TOP 10 Christmas markets
If you want to feel the festive spirit in Europe, now’s the perfect time to take your pick of the Christmas markets. Here’s 10 of this year’s best shopping breaks . . .
1 BRUGES Two nights from €213pp With its medieval buildings and quaint cobbled streets, the fairytale setting of this UNESCO World Heritage Site is sure to get you into the seasonal spirit. Bruges’s wonderful chocolate shops are a great excuse to stock up on prezzies as well as treating yourself. Take a turn round the ice rink then stop off for waffles with hot chocolate while
enjoying the street entertainment and fairground attractions.
THE DEAL: Two nights’ B&B with Superbreak starts at €213pp, staying at the three-star Hans Memling Hotel a short walk from the market place. Includes return flights departing Heathrow December 10. superbreak.com
2 RHINELAND TO HEIDELBURG CRUISE Four nights from €549pp
Charming Rudesheim in the Rhine Valley is the first port of call on this Saga mini-cruise for overfifties. It’s famed for its wine taverns, so a glass of gluhwein is in order as you browse the stalls lining the chocolate-box Old Quarter and Drosselgasse lane. The medieval town enthusiastically embraces the season, boasting Europe’s biggest Nativity scene on its market square. MS Johannes Brahms then sails on to Heidelberg on the River Neckar. At this university town shop till you drop not only at the140-plus stalls in the Old City but also the Hauptstrasse, Europe’s longest pedestrian shopping street. THE DEAL: Book by October 29 and save up to €100pp on the fournight Festive Markets Cruise, now from €549pp for December 5 departure. Fare includes four breakfasts, three lunches and four dinners, Captain’s dinner and drinks reception along with entertainment and activities on board, travel insurance, UK travel service, and return flights from UK. travel.saga. 3 co.uk/cruises BERLIN Four days from €349pp With around 60 Christmas markets – each with their own theme, the German capital will be filled with the aroma of mulled wine, grilled sausages and spicy gingebread biscuits. There’s plenty of winter entertainment too –
€Winterworld on Potsdamer Platz has a toboggan run and an ice rink. For the oldest, most famous, market head to Berliner Weinachtszet at Roten Rathaus. THE DEAL: Newmarket Holidays’ four-day Berlin Christmas Markets tour starts at €349pp including flights on selected December dates from Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Glasgow or London airports. Includes B&B in a central hotel and a city tour. newmarketholidays.co.uk, 0044 4330 160 7700 SALZBURG AND MUNICH Seven days from€549pp
Austria’s alpine scenery is the perfect setting for festive markets. And if the Sound of Music is your default Christmas soundtrack you’ll be thrilled to learn that Salzburg, home of the Von Trapp family, is on the itinerary of a Leger Christmas Markets tour. The historic city has two markets, one at the 17th century cathedral and one at stately square Residenzplatz. At Innsbruck, “capital of the Tyrol”, browse 70 stalls in the heart of the Old Town, overlooked by the city’s glittering 16th century Golden Roof. Then visit the market of Bavaria’s capital Munich on the Marienplatz with the ornate Rathausglockenspeil. THE DEAL: Leger Holidays offers the seven-day Festive Salzburg, Munich & Innsbruck Christmas Markets tour from €549pp including breakfast, four evening meals, excursions and coach travel. leger.co. uk,
5 PRAGUE Two nights from €129pp It’s fitting Wenceslas Square, named after the Czech patron saint, is home to one of the two key Christmas markets. It’s just a five-minute walk to the other. Refresh yourself with a glass or two of mulled wine or a Czech beer. Suitably fortified, join in with carol singing around the giant Christmas trees. THE DEAL: British Airways Holidays offers two nights’ B&B at the four-star Duo, starting at €129pp. Book by October 31. ba.com, 0044 344 493 0125
6 FRANCE CRUISE Four days from €315pp Soak up the atmosphere of la fete noel on this new no-fly cruise from Titan, visiting two Christmas markets. Sailing from London Tilbury, Magellan’s first stop will be Normandy’s capital, Rouen, where you can trawl 70 chalets by medieval buildings. A visit to the 4th century Gothic Notre Dame Cathedral is a must. The market at the pretty little port Honfleur is a more intimate affair by the marina where you can pick up local goodies such as Calvados brandy and cheeses. THE DEAL: Fares for the four-day cruise start at €315pp based on December 10 departure, including eight meals, Captain’s Cocktail Party, daytime activities with Titan Travel.titantravel.co.uk,
7 STRASBOURG Four days from €399pp The capital of the Alsace region is home to France’s
oldest Christmas market. From the last week of November to the end of December the city is the self-proclaimed capital of Christmas. With more than 300 chalets, it’s one of Europe’s biggest markets. THE DEAL: The River Cruise Line offers a four-day Strasbourg Christmas Markets itinerary. The four-star MS Serenity sails from Mainz for Mannheim and Strasbourg before returning to Mainz. December dates start at €399pp with coach travel and ferry crossing from Folkestone. rivercruiseline.co.uk, 0044 1858 435 655
8 HARZ MOUNTAINS Six days from 2895pp Ride from Wernigerode on the Brocken Railway steam train through snowy forests to high in the Hartz Mountains. Then visit Quedlinburg, a UNESCO site with some of Germany’s best preserved medieval buildings. In Goslar, another World Heritage site, the old halftimbered houses are a stunning market backdrop. THE DEAL: Great Rail Journeys’ Harz Mountain Christmas Markets tour starts at €895pp for five nights’ B&B in Wernigerode’s four-star HKK Hotel, three dinners, train ride and town tours. Departures on December 3 and 10 from St Pancras International. greatrail.com
9 NETHERLANDS Five days from €274pp For seasonal shopping with a difference, go deep in the Dutch town of Valkenburg at Europe’s largest underground Christmas market. From November 17 to December 23, the long galleries of Gemeentegrot (town cave) will be filled with stalls displaying festive gifts and goodies. The charming town also has a Christmas parade on Wednesday and Saturday. THE DEAL: Shearings’ five-day Valkenburg Christmas Markets tour includes day trips to Maastricht and visits to the German towns of Aachen and
Monschau. From €274pp including four nights’ half-board at the three-star Walram Hotel in Valkenberg, ferry crossing, coach travel and two excursions. shearings.com
10 VERONA Three nights from €499pp Austrian and Slavic neighbours means the northern Italian city’s markets offer traditional Germanic gifts as well as presents with Italian flair. The Christkindlmarkt on Piazza dei Signori is where you can sample German favourites like bratwurst and stollen. Piazza Brà is where to buy local crafts such as toys and ceramic ware. THE DEAL: Citalia offers three nights’ B&B at the central fivestar Palazzo Victoria from €499pp including BA flights departing Gatwick on December 15. citalia.com