If you’re dreaming of a festive holiday adventure then visiting Europe’s amazing Christmas markets should be at the top of your bucket list! Below we’re sharing our top tips for visiting European Christmas markets, including what to bring with you and what to eat!

Visiting European Christmas markets is a magical way to celebrate the holidays. At the markets you’ll encounter festive stalls offering a variety of seasonal foods like hot Glühwein (a german mulled wine), melted Raclette cheese on bread, and fresh Schnitzel, as well as beautiful handcrafted goods. European Christmas markets also feature live music, carolers, and captivating light displays, making them a must-visit destination for anyone seeking a memorable holiday experience. However, there are some things you need to know before you go so you can have the best experience!

Why should you trust us? In 2024 we spent 8 days visiting some of the best Christmas Markets in Germany, France, and Switzerland while on a river cruise with Viking! Click here to read more about our ‘Christmas on the Rhine’ sailing with Viking. In our blog posts about the cruise we offer a in-depth overview of each day of the cruise so you know what to expect on a Viking river cruise. You can access specific parts of our viking cruise recap below.

• River cruise recap part 1: Amsterdam, Dordrecht, Cologne
• River cruise recap part 2: The Middle Rhine, Rüdesheim, Mannheim, and Speyer
• River cruise recap part 3: Strasbourg, Freiburg, and Basel

Our Christmas on the Rhine sailing was hosted by Viking Cruises. All thoughts, opinions, and experiences are our own.

Our top tips for visiting European Christmas markets

The best way to see European Christmas markets

In December 2024, we went on a European Christmas market cruise with Viking Cruises. We sailed up the Rhine River from Amsterdam, Netherlands to Basel, Switzerland over the course of 8 days and visited several cities and 10+ different Christmas markets along the way. It was truly a magical way to experience the splendor of European Christmas markets.

If you’re looking for a relaxed way to experience the European Christmas markets, I highly recommend sailing with Viking Cruises. Our sailing was the 8-day “Christmas on the Rhine.” We appreciated the chance to thoroughly explore the Christmas markets while also having an all-inclusive beautiful ship to call home for 8 days.

During this cruise, we visited several European Christmas markets in Cologne, Germany; Rüdesheim, Germany; Mannheim, Germany; Speyer, Germany; Strasbourg, France; Breisach, Germany; and Basel, Switzerland.

What to bring when visiting European Christmas Markets

Below we explain everything you need to bring when visiting European Christmas markets. While some of these may be common sense, many of the tips listed below may be a surprise for folks traveling overseas (e.g. you have to pay to use public toilets!).

Coins for public toilets

Most European public toilets are not free, which is surprising to many people from overseas. Occasionally, you may find a free toilet, but for the most part you will have to pay a small fee to use the restroom. Depending on the country you visit, I’d recommend having cash coins on hand. In some European Union countries that use the Euro (e.g. Germany, Holland, France, etc.) expect to pay 50 cents to one Euro per toilet visit.

Fun fact: The common term for “bathrooms” is “toilets” in many European countries. They do not really call them “bathrooms” or “restrooms.”

Cash for purchases at Christmas markets

European Union countries almost all use the Euro as currency. Most of the Christmas markets we visited in Germany and France accepted either cash or credit cards, but I would recommend carrying cash, since not all vendors accept credit cards. Cash is still king, especially in smaller towns! The Christmas markets don’t always have an ATM, either, so plan ahead by acquiring the proper currency beforehand. If you end up visiting European Christmas markets in Switzerland, you’ll need the Swiss Franc (abbreviated CHF).

Pick-pocket proof bag

One of our top tips for visiting European Christmas markets is to be mindful of pick-pockets. Christmas markets are CROWDED, which makes them a prime spot for petty theft. Pick-pocketing is ubiquitous, and parts of Europe are notorious for this issue. When visiting European Christmas markets, I would highly recommend carrying a bag that has zippers to fully secure your belongings. We used the Portland Leather Tote with a zipper. This was large enough to hold our water bottle, extra layers (scarf and gloves), wallets, and items we bought at the market. Always keep your zippers closed when perusing the markets to prevent theft.

A few more tips for avoiding pick pockets at European Christmas markets:

• Don’t keep cell phones in back pants pockets, or set them down on tables
• Secure valuables at the bottom of your bag, and behind a zipper
• Keep cameras on a strap that is around your neck

Warm and Dry Layers

European Christmas markets can be pretty chilly in winter. During our trip in mid-December, average temperatures were in the high 30s Fahrenheit (about 4 degrees Celsius). We got lucky with good weather, but it can often rain or snow, too. These are warm layers I’d recommend:

• A waterproof warm jacket: This 2-in-1 rain jacket from REI is insulated and plenty warm at freezing temperatures. It is also waterproof. These are the only jackets we packed on our trip.
• Warm gloves: I, personally, love these gloves from Amazon. They are cheap, very warm, good quality, and have fantastic touch-screen ability.
• Base layers: We recommend wearing wool base layers under your regular clothes. You’ll be standing around a lot at the markets which can feel pretty chilly compared to walking around.

Good walking shoes

Almost all of the markets we visited had cobblestone streets. These streets are often uneven and can be a bit uncomfortable to walk over without the proper shoes. I would recommend wearing shoes with a flat bottom and comfortable sole. Heels would not be a good choice since they can get stuck in the cobblestone cracks. We both wore Dansko shoes (Ami wore the Becka bootie and Gwyn wore the Lizanne – Amiana is wearing the Becka booties in the photo above!), which were SO comfortable and didn’t require a “break-in” period.

e-SIM for navigating the towns

If you’re traveling abroad, I would highly recommend purchasing an eSIM for your phone instead of using your cell phone carrier’s data plan. At the very least, this is essential for navigating streets using your phone, public transportation, and Uber. I purchased a 10 GB data plan from Jetpac for only $13 total, which was easy to install, gave me broad data coverage throughout Europe, and was plenty of data for 10 days. The Jetpac eSIM is installed on your phone through the Jetpac app that is easy to download, and does not require replacing a physical SIM card (unlike the old days). On the other hand, if I had used my AT&T cellular plan from the U.S., data would have cost me $15 PER DAY.

Jetpac discount code: We have a $5 off coupon through Jetpac using our code “AMI75546”

Translation app

This should be a no-brainer, but Christmas market signage and displays will mostly be in the regional language. We found ourselves trying to read lots of German and French. Thankfully, most vendors speak English, but if you’re needing a bit of extra language support, I’d recommend downloading a translation app to your phone. I used the iTranslate app, which had a 7-day free trial, and I could use it by typing in phrases or by taking a photo of text I wanted to translate.

What food to expect when visiting European Christmas Markets

The food at European Christmas markets tends to be the main attraction – and for a good reason! The food is delicious, surprisingly affordable, and reflects the local cuisine. When you visit a market, you have to try the Glühwein, which is a warm, spiced wine famous at Christmas markets. I’d recommend the red “rot” Glühwein. It is served in small festive mugs, and each drink costs about 4 Euros for a generous serving (a great deal in my opinion)! The alcohol-free version is called “kinderpunsch.”

I would also recommend trying the hot melted Raclette cheese bread (a specialty in Switzerland), and freshly roasted chestnuts “maroni.” You will also see plenty of bratwurst, some of which are over a half meter long! There are a surprising amount of vegetarian options, as well. Gwyn is a vegetarian and she had plenty of food options at each market.

Video tips for European Christmas Markets

European Christmas markets are all adorned with festive displays of sparkling lights. However, if you pull out your phone to take a video, you’ll probably notice the lights are flickering on your phone. This is due to the fact that some European lights operate at a slightly different frequency than lights in North America. When the frequency of the lights and the camera frame rate are out of sync, the video looks like it flickers. To get around this, do not use the 30 or 60 frames per second (fps) setting on your phone. Instead, open up your camera video settings, turn on “PAL,” and select the “25 fps (PAL)” setting. This will eliminate the video flicker.

Tips for visiting European Christmas Markets: our final thoughts

Whether you end up visiting European Christmas markets by land or by boat, we hope you find them to be magical! If you have any questions about what visiting European Christmas Markets is like, please ask us in the comments! You can read more reviews and information about our river cruise with Viking here.

Looking for an even more in-depth packing guide for Europe? Check out our summer packing list here, and follow along @gwynandami on Instagram!