Tag Archives: Europe’s Best Christmas Markets


Europe’s Crackin’ Christmas Markets

Lose the “bah humbug” blues with a walk through these winter wonderlands

A Christmas market in Strasbourg, France. Credit Christophe Hamm, Greater Strasbourg Tourist Office.

A Christmas market in Strasbourg, France. Credit Christophe Hamm, Greater Strasbourg Tourist Office.

An evening spent mingling with the pink-cheeked crowds at festive fairs throughout Europe could transform the most curmudgeonly Scrooge and the greenest of Grinches into stocking-stuffing, carol-crooning converts.

Imagine rustic chalets overflowing with handicrafts that might have been fashioned by elves themselves; historic town squares illuminated by twinkling strands of lights; and local delicacies, from bratwurst to pastries, washed down with mugs of mulled wine.

Here’s a look at five of the best cities to stoke your holiday spirit.

Nutcrackers in Hamburg, Germany. Credit www.mediaserver.hamburg.de/C. Spahrbier

Holiday gifts in Hamburg, Germany. Credit www.mediaserver.hamburg.de/C. Spahrbier

London, England

While continental Christmas markets are typically twee, “Olde Worlde” affairs, London’s Winter Wonderland goes for the glitz. Set in the 350-acre Hyde Park, it’s a neon-drenched Las Vegas-style fever dream — the bizarrest of holiday bazaars. This year marks its 10th anniversary, and you better believe it’s bedazzling.

Crowds enter London's Hyde Park Winter Wonderland Christmas market beneath a lighted arcade.

Winter Wonderland: Bright enough to be seen from outer-space, because aliens need a little holiday cheer, too. Let’s just hope they don’t mistake this light-lined street for a landing strip.

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, December 2, 2016. 1 Comment on Europe’s Crackin’ Christmas Markets. Category: City Break, England, Europe, France, Germany, London, United Kingdom. Tagged: , , , .