Brussels Christmas market

lloydyd

Hi all,

I am thinking of going to Brussels Christmas market this year with my OH. We love feeling all xmasy and apparently this market is the biggest with 250 stalls. Has anyone ever been/got any advice for a Euro Xmas market virgin .....

We are posisbly staying in the sofitel for two nights (3 stops from Grand palace on the metro).....its costing £256 PP for the trip on Eurostar....(so much easier than the air).

richardsonjones

Sorry if this potentially throws confusion into the mix but having been to the Brussels markets I'd say I definitely preferred the ones in Berlin! There are LOTS of little markets there, most within walking distance from public transport, and the gluwein and food is very cheap compared with the extortionate prices at the markets in this country!

lloydyd

richardsonjones wrote: »

Sorry if this potentially throws confusion into the mix but having been to the Brussels markets I'd say I definitely preferred the ones in Berlin! There are LOTS of little markets there, most within walking distance from public transport, and the gluwein and food is very cheap compared with the extortionate prices at the markets in this country!

Thanks for the info. I guess the main pull of Brussels over Germany is the Euro star. The OH has a very big fear of flying (and boats lol), so train is really the only way. Also we only have 2 days inculding travel, so i guess we are quite limited.

kiss_me_now9

Jealous, I've only been to German markets (Trier, Cologne and the like) and I'm dying to go back! Would love to go to either of them but this year I have to settle for Manchester... maybe if I drink enough gluhwein it'll feel that same

wowie100

Hello!

I went to the Christmas market in Brussels last christmas with OH, DD and DS. it was quite good, very christmassy as was snowing and was very chilly! lots of food and drink! We went a week before christmas and stayed 2 nights and 3 days too! it was really good and ds, 18 and dd, 12 loved it! we went via euro tunnel and only took 45 mins. hope this helps , Brussels is a fab place at christmas!:j

Sentora

How about staying in the UK?
Bath and York both have big markets, both easily reached via train or National Express or even car.
Manchester market is lovely too.

Kaiserin

As something of an expert when it comes to Christmas Markets, I always recommend visiting a place where the Christmas market is not the only draw, as you may feel like a break from shopping!

The major advantage of the Brussels Christmas market is that there is a good mixture of stalls if you are looking for unusual gift items, and some excellent food and drink. The main Christmas market on the Place St Catherine is not far from the Rue Neuve, which is a pedestrian shopping street, and worth a look for the chain stores where you can often pick up bargains.

As it's only an hour away on the train, Bruges is also worth seeing and has its own Christmas market in the main square.