Christmas Markets, anyone been?

nuttywoman · 1 November 2008 at 11:44PM

Are the ones in Germany worth going to pricewise etc or the ones in this country just as good.Can`t make my mind up what to do,lol

OOPS! sorry about the title,lol

Theogirl_2 · 2 November 2008 at 12:19AM

Hi, I can't comment too much on prices though the food (to eat there) and mulled wine will be much more reasonable. It will probably feel expensive because of the weak pound. However the markets you get here aren't a patch on the ones in Germany/Switz etc. They are so much bigger and more Christmassy. It is a really lovely experience, I always thought that I would eventually take my kids there and it be more magical than Disney.

Also I guess it depends what you would be buying, I have never bought that much in them, there are lots of Christmas decorations and nick naks. Though I have bought slippers and some cheese too.

BTW I haven't been to any of the really big ones in the south of Germany, just some in Switz and the north but they are supposed to be even better.

purple12 · 2 November 2008 at 9:30AM

I went to the Munich christmas market a couple of years ago. Absolutely loved it. It was so...well.. christmassy and Munich wasn't really a place I'd thought of visiting but it was a very pleasant city to just hang around in. There was lots of music and it certainly have a very different feel to anything in this country and was on a much larger scale.

I would recommend it. I went with Easyjet and used Priceline to bid for a hotel and ended up paying about £40 for a lovely 4 star hotel which although not in the centre was next to a subway station.

This year, we are going to Copenhagen for the market at the Tivoli Gardens..

apurplemind · 2 November 2008 at 9:37AM

I went to the ones in Berlin a couple of years ago. There were quite a few Xmas markets in each district/area.The underground was cheap and easy to use, also children under 3 are free I think. A lot of the stalls sold the same kind of thing, but the atmosphere was great. Nuremberg is supposed to be the best place to go for the Christmas Market. Manchester has Christmas markets which I also go to every year-if you have ever been its like that but better. Maybe try there this year and see what you think for next year?

hollydays · 2 November 2008 at 10:27AM

Cologne had high quality stalls,no tat.they have about 5 different markets
#go advanced and edit the title

richardw · 2 November 2008 at 12:16PM

I've been to Cologne and smaller Hannover, the hotel in Hannover was much cheaper.
This is quite useful http://www.germany-christmas-market.org.uk/index.htm
BUT the airlines bit can be out of date.
Look at your preferred airports' website and look at convenient flights and https://www.hotelscomparison.com and https://www.tripadvisor.com for hotels.
Weekend flights do get very expensive to the popular cities.

martindow · 2 November 2008 at 1:46PM

My German friends tell me that Nuremberg is considered the best

http://www.christkindlesmarkt.de/english/

Tarry · 2 November 2008 at 7:48PM

I went to one when I was 12 many many moons ago and what I can remember from it, it was pretty good

but that's not very helpful is it?

Meadows · 2 November 2008 at 7:59PM

I have been to Koln (Cologne), Christmas market several years ago and there are many markets in the town.
As for price, yes the things are reasonably priced and you will be able to get many things that you are not likely to come across in this country, I also used to live in Germany for several years a long while ago and you will find it a good experience and the people very friendly. If you went to Koln, try to go up the cathedral for a good view.
How about a coach trip that includes a market, Christmas shops, sights etc?

TravellingAbuela · 3 November 2008 at 8:01AM

Last year I went to Krakow. It was magical! The market itself is not huge but the setting in the Rynek (Old Town Square) surrounding the historic Cloth Hall (also full of Christmas stalls) is perfect.

This year we are going to Dusseldorf, from where we can visit the Cologne and Essen markets also.

fifitrix123 · 3 November 2008 at 9:11AM

Hi I have been to most of the German ones and they are lovely but the best one in my opinion is Valkenburg in Holland as the markets are held in caves which are all lit up with bands playing.
You can also take a trip on an underground train in the caves which show you the nuclear shelters that were built and the stone carvings underground. There is also a lovely castle, the little town is lovely and it has a Casino at the top of the hill and also a gorgeous spa and you can swim outside in bath hot water and sit under the stars with snow all around you, they also have saunas, (nudey ones) and jacuzzis etc it really is lovely. You can go to the Casino for free with your passport.
My favourite restaurant is a mexican buffet and barbeque with so many choices and courses it was so hard not to have everything, including around 30 different desserts!!! The decoration in there was awsome!
There are loads of coach trips to Valkenburg markets and I am sure we went to Maastrict on the train from there for about 3 euros (quote me if im wrong!)
Everything seemed very cheap out there too which is a bonus!
Have fun wherever you go!!!

Christmas Markets, anyone been?

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