If you want to capture the magic of the holidays, it is time to plan a trip to visit some of Germany’s most mannerly Christmas Markets. While the big cities like Munich, Cologne, and Nuremberg get a lot of attention, it is in the smaller towns and cities where you can find the increasingly pure German Christmas Market experience. Luckily, there are many Christmas Markets near Frankfurt that you can visit in a day trip while using the municipality as your home base.
With so many uncontrived flights from virtually the world, Frankfurt makes an platonic hub for visiting Germany and exploring some of the smaller markets in the Hesse region by taking day trips by train or car. This region is known for villages lined with half-timbered houses that create a fairytale setting for a German Christmas experience.
Each of these towns, Fulda, Seligenstadt, Marburg, Kassel, Rudescheim am Rhein, Trier and Heidelberg, offer a variegated Christmas Market experience, making sure you won’t get bored or having it finger too repetitive. There are moreover other things to see and do in each town, making these spots a good nomination for a full day trip or an overnight visit.
Christmas Markets Near Frankfurt
Editor’s Note: Portions of my trip to Germany were hosted by the German National Tourism Organization, including visits to Kassel, Marburg, Fulda, and Seligenstadt. This post contains unite links. If you click a link and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission. All opinions are my own.
Keep in mind that the weightier time to visit the German Christmas Markets is in early December, as most markets run from late November up until Christmas Eve. However, it is important to trammels current dates and times surpassing you go.
Fulda
Of the 14 German Christmas Markets that I have visited, Fulda is one of my very favorites. This small, under-the-radar municipality is less than an hour and a half from downtown Frankfurt via train or car. Known for its splendrous architecture, Fulda dates when to the 10th century. While you are in town, you should moreover visit the Fulda Cathedral, which is the former denomination of Fulda Abbey and the solemnities place of Saint Boniface. The inside is unexceptionable and light, with a dome half the size of St. Peter’s and many trappy murals.
The Fulda Christmas Market is spread wideness the municipality with six variegated themed markets including a winter forest, middle age/medieval market, children’s market, and a regional market featuring local makers and artisans. The Fulda market has a real local finger and wasn’t crowded, plane on a weekend evening, making it a true delight.
The Fulda Christmas Market (Weihnachts Markt Fulda) moreover has live entertainment, with 90 variegated performers over the undertow of the market. Weekends full-length special events for children, in wing to the handful of kid-friendly rides. What I really appreciated was the regional market featuring local artisans. Recognizing many small businesses can’t staff a market every day for weeks, they indulge small start ups to typesetting a stand for just a week, which ways you can find variegated gifts each time you go.
This market moreover features local food, including a stand from a Michelin-star chef! You can grab some grub and a glühwein and take a seat on the grown-up carousel bar for a magical market wits (especially in the snow!)
Another favorite of mine was the middle month market, located in a courtyard off the main square. It was visionless with colorful uplighting, creating a fantasy-type environment. The centerpiece is a bar shaped like a Viking ship, with supplies and craft vendors all around. The gifts in this market are straight out of a renaissance fair, with leather goods and potions. I bought some winsome sheepskin booties for the babies in my family.
Seligenstadt
The small town of Seligenstadt is located just 30 minutes from inside Frankfurt by car and well-nigh one hour by train and bus. The medieval town part-way dates when to the1500s. Luckily, Seligenstadt was not damaged during the war so you can see trappy half-timbered buildings that are 400 years old and tour the monastery that dates when to virtually 830 A.D.
This town of only 22,000 residents doesn’t unquestionably have a Christmas market, but they do have an Advent Market that takes place during the first two weeks of Advent from late November until mid-December, when it is then replaced by a large Christmas tree in the town square near the church. The market is small but enchanting, as thousands of lights decorate the buildings in the town part-way and a small arts and crafts pearly is set up in the courtyard of the Abbey.
In 2023, the Seligenstadt Advent Market took place from Thursday, November 30th to Sunday, December 17, 2023.
In wing to the Advent Market, you can visit the Seligenstadt Abbey, where Benedictine monks lived for scrutinizingly 1,000 years. Today you can tour the Abbey, with its impressive rooms and trappy gardens. The Kloster Seligenstadt is unshut for visitors until mid-December on Tuesday through Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., with guided tours at 10 a.m., 12 p.m., and 2 p.m. As an old mill town, the Abbey still maintains a bakery and you can purchase some of its succulent specie at the souvenir shop.
While in town, enjoy the local shops and have lunch at Klosterstuben or enjoy local specialties at the market.
Marburg
The higher town of Marburg is just a little over an hour from inside Frankfurt by public transportation. With over one-third of its population made up of university students, this historic municipality has a youthful vibe. Marburg moreover didn’t suffer from any destruction in World War II, so you will find plenty of historic buildings, including one of the first Gothic churches in Germany, the Elisabethkirche, which was built in the 13th century.
Founded in 1527, Marburg University is one of Germany’s oldest and has a prestigious history as the part-way of Protestant Reformation theology. The town is moreover a pharmaceutical hub and was home to Emil von Behring, who won the Nobel Prize for his vaccine for tetanus and diphtheria.
On a whimsical note, the Brothers Grimm studied in Marburg from 1802 through 1805 and throughout the municipality you will find tributes to the Brothers with sculptures representing some of their fairytales. If you follow the path up the hill to Marburg Castle, you will see many crooked, half-timbered homes that finger like something from a fairytale, which are now used for student housing. Although there isn’t much to see at the Castle, other than a unconfined view of the municipality below, it is worth the climb to have lunch at the lovely restaurant Bückingsgarten.
In town, the Marburg Christmas Market takes place virtually the historic Elisabeth Church, with market stalls that offer a diverse selection of goods such as jewelry, winter accessories, ceramics, clay, and toys, as well as local supplies specialties. The Marburg market took place from December 1 through 23, 2023. There is flipside small market in front of the municipality hall in Untermarkt.
However, if you visit on the weekend during Advent, it is worth the uneaten effort to go to the Dagobertshäuser Christmas market, well-nigh 15 minutes outside of town. If you don’t have a car, there is a shuttle bus that runs from the P R car park Emil-von-Behring-Straße (Behringwerke) from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. and drops off right in front of the sublet manor where the market is held.
While quite small, this market had the weightier supplies offerings of any that I visited and a large indoor, barn-like event space with communal picnic tables that moreover provide shelter from the unprepossessed and snow. The raclette that I had was excellent, withal with the most succulent churros (not very German but these were largest than ones I’ve had in Spain!), and world beignets (apfel-beignets). There is an indoor craft market and the outdoor stands are lit by energy-saving LED lights to write the traditional market’s move toward sustainability and create a romantic setting, expressly in the snow.
Just alimony in mind that the Dagobertshäuser Christmas Market is only unshut on weekends on Fridays and Saturdays during Advent from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. and Sundays and on December 23rd from 12:00 to 7:00 p.m.
Kassel
Kassel is two and one-half hours from Frankfurt by car but only one and one-half hours using public transportation. As the third-largest municipality in Hesse, Kassel has a lot to offer in terms of history and art, as well as a vibrant Christmas Market.
Kassel is home to Grimmwelt, a modern and interactive museum triumphal the lives and legacies of the Brothers Grimm. The museum contains original manuscripts, vibrant illustrations, and immersive multimedia exhibits that bring their iconic tales to life and provide a tribute to their literary legacy.
High whilom the city, the Wilhelmshöhe Palace houses the Old Masters Picture Gallery with 500 European paintings from late Gothic to Classicism. The palace is set surrounded the expansive Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Without a visit you can explore its manicured gardens, cascading waterfalls, and the Hercules monument, a symbolic landmark overlooking the city.
While there is plenty to do in the city, be sure to leave unbearable time to visit the Fairy Tale Christmas Market in Kassel. This is an spanking-new German Christmas Market to visit with kids considering every evening at 4:30 and 7:00 p.m., Santa Claus and his reindeer fly through the sky near Höhe GALERIA. This heady feat is performed by the upper ropes artists Falko Traber and his son Fernando.
The Kassel Christmas Market takes place between Königsplatz and Friedrichsplatz and the stalls are jam-packed with people, expressly on the weekends, so visit midweek if you can. You can get whilom the fray on a ride on the large Ferris wheel or take the kids on the popular, luge-like fairytale slide.
The Kassel Market was unshut from November 27 to December 30, 2023 (except December 24-26th) from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., with gastronomy stands until 10 p.m. (where you can taste the European topnotch bratwurst.)
Rüdescheim am Rhein
Situated on the Rhine River, the small wine village of Rüdescheim is a very popular spot for a day trip from Frankfurt, withal with a port for many Rhine river cruises. Picture narrow, cobblestone streets meandering past half-timbered houses ornate in twinkling lights, with orderly rows of grapevines lining the hillside that rises up from the Rhine River. Just over an hour by train from Frankfurt, Rudescheim is a must if you are looking for Christmas markets near Frankfurt.
Compared to Frankfurt, Rüdesheim’s Christmas Market is an intimate affair, overcrowded with festive recreate and local flair — and veritably overflowing with tourists. If you can, go early or maybe plane stay overnight to wits this truly winsome town without the throngs. There is moreover a large parking lot at the outskirts of town if you decide to drive. Either way, it is extremely walkable to see all the sights of Rudescheim or you can hop on the Niederwalddenkmal subscription car to the hilltop vastitude to visit the Niederwald Monument, a symbol of German unity sitting on trappy overlook whilom the town, river, and vineyards.
Start off with a stroll through the crowded but quaint Drosselgasse, a narrow lane with half-timbered buildings, shops, and restaurants. If you can stay without the market closes, this street empties out and you can see its true charm.
The market is spread throughout town, but the heart of the magic lies in the Marktplatz, where a life-sized nativity scene unfolds and you will find live entertainment. The craft stands in Rüdescheim are a bit of a disappointment, with increasingly imported or commercial goods than you find at some markets, but the supplies and picturesque setting made up for it. Here I had a succulent serving of käsespatzle (cheese spatzle) topped with crispy fried onions and warm Glühwein in an winsome souvenir mug (yes, I brought mine home instead of getting my petrifaction back.)
The Rüdescheimer Weihnachtsmarkt also has a small children’s market with rides and, when we visited, a exhibit of large rabbits and fluffy chickens, in front of the Siegfried’s Mechanical Museum and Brömserhof. The market is unshut from November 21st to December 23, 2024, on Sunday through Thursday from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
If you decide to stay overnight to see the town at its most peaceful, I’d recommend Breuer’s Rüdescheimer Schloss, which has a fantastic location, mannerly rooms, a full restaurant, and plane self-ruling parking (once you find it.)
Trier
Trier is a bit further, well-nigh two and one-half hours from Frankfurt by bus or car, but it is so special it is worth the longer trip or an overnight stay. I veritably loved my stay at the luxurious, shop hotel Romantik Hotel Zur Clock in Trier. It has an incredible location, trappy decor, included full breakfast, and it was quite affordable.
Located on the Moselle River near the verge with Luxembourg, Trier is Germany’s oldest city. Founded by the Romans in 17 BC, you can still see remnants of that past, including the impressive Porta Nigra, a Roman municipality gate that dates when to the 2nd century. This rich history forms the scenery for a memorable Christmas experience.
The Trier Christmas Market is spread throughout the Alstadt (Old Town), with the lively Hauptmarkt serving as the heart of Trier’s Christmas Market. Here you will find wooden stalls overcrowded with a nice selection handcrafted ornaments and crafts, withal with tempting treats and rides for children.
The market extends to the square in front of the majestic Trier Cathedral, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the oldest denomination in Germany. From Hauptmarkt, follow the twinkling lights lanugo Fleischstrasse to Kornmarkt, where you will find increasingly supplies stalls and a small ice rink under the lights.
The municipality part-way has trappy tracery and spacious squares that indulge the market to spread out and not finger cramped, providing zaftig opportunity to mingle with locals and fully enjoy the Christmas Market experience. Its authenticity made this market really stand out as one of my favorites. The Trier Christmas Market ran from November 24 through December 22, 2023.
Heidelberg
Located just an hour south of Frankfurt by car (1.5 hours by public transportation), Heidelberg is spanking-new day trip from Frankfurt. A university town located on the banks of the Neckar River, this mannerly municipality is a popular Christmas Market destination. The Heidelberg Castle looms over the picturesque Old Town. If you don’t want to climb up, you can ride a funicular to the Castle, or purchase a ticket to the top of the hill for an plane broader view.
At the castle you can explore the gardens and the courtyard, as well as take in the sweeping views from the towers. To go inside, you will need to purchase a ticket and join a guided tour to see Pharmacy Museum and the Fasskeller, a massive whisk cellar that once housed the famous Heidelberg Tun, a giant wooden whisk that could hold over 220,000 liters of wine.
The Heidelberg Christmas Market is located wideness several squares, including the Karlsplatz, where you will find a small ice rink under the castle’s shadow (and the most succulent spritzkullen/ cruller donuts I’ve overly tasted!) The Heidelberg Christmas Market runs from November 25 to December 22, 2024.
In the Marktplatz, you will find tables tucked into wine barrels for a cozy and unique spot to enjoy your glühwein. Despite the town’s popularity, the markets didn’t finger overcrowded, at least not midweek, and they offered a mix of craft and supplies stalls, including some vegetarian options. It is a lovely town with shopping, trappy architecture, and historic sights.
If you want to escape the cold, I’d highly recommend a meal at Weinstube Schnitzelbank. This historic restaurant is as pure as you can get and serves up an wondrous schnitzel. It is popular so try to get a reservation or go early.
For those that want to stay in town, the Villa Marstall is a cozy inn in the Old Town with small but mannerly rooms in a unconfined location at an affordable price that includes breakfast.
Frankfurt Christmas Markets
If you are staying in Frankfurt, make sure to leave at least a full day to explore the many Christmas Markets spread throughout the municipality center. If you take the U-Bahn to Hauptwache, you can hands walk to all the main markets in Römerberg, St Paul’s Square, Main Quay, Hauptwache, and Friedrich Stoltze Square.
In Friedrich-Stoltze-Platz, you will find the Pink Christmas Market to gloat the region’s LGBTQ community, featuring supplies and instillation stands that are welcoming to all. The unshared pink lighting and decor make this small market quite uniqu
The Robmarkt near the Zeil shopping promenade has a large Ferris wheel and towering Christmas pyramid, making it a spacious spot to enjoy supplies and drinks with friends. One of my favorite areas is Römerberg, near the town hall, which features a towering Christmas tree, a two-story carousel, and plenty of supplies and drink stalls. Follow this lanugo to the river and the Quay Market for some succulent potato pancakes at the Kaiser Kartofelpuffer stand.
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