Lori fuels her soul with the Christmas Spirit and true love as she honeymoons through charming German cities and their Christkindlmarkts, fulfilling a dream of embracing the season by touring German Christmas Markets! Frohe Weihnachten!
Love German Christmas Markets – Ich Liebe Deutsche Christkindlmarkts
You know that feeling when someone plays with your hair or tickles your arm? And that feeling when your heart is so full of happiness that it actually makes your chest warm? Well, take those and put them together and that will begin to describe how it feels to stand in the middle of a German Christmas market.
Celebrating Love with a Honeymoon Tour of German Christmas Markets
This trip was a bit of an unconventional honeymoon, but now that we have experienced it, I would HIGHLY recommend this way of celebrating a life of love together. We got married in July and decided that we wanted time to recover from both the physical and financial exhaustion of planning a wedding. We have both had the opportunity to enjoy the sun and beach style vacations, and wanted something different than that. As we tossed ideas around for late November early December, Europe came up, which led to the mention of Germany and then us both exclaiming ‘German Christmas markets!’ As two big Christmas lovers, a dream was born.
The history is rich and choices of charming German villages abound so in sharing the itinerary we put together, I hope to inspire you to either copy it, or just simply let it inspire you to go! We fit in so much more than just Christmas Markets, which I list out for you in a detailed itinerary at the end of this article.
Munich’s Christmas Markets
We began in Munich, which has more than one Christkindlmarkt (the German name for Christmas market) making it an ideal city to fill your Christmas Spirit cup. Our first visit was to the Medieval Christmas Market.
Munich Medieval Christmas Market
Market vendors here sold exactly what you would picture being at a Medieval market, and they loved to talk about the history behind their craft. We wanted to buy everything, but quickly learned that many prices were higher than we expected and that we would have to be selective. This would continue to be the case at most markets, plus we needed to maintain some self control with the Euro being worth more than our dollar.
Gluhwein, a German Christmas Market Must (provided you drink wine)
It is here that I will pause to introduce you to Gluhwein. I thought we would be going to Germany to fill up on beer, but we ended up having Gluhwein pulsing through our veins everyday! Gluhwein is hot mulled wine, which is red wine heated with cinnamon, cloves, star anise, orange and sugar (or maple syrup!) This certainly contributed to that warm feeling of love in my chest. Each Christmas Market in Germany has their own signature mug that changes every year and with your mulled wine, you pay a small deposit of $3 – $5 to either keep or return your mug. Seeing everyone walking around with ceramic mugs sending hot mulled wine steam into the air, and not throwaway to-go cups enhanced the magic of our whole festive experience. Even if you leave the market with wine still in your mug, it is completely legal to walk and drink. There wasn’t any trash on the ground and if there were any obnoxious drunk people, I didn’t see them. Keeping a mug from each market made for wonderful souvenirs.
Munich Christkindlmarkt at Marienplatz
We timed our visit to the main Munich market, the Christkindlmarkt at Marienplatz, to be at dusk so we could experience it with the beauty of all the holiday lights. This, combined with the majestic architecture of the old buildings surrounding it, put us right in a holiday movie. I’m talking the kind you curl up on the couch with by a roaring fireplace and somehow feel the Christmas Spirit right through the screen. Well, imagine actually being in it with all the smells of baked goods, hot drinks, sausages, warm German baked pretzels, and roasted nuts around you. Imagine the cool crisp air taunting you with the possibility of a magical snowfall and giving you a reason to be cozy and hold onto another cup of mulled wine. Picture the giggling couples on a date and the groups of friends telling stories together. And now relish in the feeling of knowing you get to do this over and over again as you travel from town to town on your whole vacation!
Munich Accommodations Map
Looking for accommodations during your visit to Munich’s Christkindlmarkts? Check out this interactive map to different accommodations available in Munich, Germany.
We planned to visit a total of 4 cities with two days spent in each. Since they were all less than 2 hours away from each other, we decided to rent a car and be on our own schedule. Driving in Germany was easy, but navigating and reading the long street names quickly was a skill to develop and the steepness of the underground parking garages caused quite the panic! It was off to Stuttgart next!
Stuttgart’s Christmas Market
The Christmas Market in Stuttgart is quite large, taking place in the city centre along four different streets. It is unique in that vendors decorate the tops of their stalls. This adds extra festiveness and something beautiful to gaze at beyond the heads of the crowd in front of you. Our days here were over the opening weekend and it was BUSY! We enjoyed perching up high in a glowing warm cabin-like bar with our mulled wine and great conversation with locals. We found some unique purchases at this market, including German cookie stamps, which I had to commit to learning how to bake before purchasing!
Stuttgart Accommodations Map
Looking for accommodations during your visit to Stuttgart’s Christkindlmarkt? Check out this interactive map to different accommodations available in Stuttgart, Germany.
Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber’s Christmas Market
It was our next city adventure that landed us in a place we wish we never had to leave. A place I feel Christmas decorative villages were modelled after ~ Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber. The charm of the buildings swept us away and with that we didn’t need to do anything other than stand on the street, look around, breath in the air, and smile at the passersby to feel everything you wish you could feel in the best moments you can imagine.
The Christmas Market in Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber though smaller than the others, was also in a courtyard with stunning architecture and a building with a cuckoo clock! There are also a few grand stores just off the courtyard that are Christmas all year round. They even have a Christmas Museum. If you are looking for a place to buy an authentic cuckoo clock, this is your town.
Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber Accommodations Map
Looking for accommodations during your visit to Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber’s Christkindlmarkt? Check out this interactive map to different accommodations available in Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber, Germany.
Nuremberg’s Christmas Market
Nuremberg was our final city before heading back to Munich. The drive from Rothenberg to Nuremberg was our favourite. We hopped off the highway for a while and drove through the countryside, which was gorgeous! As an added bonus, the route also took us through through smaller old villages. One thing about having the opportunity to take a long trip and visit multiple cities is that you always have something to look forward to, despite being sad to leave where you are.
Nuremberg’s Christmas Market was enchanting in its own way. From our hotel we walked through the adorable Winter Fest, complete with Ferris Wheel, past shops and restaurants to the city centre Chriskindlmarkt (drinking mulled wine the whole way, of course!) Each market in every city brought new items and new food to explore, and Nuremberg was no exception. The vendor prices here were the most affordable of all the markets, so we were able to try more food and finish all our Christmas gift shopping. A tiny little restaurant in Nuremberg, Trodelstuben, also had the best goulash of our entire trip (and I tried a lot!). I have the biggest grin on my face just thinking back on all of it.
Nuremberg Accommodations Map
Looking for accommodations during your visit to Nuremberg’s Christkindlmarkt? Check out this interactive map to different accommodations available in Nuremberg, Germany.
We drove back to Munich, bringing our trip full circle, for one last day before flying off to Paris for the second leg of the honeymoon. Details on that one coming soon!
Useful German Phrases for Visiting German Christmas Markets in Germany
As a guest in a country, it is respectful to try and speak some of the local language, even if you are stumbling over the words and struggling with pronunciation. The fact that you are trying often means that the locals will be more likely warm up to you.
Here are a few German phrases that will be appreciated while visiting German Christmas Markets:
- Frohe Weihnachten – Merry Christmas
- Frohe Festtage – Happy Holidays
- Hallo – Hello
- Guten Morgen – Good Morning
- Guten Tag – Good Day
- Guten Nacht – Good Night
- Christkindlmarkt or Weihnachtsmarkt – Christmas Market
- Gluhwein – Mulled Wine
- Bitte – Please
- Danke! – Thank you!
- Danke sehr! – Thank you very much!
- Ein Gluhwein, bitte! – A mulled wine, please!
- Mit Schuss, bitte! – With a shot of rum or amaretto, please!
- Ist das der Pfand? – Does that include the mug deposit?
- Eine Brezel, bitte! – A pretzel, please!
- Eine Wurst, bitte! – A sausage, please!
- Zahlen, bitte! – The bill, please!
Gern geschehen!
Full Trip Itinerary for Touring German Christmas Markets
With the exception of airport Ubers and our driving between cities, we were able to walk everywhere in our Grand Tour of German Christmas Markets! We also built in time for wandering so we could find little gems not talked about on the internet.
Munich – Day 1
- Arrive early morning, drop bags at hotel – hit the ground running to avoid jet lag
- Local bakery, Medieval Market, lunch at Hofbrauhaus
- Fully check into hotel, freshen up then Marienplatz Christmas Market
Munich – Day 2
- Lazy hotel breakfast
- Third Reich Walking Tour
- Wander to explore and find a local restaurant for lunch
- Back to the Christmas market area, dinner eaten from various food vendors
Stuttgart – Day 1
- Take time leaving Munich and driving to Stuttgart
- Explore local city shopping and continue walking on to the Christmas market
- Dinner from market vendors
Stuttgart – Day 2
- Hotel breakfast
- Porsche Museum then Mercedes Museum – lunch at Mercedes Museum
- Find a local biergarten – dinner there
- Explore more or rest
Rothenburg – Day 1
- Take time leaving Stuttgart and driving to Rothenburg
- Walk from hotel to Christmas market – lunch from market vendors
- Christmas Museum and Christmas stores
- Explore for a restaurant to have dinner
- Nightwatchman Walking Tour
Rothenburg – Day 2
- Breakfast at a cafe
- Walk the medieval wall surrounding the town
- Medieval Crime and Justice Museum
- Explore more of the town along the way
- Dinner at Profumo di Pasta da Giuseppe (make reservations on Day 1)
Nuremberg – Day 1
- Take the longer route from Rothenburg to enjoy driving the countryside
- Lunch somewhere upon arriving (ask for recommendations) – this is how we found the best goulash on the trip
- Explore city while wandering to the Christmas market
- Eat, drink and be merry
Nuremberg – Day 2
- Hotel breakfast then walk to tour Imperial Castle and local churches
- Lunch anywhere along the way
- Return to Christmas market area or nice restaurant for dinner
Munich – Final Day
- Sleep in then drive from Nuremberg back to Munich
- Return to any favourite spots or any that were missed
- Rest in hotel while sorting through all souvenirs to repack properly for flight out
What Would You Add to Our Itinerary of German Christmas Markets?
From your own touring of German Christmas Markets or of Germany in general, what would you add to an itinerary for touring German Christmas Markets? There is so much to do, see and experience, that we are all going to have different experiences and see and do different things. We’d love to read about your additions in the comments below. Hopefully they will be added to a future visit.
Disclaimer: There are affiliate links in this post. If you make a purchase after clicking on one of these links, we may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. This commission contributes to paying our writers for their storytelling. We only post links to things that we ourselves have tried.
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