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C
onsidering that I’m notmuch of a shopper, myfirst experience of a tradi-tional Christmas marketcame as a revelation. It wasnearly 20 years ago in theancient Polish city of Krakow, and the tem- perature was 20ºC below freezing.Yet more snow dust-ed Krakow’s many spires
 November/December 2009 TheTravel&LeisureMagazine
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Traditional Christmas markets in towns and citiesthroughout the Continent and farther afield are nowhugely popular for festive get-away breaks.
Dave Richardson
explores their attraction
 In the market for
Chr stmas
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Christmas in Augsburg
CHRISTMAS MARKETS
ESCAPE to…
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Children with toffee apples in Lemgo
German NationalTourist Board 
BavariaTourism
 
as darkness fell in mid afternoon, creating atrue Christmas card scene. I followed thecrowds to the vast Market Square – said to be the largest in Europe – and made straightfor a stall selling hot mulled wine.Everyone around me seemed happy and soon I forgot about the cold as I wolfed down sausage and fried cheese, before buy-ing some woollen slippers and wooden toysat bargain prices. I went away feeling warmand also the warmth of humanity, and ever since I try to visit a European Christmasmarket far from the blandness and rip-off  prices in Britain.I’m not alone in wanting to flee theseshores as Christmas approaches, despite theincreasing number of festive markets in thiscountry. According to research by Leger Holidays, nearly one person in four is plan-ning a festive break and a key reason iswanting to escape the over-commercialisa-tion of Christmas.Krakow is actually a fairly unusualchoice, as the most popular traditional mar-kets are in Germany. The websiteChristmasmarkets.com offers informationon over 400 markets in 22 countries,although many of these are not traditionaland as far away as Japan, Canada and theUSA. Germany and France both have about80 listings, with Austria having 29 and Belgium 16.In Germany – as in Krakow, no doubt – this year’s markets will have an extra reasonto celebrate. November marked 20 yearssince the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of Communism in Europe, which led to therevival of many traditions including a festiveChristmas. Glühwein (a warm mulled wine)and eierpunsch (an alcoholic drink witheggs) can be found everywhere.Christmas markets started around 1400 inthe German-speaking part of Europe, withDresden (1434) being one of the first and now attracting two million visitors a year.Opening of the markets in early December or late November coincides with the Adventreligious festival, and some are called Christkindel Markt (Christ child market)with a child playing the role of the boyJesus. This is the case at Nuremberg, one of the best markets, also home of gingerbread which is one of the favourite festive foods.The market at Munich, held on theMarienplatz in front of the guildhall, is oneof the most impressive with over 120 stalls.Many stalls still concentrate on traditionaltoys and festive fare, although inevitablythey have been infiltrated by modern gadg-ets and clothing.Look for regional variations, such as aChristmas pastry at Frankfurt’s Christmasmarket. Bethmännchen is made from marzi- pan with almonds and sugar, and young menused to send it as a token of their love. If agirl kept it they could remain hopeful – if not, they had to look elsewhere.CologneisanotherhighlypopularGermanmarket, being held near the immense cathe-dral which is one of the world’s largest. Manyof the most charming traditional markets arein smaller places, such as Trier, Mainz,Koblenz, Kaiserslautern, Speyer and Worms – which call themselves the Romantic Citiesof Germany. Historic Highlights of Germany,a group of 14 cities, has four recommended routes taking in the markets.
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TheTravel&LeisureMagazine November/December 2009
“Nearly one person in four isplanning a festive break”
C  o l  o g n e' s m a r k e t a n d  c a t  h e d  r a l 
R o s t o c k m a r k e t 
Prague Christmas market Bruges at Christmas 
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Christmas in Liege
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Many visitors gravitate towards larger cities as there is so much more to do, espe-cially during the long evenings at the darkesttime of the year. Another reason some citiesare very popular is ease of access from theUK , which is why Belgian and French mar-kets come into their own.Liege holds one of the oldest and largestChristmas markets in Belgium, in its centralsquare and adjacent Place du Marché. In theFlanders part of Belgium you will find mar-kets in every city, including Bruges (a greatcity break destination in itself) and – justacross the Channel – Ostend. The snow and ice sculptures in Bruges are an added attrac-tion from November 20-January 10, while inthe Belgian capital Brussels, a large ice rink can be enjoyed as well as the market.You can reach Brussels in less than twohours by Eurostar train from London, whilethe journey to Lille in northern France iseven faster at 80 minutes. Lille’s market isone of the best in France, a highlight beingwhen Father Christmas descends an 80-metre-high belfry on December 19.If you prefer to fly then there are morecountries to choose from, where you cancombine a Christmas market with a histori-cal city or even some skiing. Markets areheld in most Austrian cities includingVienna (a very cultural choice in the run-upto Christmas), Salzburg and Innsbruck.Vienna’s market is in front of City Hall,where children can create their own presentsat Santa’s Workshop, and dispatch them
 November/December 2009 TheTravel&LeisureMagazine
17
Out of theOrdinary
Here are a few more ideas for aChristmas market break with adifference:Tallinn,capital of the tiny Baltic countryof Estonia,has revived a festive marketwhich was popular long ago but abolishedduring Soviet rule.The 64 wooden stallsare set out in the medievalTown HallSquare around a huge Christmas tree,asFather Christmas and his elves – Scribbleand Scrabble – work the crowd.Choirs,dance groups,poets and musicians keepyou entertained.The market runs fromNovember 29-January 7. Just across the Baltic fromTallinn isHelsinki, capital of Finland, a countrywhich claims Santa Claus for its own (asdoes Greenland, among others).TheLadies Christmas Market runs fromDecember 2-6 with handicrafts made byFinnish women, followed by the mainmarket in Esplanade Park.The Hungarian capital of Budapest isanother ex-Eastern bloc city to revive itsChristmas traditions.The venue isVörösmarty Square, which is decoratedwith a huge Christmas tree and anadvent calendar.
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TallinnChristmasmarket
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German NationalTourist Board 
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The Christmasangel atNuremberg
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TraditionalChristmas treedecorations
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