Christmas Markets Worth the Trip
Photo courtesy of Colmar Tourist Office
Five Christmas markets to inspire a future winter getaway
There is something about Europe at Christmastime that makes even winter skeptics reconsider the season. Centuries-old squares glow beneath thousands of lights, wooden stalls fill with handmade ornaments and gifts, and the scent of mulled wine and holiday treats drifts through cobblestone streets. If a holiday-season trip is on your someday list, these five destinations offer plenty of reason to start planning.
COLMAR, FRANCE
If a Christmas village existed inside a storybook, it might look a lot like Colmar. Half-timbered houses, canals and cobblestone streets make this small Alsatian city picturesque year-round, but the holidays transform its historic center. Rather than one central market, a collection of markets unfolds throughout the old town, encouraging visitors to wander between decorated squares and illuminated streets. Pair it with nearby Strasbourg for an especially festive two-city trip.
STRASBOURG, FRANCE
Less than an hour from Colmar by train, Strasbourg takes Christmas seriously. Its Christkindelsmärik dates to 1570, making it France’s oldest Christmas market and one of the oldest in Europe. More than 300 chalets are spread throughout the historic center, while the towering Christmas tree at Place Kléber has become a symbol of the season. But the city’s Gothic cathedral and elaborate street decorations may be equally memorable. Strasbourg calls itself the “Capital of Christmas,” and during Advent, the title doesn’t seem particularly far-fetched.
Holiday lights frame Strasbourg Cathedral in a city that has celebrated its Christkindelsmärik since 1570.
Photo by © Cédric Schell – OTSR
PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
Prague hardly needs holiday decorations to look magical, but December adds another layer. The Christmas market at Old Town Square brings a towering tree, wooden stalls, and holiday lights to a setting framed by centuries of Gothic and Baroque architecture. Traditional Czech foods and warm drinks are part of the experience, but so is simply lingering in the square after dark. Prague’s walkable historic center also makes it easy to combine the market with the city’s landmarks, restaurants and cultural attractions.
A towering Christmas tree anchors the market in Prague’s historic Old Town Square.
Photo courtesy of Prague City Tourism
VIENNA, AUSTRIA
Vienna offers not one Christmas market but an entire collection of them. One of the largest fills Rathausplatz in front of the neo-Gothic City Hall, while markets at Schönbrunn Palace and Belvedere Palace trade a bustling city-center atmosphere for imperial surroundings. Expect ornaments, handicrafts, roasted chestnuts and mugs of warming punch. Add Vienna’s coffeehouses, concert halls and grand architecture, and the market becomes one part of a larger winter escape.
Vienna’s Christmas markets pair festive stalls and seasonal treats with some of the city’s grandest architecture.
Photo by Leona Augusto/Pexels
CLOSER TO HOME: QUÉBEC CITY
An Atlantic crossing isn’t required to capture some of the same Old World charm. Each holiday season, the Québec City German Christmas Market brings traditional wooden kiosks, lights, music, and European-inspired food and drink to several sites in historic Old Québec. French-speaking streets, centuries-old architecture and the possibility of snow certainly help set the scene. Rooted in German Christmas traditions but infused with Québec artisanship and local flavor, it’s a fitting North American finale to our Christmas-market wish list.
Wooden kiosks and twinkling lights bring European-inspired Christmas-market traditions to historic Old Québec.
Photo courtesy of Québec City German Christmas Market
