What to Expect, See and Do in 5 European Christmas Market Cities

Welcome to part 4 of my Christmas Market series! In this episode, I will discuss the details of visiting 5 European Christmas Markets.

This week I will follow the course of our family Christmas Market route! I will discuss our first 5 stops of the trip. Stay tuned for next week’s post to see the next 5!

London, England

  • Trafalgar Square was the first market we went to! It was a nice intro to the markets.

  • Hyde Park’s Winter Garden market was huge! There are lots of amusement park rides here. There is also an entrance fee to get in.

  • Besides the markets, the lights throughout the city were beautiful! I loved the charming decorations.

  • Not-market things to do

    • Bread Ahead at Borough Market has the most amazing donuts!

    • Tate Modern Museum. There is also an awesome cafe in the museum with great views!

    • The Globe Shakespeare Theater

    • St. Paul’s Cathedral

    • Visit Royal sites 

    • Go to afternoon tea

    • Harry Potter Warner Brothers Studio tour

    • See a show at West End (similar to Broadway)

    • Churchill war rooms (great for WWII fans)

    • Waterstones bookstore 

Manchester, England

  • 3-hour direct train from London

  • There are 7 market sites throughout Manchester! But they are all walkable from one another. I spent a full afternoon exploring all of them.

  • The market by the cathedral has ice skating!

  • There are about 225 stalls throughout the whole city. Half are food and the others are gifts and trinkets.

    • I loved the markets here!

  • Manchester is a great option if you want to visit a city smaller than London.

  • Not-market things to do

    • We went on a music tour (where bands played, recorded, and debuted)

    • There are great tours that will help you to see all of the city by car

    • John Rylands library (huge ceilings, long hallways, very Harry Potter-esque) 

    • Manchester City or Manchester United football game (if you are a foreigner, you will have to contact their hospitality center to have them set up a package for you)

      • You can also schedule a tour of the stadium!

    • Knoops (20 varieties of hot chocolate!)

    • The Ivy (funky and fun place where we ate dinner)

Paris, France

  • I love Paris! It is one of my favorite cities in the world. 

  • Paris markets go through the beginning of January! Most cities end before Christmas, so Paris is a good option if you are staying into New Year's.

  • Tuileries Garden (split into sections by food and gifts)

    • There is also a ferris wheel

  • Use the metro to navigate Paris! Google Maps is great at giving directions on which trains to take and when.

  • Not-market things to do

    • Angelinas (we went 3 times in one trip for hot chocolate! We were also very pleasantly surprised by their food)

    • Louis Vuitton Foundation museum (timed ticket entry)

    • Lafayette Galleries (shopping center with amazing Christmas decorations)

    • Disneyland Paris

    • Arc Du Triomphe

    • Champs Elysees

Strasbourg, France

  • 1.5 hour train ride from Paris

  • “Capital of Christmas”. It lives up to this name! It is truly everything you hope a Christmas market would be. The whole town was magical! This is a must-see city!

  • All of the markets are in the Old Town of Strasbourg. We stayed in an Airbnb near the Notre Dame Cathedral (yes there is one in Strasbourg too).

  • We were able to walk to all of the markets. It was a lot of walking, but very doable. 

  • This is the city where my daughters and I bought our spinning nativities for about $30-50 USD.

  • Not-market things to do

    • The Notre Dame Cathedral was so cool! It’s very gothic and sets the vibe of the town square. You can also climb stairs to the top.

    • La Petite France is a cute and charming area

    • There is great food here! We used Yelp to find restaurants. 

Stuttgart, Germany

  • 2 hour drive from Stuttgart. We hired a driver on My Day Trip. 

    • We were able to make a stop along the way at the Porsche Museum! I would definitely recommend this for families! We had a lot of fun

  • We stayed in a hotel across the street from the main train station.

  • I had low expectations for Stuttgart, but I was proved so wrong!

  • These markets were so cute and felt so magical, despite being in a more industrial city.

  • Lots of kid rides and GREAT food options!

  • My husband played chess with a chess player on the street, and won!

  • This market’s souvenirs seemed very expensive in comparison to other markets.

  • Not-market things to do

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