Germans have enjoyed their Christmas markets for centuries, but now the rest of the world has learned the secret. Tens of thousands of people flock to Germany every year in December to visit the markets. Just about every German city, town and village has at least one German Christmas Market, so how does the casual visitor know which are the best ones to visit?

If you do want to visit at least one German Christmas market in 2018 it has been suggested by German tourist information offices that you should at least visit one of the big city markets like Nuremberg, Dresden, Cologne, Munich, Berlin or Rothenberg a well as a more traditional market in a small village or town. The truth is that all German markets are a real treat and will warm the Christmas cockles of your heart with the wealth of home-made gifts as well as a tot or two of mulled wine!

German Christmas Market Dates 2018

Christmas markets open from the last weekend in November through to Christmas Eve, December 24th. In common with many other European Christmas traditions, Germans tend to see Christmas Eve as being more important to them than Christmas Day itself, which is more typical of the English speaking world.
The dates do vary somewhat from year to year, due to the date of Advent. This year, the German Christmas market dates in 2018 will be one day earlier than they were last year, 2017. This is because of the change in the date of Advent.

Top German Christmas Market Dates

• Aachen
  From 23rd November to 23rd December 2018
• Baden-Baden
  From 26th November to 30th December 2018
• Berlin
  From 23rd November to 31st December 2018
• Cologne
  From 26th November to 23rd December 2018
• Dresden
  From 28th November to 24th December 2018
• Dusseldorf
  From 22nd November to 30th December 2018
• Leipzig
  From 27th November to 23rd December 2018
• Nuremberg
  From 1st to 24th December 2017
• Rothenburg
  From 30th November to 23rd December 2018
• Stuttgart
  From 28th November to 23rd December 2018

What’s So Special About German Christmas Markets?

The best thing about German Christmas markets is that they have not succumbed to the dreadful commercialism so common elsewhere in the western world. You can buy Christmas gifts, of course, it’s just that they are not packaged and so uniform as they are in the department stores and generic toy shops that you have become depressingly used to. German Christmas markets have a long tradition in Germany and still capture a lot of the magic and romance of Christmas.

Like most markets, there are tasty things to eat and drink and in a German Christmas market these are often special to this time of the year like baked apples, grilled sausages, hot chestnuts, marzipan figurines, gingerbread biscuits and for the grown-ups, steaming cups of mulled wine.

Conclusion

So, if you are sick of the same old routines and humbug at Christmas, pack your bags, pick up a German phrase book or a dictionary, book your travel and accommodation make sure your driving license and any other personal documents are translated into German and head to a fascinating, traditional German Christmas market!

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