Christmas Markets in Germany, France & Switzerland
For our 10 year anniversary trip, we decided to take a Europe trip! Usually we try to visit a fun winter-y town for our anniversary each year, since we never get snow or mountain views in Texas. But, this year, we went a little further and decided to do Europe in early December to try to see a bunch of the Christmas markets! Our anniversary isn’t until January, but early December felt like the perfect time to go, and it ended up timing perfectly with a bunch of the markets.
When my mom was younger, she traveled around various parts of Europe and a lot of our Christmas decorations that have been passed down to me are from various spots she visited around Europe. Since she has passed away, these have always held such a special place for me. So, I had high hopes of finding more decorations that would match what we already have and feel connected to her in this way!
Here are my thoughts on each of the ones we visited:
Heidelberg, Germany
We LOVED this town! I’m not sure if it being our first stop played into this, or possibly just the fact that we had no idea what to expect and had no expectations going in, but I absolutely loved the Christmas markets in Heidelberg. These markets were smaller and felt more quaint. And, they had the most handmade gifts that were typical to what I was expecting (ornaments, candles, pottery, etc.). Our only thing we messed up on was not having cash! Since it was our first stop, we hadn’t gotten any yet, and none of the shops we tried to buy from took cards, so we ended up not getting anything. (All the other Christmas markets on this list did take card!)
What we ate: Nutella crepes & Glühwein
What we bought: nothing :( didn’t have cash! this made me especially sad because I liked the goods here the most and they most matched the things we already had from my mom’s travels abroad!
Markets we visited:
Universitätsplatz
Karlsplatz
Kornmarkt
Strasbourg, France
Strasbourg was the town this whole trip was planned around! When I was originally looking into doing a trip to visit the Christmas markets, everything I researched made it seem like this was the one to visit. It certainly did have the biggest markets of all the places we visited, but they were not actually my favorite to visit. I told my husband that it felt a little more “carnival-esque” rather than the quaint and cozy feel of Heidelberg’s markets. And, a lot of the sellers here looked like they may have purchased things on amazon and were just reselling them. It was still very much worth visiting (especially the market by the Cathedral!), but I was surprised at the way I didn’t love this market quite as much.
What we ate: more Nutella crepes, more Glühwein (white and red), and a pizza pretzel
What we bought: mug, ornaments, a straw hanging heart, and a glass angel gift for my mother in law, a cat ornament as a gift for my aunt
Markets we visited:
Place Kléber
Place Broglie
Place de la Cathédrale
Place Benjamin Zix + Place Saint Thomas (both near La Petit France)
Basel, Switzerland
The markets in Basel actually surprised me (in a good way!). We didn’t actually plan our visit to this town with hopes of experiencing good markets, but we were pleasantly surprised to find that there were two markets that were so fun and cozy! I actually found them to have the best ~vibe~ with Christmas trees everywhere and lots of yummy snacks and handmade goods. One of the markets even had a fire going that you could sit by to warm up.
What we ate: quiche, more Nutella crepes (lol) and Glühwein, regular wine, and a brat (sausage)
What we bought: more ornaments
Markets we visited:
Münsterplatz
Barfüsserplatz
Lucerne, Switzerland
This was another unexpected, yet fun market! We had originally booked a night in Lucerne simply because I didn’t really want to do our last night in Zurich (where we were flying out of), and this seemed like a cozier town that was still fairly close to the airport. It was very rainy the afternoon we walked around, but honestly, I think it added to the holiday spirit. It was dark and cozy, and the lights on each of the tents felt warm and inviting. I also really loved this market! I think because we had seen so many at this point, we were probably the least impressed by this one, but not because it was bad, it just felt smaller and pretty similar to the ones we already visited. I would say it was a “fun to see” but not a “must visit.”
What we ate: even MORE Glühwein and Nutella crepes (it was tradition at this point, ha!) The churros looked really good, but we didn’t get any!
What we bought: nothing- we had enough things!
Markets we visited:
Franziskanerplatz
Overall, I would say my final ranking was:
Heidelberg, Germany
Basel, Switzerland
Strasbourg, France (although it isn’t ranked as high, I do still think it is a must-visit!)
Lucerne, Switzerland
Overall, you cannot go wrong with any of these Christmas markets. It is such a magical time of year, and I’m so thankful we got to visit each of them! The food is great, the wine is great, the people are great, and it’s just a lovely experience.
Have you visited these markets? I would love to know if you agree/disagree and any other tips you have!!