Cruising in a winter wonderland
River cruising in winter is taking off as holidaymakers discover the charms of traditional European Christmas markets. Sally Macmillan investigates.
Just a few years ago, cruises on Europe’s rivers in the northern hemisphere winter were hard to fill, but as more travellers discover the delights of “off-season” cruising, companies are extending their itineraries to December and January.
Christmas markets are the main attraction. They’re held all over northern Europe and the tradition harks back to the Middle Ages. Today, historic town squares and picturesque streets are illuminated with fairylights and lavishly decorated Christmas trees grace the smallest village.
Stall-holders sell handmade crafts and toys, and an array of edible goodies. The air is sweet with the aroma of mulled wine ( glühwein) – you can enjoy a glass while you shop or listen to carol singers and children’s choirs. There are ice-skating rinks in many towns and if it snows, you’ll feel as though you’re on the set of a romantic movie.
Another bonus of winter river cruising is that you can visit museums, palaces and art galleries without long queues.
Christmas markets usually start in late November and run until the third week of December. The most popular river cruise itinerary is from Amsterdam to Budapest, while other options include Zurich to Budapest and Prague to Budapest. Here’s a selection of Christmas markets you can experience on winter Rhine and Danube cruises.
Amsterdam to Budapest
After two days in Amsterdam, you arrive in Cologne, which has several spectacular markets. The oldest is the Angel’s Christmas Market in the Neumarkt district, noted for highquality arts and crafts, and “angels” dressed in white wander around the stalls sprinkling glitter. In the Old Town, wooden chalets are set up in front of the famous Gothic cathedral and this market boasts “the biggest Christmas tree in the Rhineland”. Another is the maritime-themed Cologne Harbour Christmas market at the Chocolate Museum. If you only have one day in the city, a mini-train is laid on to take you around the four main markets.
Nuremberg’s market is the most famous in Germany, first documented in 1628. The town is known for its gingerbread (Nürnberger Lebkuchen) and bratwurst, and there is plenty of both for sale at the market’s 180 stalls. The Christmas Market of Sister Cities
offers goods from Nuremburg’s twinned cities around the world. Here, you’ll nd arts, crafts and regional produce from as diverse places as Kharkiv (Ukraine) and San Carlos (Nicaragua) – invest in an extra suitcase to bring home those exotic stocking- llers.
Regensburg is one of Germany’s best-preserved medieval cities has four different markets. Stalls set up around the 500-year-old Neupfarr Church sell nativity scenes with carved gures, Christmas decorations and toys.
The Lucrezia Markt specialises in marionettes and ceramics, and the Romantic Christmas Market is renowned for musical events.
Vienna’s Christmas market tradition goes back to the 13th century and it now has 20 of cial markets. One highlight is the Christmas and New Year’s market at the Schönbrunn
Palace a few kilometres out of the city centre. Another is the Viennese Market held outside the neo-Gothic City Hall, where international choirs sing carols at weekends. If you’re looking for jewellery, rugs and clothing, head for the Spittelberg market.
Prague’s main markets are held in the Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square, about ve minutes’ walk from each other, with smaller ones dotted around the city. The Old Town market has a nativity scene, a petting farm, folk bands and choirs. There are stalls selling toys, traditional straw decorations and Bohemian crystal, plus a great selection of edible treats, many cooked in front of you.
Budapest holds several markets, but its best known is the one on Vörösmarty Square. Vendors are chosen for the quality of their handmade products – glassware, knits and leather goods, to name just a few. As well as local dishes to taste, there’s live music around the square. Take a scenic ride on one of the Christmas Light trams and enjoy a dip in one of the steaming, open-air thermal baths popular all year round.
ZURICH TO AMSTERDAM
Zurich’s main railway station hosts 150 market stalls, one of the largest indoor Christmas markets in Europe.
Basel claims Switzerland’s largest Christmas markets, with about
180 stalls set in two city squares: Barfüsserplatz in the 15th-century Old Town and Münsterplatz, next to the Basel Cathedral. Illuminated pine trees line the longest Christmas street in Europe, where you can’t resist visiting Johann Wanner Christmas House to scoop up some amazing decorations.
Strasbourg, the capital of Alsace, has the “best Christmas market in Europe” and it’s also said to be the oldest in France, dating back to 1570. About 300 stalls are spread between 12 different locations across the medieval town. Shop for decorations in Place Broglie, buy Alsatian gourmet goods at Place d’Austerlitz or visit the Village of Sharing in Place Kléber, where 90 charities sell goods to raise funds. Place Kléber also features an imposing 30-metre Christmas tree – not something we see very often Down Under.