we had in our suitcases (and yes, we did fit this all into one carry-on each 😬):

🧥Coat: we shopped around for a high quality coat that was water proof/resistant and we chose coats with two pieces that could zip together in case we needed to take off one layer. I also opted for a longer coat than just waist length and I was very happy I did!

🧤The usual suspects: hat, scarf, gloves, headband. We each brought just one of each to save space in our bags. I opted for red and white so it would all coordinate!

👖Leggings: I packed leggings that could go under my pants for one extra layer on my legs.

🥾Boots: you will want waterproof boots that are comfortable enough to walk in.

🧦Socks: we packed a few pair of thick boot socks for those really cold nights.

🔥Electric hand warmer: an optional item if you get super cold like I do! And it can recharge which is super convenient.

Flights and hotels on points

One of the best parts about visiting the Christmas markets is that you have a TON of flight options. You can visit markets in so many different cities, and there is no shortage of flights on points to Europe. Even in business class!

When picking what city to start and end your trip in, I recommend choosing a bigger city so it’s easier to find a good deal on an award flight. ✈️ We started in Brussels and ended in Frankfurt so we could take advantage of good deals we have found! Then we took the train in between all the smaller cities we wanted to visit along the way.

When picking your hotel I highly recommend picking a location that is central to the city and easy walking distance to the markets. Before booking my hotel, I sat down and researched the locations of the markets within the city and then plotted a route to see how long the walk would be from the hotels I was looking to book.

We picked locations that were all less than 10 minutes from the market and I was SO happy we did!

➡️Check out this blog post breaking down each flight and hotel we booked and the exact cost and points used for the entire trip!

Would we go again?

ABSOLUTELY. In fact, I may or may not already be mentally planning our next trip for Christmas of 2026. 🙃 With so many markets to experience, and plenty of European countries we can’t wait to visit, it’s the perfect way to spend a chilly week of magical travel! 💚❤️🤍

Side note: I cannot say thank you enough for using my links to apply! I earn a commission for those applications at no cost to you, and it helps keep all the free resources and support coming! 🩷

EDITORIAL DISCLOSURE: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.

Tips for Visiting Christmas Markets in Europe