We visited some of the most popular and iconic Christmas markets in Switzerland, France, Germany and the Netherlands.
There’s nothing better to get you in the holiday frame of mind than a European Christmas market. One part social – but festive – night out, one part shopping, and one part eating and drinking the most delicious bites and tipples of the season, the Christmas market is the best way to ease into the holidays.
When we decided in the spring that we wanted to partake this December, we considered independent train travel, then ultimately settled on a river cruise. Many December itineraries focus on the Christmas markets, so finding one we liked was easy. We’ve done four European river cruises, but never one on Viking, the undisputed king of river cruises, so that is where we landed. The itinerary we selected starts in Basel and ends in Amsterdam, hitting some large markets like Strasbourg and Cologne as well as some in several smaller towns. Our flight from the U.S. took us to Zürich, a Swiss city we had never visited, so we start there.
European Christmas Markets 2024
There are several aspects of European Christmas markets that widely apply:
- They are generally in a central square (but can be scattered around town)
- They are free to enter and enjoy
- Merchandise includes hand-knit winter wear, candles, wooden or glass ornaments, paper stars and lanterns, figurines, pashminas, toys, and other handicrafts.
- They are filled with lots of goodies to eat and drink, including hot spiced Glühwein (choice of red or white)
- They often feature a collectible mug you can either keep or return for the refundable deposit
Zürich | Switzerland
Zürcher Christkindlimarkt (Zürich Christmas Market)
This is Zürich’s largest Christmas market, as well as one of the largest indoor markets in Europe. It fills the massive hall of Zürich’s main railway station, and features over a hundred beautifully decorated market houses offering handicrafts, jewelry and other fashion accessories, decor items, as well as tasty treats and warm beverages. There are plenty of activities to entertain children, like the carousel, face painting and cookie decorating, and two viewing platforms enable you a birds-eye view of the festivities. We sampled a Raclette Hot Dog, complete with pickles, roasted onions and spice, plus a cup of Glühwein, the official beverage of Christmas markets everywhere. Delicious.
The Singing Christmas Tree
It is currently the 26th year of this charming but small market in Zürich’s Werdmühleplatz. There is a carousel for children, plus a variety of warm beverages for the adults, particularly glühwein. We sampled bratwurst with a choice of mustards, as well as raclette, a Swiss specialty consisting of roasted potatoes slathered with molten cheese. The highlight is the “Singing Christmas Tree,” a massive Christmas tree-shaped riser featuring different singers each night. From local schools and other organizations to gospel choirs and chorale groups, they perform every evening for thirty minutes. After the performance, we tucked into some churros with cinnamon and sugar (chocolate is also available, Spanish-style) and some hot chocolate topped with whipped cream and shaved chocolate.
Basel | Switzerland
The Basel Christmas market on Barfüsserplatz, Münsterplatz and Claraplatz is considered to be one of the prettiest and largest markets in Switzerland. Alpine huts abound, bursting with handicrafts, glass and wooden ornaments and loads of tasty bites such as Raclette, the traditional molten cheese shaved onto bread or potatoes. Here we found our first collectible Christmas market mugs – but not our last.
Freiburg | Germany
We really enjoyed this lively market in the southern German town of Freiburg. It spread out into several nearby areas, and we noshed on sausage and cheese-covered potatoes. Our guide tipped us off to her favorite Glühwein, a special local blend called Winter Marie, and it turned out to be one of our favorites of all the markets we visited.
Strasbourg | France
The Christmas markets in Strasbourg are really special. Start at the magnificent cathedral and then flow to the other nearby market at Place Kléber. Here we snacked on crepes, Spätzle with cheese sauce, iced gingerbread and vin chaud. Other local Alsatian specialties included sausages, Flammkuchen (similar to pizza), and Munstiflette – potatoes with onion, ham, white wine, and muenster. Don’t miss the picturesque and charming La Petite France region of the city with its half-timber houses, canals and bridges. It’s a very walkable city and most of the shops go all out on their holiday decorating as well.
Mannheim | Germany
This is a nice Christmas market situated around the enormous stone water tower. Here we saw a variety of hot mulled wine blends. The Feuerzangenbowle is a traditional German drink created when a a rum-soaked sugarloaf is set on fire and drips into the Glühwein. Dramatic! More subtle was the drink made with Aperol, oranges, and white Glühwein. Delicious! Also here, chimney cake (also known as Baumstriezel in Germany, Kürtőskalács in Hungary or Trdelnik in Czechia), this is dough wrapped around a spit and cooked over an open fire, then rolled in cinnamon sugar. It’s warm and delicious.
Rüdesheim | Germany
Rüdesheim is a quaint, small town with lots of cute little streets; during the holidays it turns into the Rüdesheim Christmas Market of Nations, featuring vendors from 20 countries and 4 continents. Here we sampled Glühwein – and Glühbier, a Belgian hot beverage made with beer instead of wine. It was really tasty! From Finland, there was salmon cooked over an open flame, served with a creamy honey mustard sauce. We also had Handbrot, bread stuffed with mushrooms and cheese (or ham and cheese). Indulgent and delicious!
We saw something really funny at this market. It was a table full of lost Christmas parcels from years past and you could purchase them like mystery boxes. I’m not sure what that says about their postal system – but maybe it says more about people’s handwriting.
Koblenz | Germany
There were multiple small markets scattered around Koblenz. Being situated in the heart of German wine country, hot local wine was also a thing here. I did indulge, but also went straight to the hot Aperol with orange and white Glühwein again, which might be my favorite.
Cologne | Germany
In the end, Cologne turned out to be our favorite Christmas markets. There were multiple markets around the city. We started at the markets clustered around the massive and beautiful Cologne Cathedral, then moved beyond, to the Market of Angels. They all featured large, wooden houses and entry arches – and one market even had a massive ice-skating rink. One of our favorite bites of the entire week was the warm, hearty serving of Spätzle with cheese sauce and roasted onions on top.
Christmas Markets in Europe
We had a wonderful time exploring lots of markets – big and small – around central Europe. While there were plenty of tourists like us, there were also lots of locals out enjoying the season. Seeing the markets by river cruise was a fantastic way to squeeze in lots of markets without having to think too much about planning and logistics.
