Christmas Markets for family

[rich12]

Hi,

Looking to go somewhere with my misses and kids (6 and 2) for 2 days so Saturday morning til Sunday evening.
Have had a brief look at Belgium, Hungary etc but for some reason everywhere I look at booking, requires us to book two rooms as most have a 3 person limit which is bizarre.

We were just going to go somewhere in the UK but would love to go somewhere really special if it doesn't work out too expensive.

Any recommendations?

[pidsy]

We did Bruge last Christmas.

Stayed at the hotel Prinsenhof which is 5 mins walk from the main square - they have family rooms and parking. Great little hotel.

Thing we noted: we went 21st-23rd Dec and the whole place was lovely and quiet. Very few tourists.

Friends of ours went the week before and said it was too crowded to do anything.

Presumably, most people stay clear the week of Christmas cos they’re busy sorting their home/family stuff out.

We had a great time, wouldn’t have been as much fun the week before.

[Coilspring]

Bruges is always a good place to go, and is not that far away. But it's market is a bit small.

For a beginners christmas market, especially with children, consider Trier. Not too far away, good location and choice of hotels, easy to get around and a great market in great surroundings.

[smifffymoto]

Cologne is very good.

[rich12]

pidsy said:

We did Bruge last Christmas.

Stayed at the hotel Prinsenhof which is 5 mins walk from the main square - they have family rooms and parking. Great little hotel.

Thing we noted: we went 21st-23rd Dec and the whole place was lovely and quiet. Very few tourists.

Friends of ours went the week before and said it was too crowded to do anything.

Presumably, most people stay clear the week of Christmas cos they’re busy sorting their home/family stuff out.

We had a great time, wouldn’t have been as much fun the week before.

That's very weird. Wonder if it's also because the price seems to go up a lot the weekend before Christmas?

[pidsy]

rich12 said:

pidsy said:

We did Bruge last Christmas.

Stayed at the hotel Prinsenhof which is 5 mins walk from the main square - they have family rooms and parking. Great little hotel.

Thing we noted: we went 21st-23rd Dec and the whole place was lovely and quiet. Very few tourists.

Friends of ours went the week before and said it was too crowded to do anything.

Presumably, most people stay clear the week of Christmas cos they’re busy sorting their home/family stuff out.

We had a great time, wouldn’t have been as much fun the week before.

That's very weird. Wonder if it's also because the price seems to go up a lot the weekend before Christmas?

Yeah. It was completely the opposite to how we thought it was going to be. It was lovely.
It was a secret escapes trip and we chose that date as it was the cheapest in the 2 weeks before Christmas.

[shopper150]

We are going to Brussels this year, I would be interested to hear other PHers experiences/recommendations.

I really liked Innsbruck, the town is beautiful. The markets weren't as good as some other cities (e.g. Munich).

[p1stonhead]

smifffymoto said:

Cologne is very good.

+1 amazing.

[Diplomatico]

Stuttgart. You also get to go to the Porsche and Mercedes Benz museum

[Glosphil]

Lincoln, but only if you don't mind walking up a steep hill - actually named Steep Hill.

[rich12]

I cant believe my biggest hurdle is finding hotels that let you book one room for a family of 4. All these sites like booking dot com only let me book with 2 rooms.

More I look into it, the more I'm thinking just stay in the UK as the costs make it seem like it'll be circa £700 just for one night everywhere else.

[waynedear]

Berlin Christmas markets are rather good and the city is fantastic.

[Glosphil]

rich12 said:

I cant believe my biggest hurdle is finding hotels that let you book one room for a family of 4. All these sites like booking dot com only let me book with 2 rooms.

More I look into it, the more I'm thinking just stay in the UK as the costs make it seem like it'll be circa £700 just for one night everywhere else.

I did suggest Lincoln!

[rich12]

Glosphil said:

I did suggest Lincoln!

I don't like steep hills

[55palfers]

Birmingham!

[Voldemort]

Salzburg or Innsbruck both have fantastic Christmas markets. Salzburg slightly bigger and better and better served by flights (also Red Bull Hangar museum is at Salzburg airport)

[V10leptoquark]

You can't go wrong with Nuremberg or Vienna.
Nuremberg is Germany's most popular whilst Vienna is Austia's, also said to be the oldest xmas market in Europe.

Out of those two, it would be Vienna, a beautiful city.
There will also be more direct flight options to Vienna from the UK.
But having said that if choosing Nuremberg the train ride from Munich is a good one. Many flight options to Munich from the UK.

[irocfan]

Coilspring said:

Bruges is always a good place to go, and is not that far away. But it's market is a bit small.

For a beginners christmas market, especially with children, consider Trier. Not too far away, good location and choice of hotels, easy to get around and a great market in great surroundings.

we're actually off to Trier at the end of the month, so looking forward to it. A lovely place to go is Monshau because of the size of the town it's a very small market (which if you've got small kids is possibly a bonus) 2nd week of december there's a reasonable chance you'll get snow too (we've been twice and had snow twice).

[ZeroGroundZero]

Another vote for Vienna here.
Went two years ago and the Xmas markets were great.
Bit of snow on the ground too which topped it off for us British visitors.

[rich12]

Seems i'm a bit too late to the party for this year to go abroad.
Flights from Luton to Vienna are circa £700 and then it would be a 2 night stay at a hotel plus spending etc which is way too much.
UK it is!