A European City in December?

B0bbyEwing

Doshwaster said:

B0bbyEwing said:

What are the Christmas markets like abroad?

Since the ones I've been to seem to be tat & German sausages, are foreign ones tat & fish & chip stalls?

Or are they totally different?

Video series: 9 Christmas markets in 9 countries in 9 days

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fg3yUEcJweA

Just started watching it and cannot believe they're peeing against the wall of a church!!

zagfles

What are the Christmas markets like abroad?

Since the ones I've been to seem to be tat & German sausages, are foreign ones tat & fish & chip stalls?

Or are they totally different?

Basically the same, I don't see the attraction. They all seem to be wooden huts selling tat and overpriced food and drink. Occasionally having a mulled wine on a cold day is nice. But never bought anything else. 

Best one I went to was in Kaunas, Lithuania, the Christmas tree in the middle of the square was spectacular, you could walk through it!

zagfles

madlyn said:

mark_cycling00 said:

I'd look into Innsbruck. It's beautiful, in the Alps, has Christmas markets and big enough to have good museums and galleries.

Heidelberg is smaller but really beautiful too. 

Trento. Bit of a undiscovered cultural gem in northern Italy. The centre is made from marble, yes the pavements and everything. Trains to bolzano, Merano and Verona. 

Venice is always good outside summer 

Ghent is a bigger and funkier version of Bruges (which itself is very nice)

Amsterdam is always good

Brussels - scary
Sweden - will rain all the time
Norway - will rain and be very expensive 
Most french cities - scary

I have just returned from Norway and yes it can be expensive, but so can the UK .
And it certainly didn't rain, I was in Tromso in the north which was knee deep in snow.

Most places in December will be have a christmas market on, which is not to everybodies liking, so Maybe look at Lisbon or Porto in Portugal. Or Valencia, Malaga or Seville in Spain.

We went to Norway and Sweden in the summer and with the current exchange rate neither were that expensive - generally more than the UK but I found places like Switzerland and even Bruges a lot more expensive. Stuff like coffee was cheaper than in the UK, generally about £2.50-£3, a large beer in a pub about £7, eating out if you got the day special set menus was relatively cheap, maybe similar to a UK pub meal.

tightauldgit

Honestly stick in a pin in a map and you'll get a good three or four day city break in Europe in December. 

Prague Vienna Rome Venice Milan Munich Copenhagen would be obvious choices. 

I've done the Baltic's and they're all pretty cool with Lithuania probably being my favourite. Poland certainly worth a whirl. Tirana is also unexpectedly nice. 

Hit any capital city in Europe and you're going to have enough to fill your boots in culture and sightseeing for a few days. 

B0bbyEwing

zagfles said:

What are the Christmas markets like abroad?

Since the ones I've been to seem to be tat & German sausages, are foreign ones tat & fish & chip stalls?

Or are they totally different?

Basically the same, I don't see the attraction. They all seem to be wooden huts selling tat and overpriced food and drink. Occasionally having a mulled wine on a cold day is nice. But never bought anything else. 

Best one I went to was in Kaunas, Lithuania, the Christmas tree in the middle of the square was spectacular, you could walk through it!

Yeah that pretty much mirrors my experience of markets. I've only done them locally & then a couple other places in the UK. My wife has done the same plus Manchester which I haven't done. She hated Manchester - said it was ridiculously busy to the point of being unsafe which is actually a comment I've heard from other people and more recently too (about Manchester). 
And just in case anyone mentioned something like "you should expect that in a big city" - didn't have that problem or anywhere near it in Edinburgh. 

But yeah, I certainly wouldn't pick a holiday based on Xmas markets. I'd go & see what was what if they were on, sure but it wouldn't be a priority. 

tightauldgit said:

Honestly stick in a pin in a map and you'll get a good three or four day city break in Europe in December. 

Prague Vienna Rome Venice Milan Munich Copenhagen would be obvious choices. 

I've done the Baltic's and they're all pretty cool with Lithuania probably being my favourite. Poland certainly worth a whirl. Tirana is also unexpectedly nice. 

Hit any capital city in Europe and you're going to have enough to fill your boots in culture and sightseeing for a few days. 

You could be bang on there. 

martindow

mark_cycling00 said:

Re: French cities:
I should explain that I have family living in France. I always find the cities and towns petrifying once you leave the main tourist centre. 
Really really sketchy.
Paris east of clignancourt(?) Omg. The flea market north of the peripherie? They were pooing in the streets long before San-Fran made it trendy.
Know a lot of Asian women who were surrounded by a large groups on the metro and robbed. There's a Japanese social phenomenon about young Japanese women who are traumatized after experiencing the reality of Paris. 
Even Annecy has a pretty scary side once you leave the main and extremely beautiful centre. Marseille eek. 

Villages and small towns though are lovely. Ille de Re looks adorable and eze is one of my favourite places. Carcassonne? Amazing.. honfleur? Most of Brittany is lovely too

You seem to be very hard on France.  Everywhere has it's more deprived areas, but I've never felt unsafe anywhere.  Maybe I'm unobservant or unconcerned (or both).

Barkin

Clive_Woody said: 

Italy - take your pick, Rome, Florence, Pisa, Milan, Venice - all have lots to see and do, great food and wine.

Gotta agree with that. 

I just can't get enough of Rome. A "wow" round every corner. It's not a huge city like London or Paris, so we tend to walk everywhere but there's a tube system which is very easy to use even if you don't know the language. A 48hr ticket was €12.50 I think, which also covered a day trip to Ostia Antica. Great value IMO.

Fly to Pisa but don't stop too long. Apart from the wonky tower there's not much there.
Take a 45min train ride to Florence and you're in another "wow" city.

I could go on... 

Indout96

B0bbyEwing said:

Auschwitz is most definitely on our list to go visit. Think we'd prefer to do that earlier in the year though to be honest but yes would love to go there. Love WW history.

Gdansk is a wonderful city and has the superb WWII museum which is the best museum we have ever been in - we spend around 6 hours there but could have stayed longer if the cafe had been inside as we were dying for drinks. (I have been told it is now inside on another board but can't confirm this myself) It also has the Solidarity museum which is also massive and deals with the Russian occupation after WWII.
All the museums have lockers when you go in (FOC) for coats & bags ect as it is very warm inside.
There is also a very large Christmas market and fabulous restaurants and prices are cheaper than Krakow.

MoneyDany

I’ve visited Bergen and Stavanger in Norway in December, and it was freezing. I didn’t do much outside. I can’t wait to see the Czech Republic with an average temperature of 1 degree Celsius in December https://gowithguide.com/blog/tourism-in-czech-republic-statistics-2023-the-ultimate-guide-5565

Here are more information regarding Christmas Markets in Czechia https://www.visitczechia.com/en-us/news/2022/11/n-enjoy-the-best-christmas-markets

The country has a good train system that links cities and towns. Prague has one of the largest tram networks in Europe. Trams go to the city center and the suburbs and provide a comfortable and dependable way to get around Prague. Rental cars for more convenience and flexibility at your own speed. Many cities like Prague, Brno or Český Krumlov have narrow streets that are perfect for walking around the city.