European Christmas Markets

Land tours that visit European cities during the holiday season (generally from late November to Christmas) are an easy way to visit several holiday markets, as are river cruises that tour several cities.

Globus has Christmastime land tours of Bavaria, Alsace, Munich, or Eastern Europe. Each of these tours visits at least 3 cities, each of which has it's own Christmas Market. They also include tours of churches and cathedrals, Christmas concerts, and much more.

Collette Vacations has an Alpine Christmas tour that allows you to stay in Innsbruck, with day trips to markets in Munich and Salzburg for shopping. You can settle into your hotel room, shop a different market each day, and return to the same comfy room every night.

Virtually all river cruise lines offer Holiday Market cruises and each cruise visits at least 4 or 5 towns (if not more!).

And when you're not shopping the markets or exploring the town, you'll be relaxing in a comfortable river cruise ship, watching the world go by as you sip hot chocolate in the lounge or your cabin - much better than the seat of a bus!

And there are many rivers in Europe, and many areas to explore. Cruises along the Danube will take you to Nuremberg, Vienna, and Budapest. (This is the most common route, and is offered by Viking, Uniworld, Avalon, and Amadeus).

The Rhine river takes you to Cologne, Heidelberg, and Strasbourg, and is available from Uniworld.

Amadeus Waterways has a Holiday cruise that starts with a few days in Paris, then travels the Moselle River in France, and joins the upper Rhine, visiting Frankfurt and Dusseldorf before ending in Amsterdam.

No matter which river you cruise, or which land tour you choose, exploring the Christmas Markets of Europe is an experience not to be missed!

And since there are so many markets and so many ways of visiting them - you can try something different every year!

The cruise lines and land tour operators start offering sales and discounts on these trips in late summer and early fall - keep your eyes open for a deal, and plan a trip to Europe this holiday season!

If Europe is out of the question, you can still experience a European-style Christmas market in downtown Chicago.

Held annually from Thanksgiving to Christmas Eve, the Christkindlmarket at Daley Plaza is modeled after the Christmas market in Nuremberg, Germany. You'll find plenty of food stalls and handcrafted gifts, and it's within walking distance of hotels, restaurants - even department stores and Christmas shows! Visit http://www.christkindlmarket.com/ for more information.