Friday, December 2, 2011

2011 Christmas Market Roundup

My dad at the Strasbourg Marché de Noël
I’m just going to come right out and admit it. I’m a Christmas market junkie. I love the wooden chalets, I love the lights, the festive tunes, the holiday bustle, the treats and of course, the glühwein (or vin chaud, depending on where you’re sipping it).

Last year, in addition to Luxembourg Ville, we enjoyed visiting the markets in Trier, KasselBad Hersfeld, Strasbourg, Maastricht, Valkenburg, and (pausing for a breath) Montreux. If you’re heading to any of those for the first time, I’m happy to share thoughts or recommendations for all of them if you e-mail me at luxemblogger@gmail.com.

On tap for us this December: Köln, Brussels, small towns in Alsace and the Black Forest, Stockholm, Paris and Besançon – whew! (Something tells me that I’m going to need to borrow a pair of pants from Santa Claus himself by the time this month is over…)

If you have nearby markets to add to the list or any tips, recommendations or maybe a glühwein recipe to share, please contribute to the comments section below!

Joyeux Noël!

Luxembourg

When: December 11, from 10am-8pm
These trees got the moves like Jagger.
What: Weihnachtsmarkt, the town’s Christmas market. 
Visit the Clervaux tourism web site here

Cruchten
When: December 11
What: Marché de Noël à Cruchten
Where: Centre Culturel Cruchten on the Rue de l'Eglise

What: The annual Diekirch Christmas fair weekend.
When: December 17-18, 11am to 6pm both days. More information at this link.

What: The town’s 35th annual Christmas market offers all the traditional treats and trimmings, in addition to cross country skiing and a toboggan run.
When: The Christmas Market runs from December 2 - 23 from 3pm to 7pm daily (8pm on Fridays)
Cross-country skiing and the toboggan run are available from December 10 to 23, from 3pm to 7pm on Mon-Thurs, 3pm-8pm on Fridays and 10am-7pm on Saturdays and Sundays. More information online here

What: Medieval Christmas Market
When: December 9 to 18 from 4pm-8pm on Mon-Fri, Saturdays from 2pm-9pm and Sundays from 2pm-7pm. More information available here - and be sure to check out their festive video. 

When: December 9, 10, 11
What: "Chrestmoart an Eechternoach," the annual Echternach weekend Christmas market. Click here to view this and other Christmas events on the December agenda.

What: Escher Krëschtmoart, the town’s annual Christmas market
When: Opens at 5pm on Nov. 18, runs through January 2. Full market event schedule here.
Where: Esch-sur-Alzette, in the square in front of the Hôtel de Ville
Maastricht

When: December 2-4
What: Ettelbruck’s Christmas market weekend. The firefighters are offering a three course lunch for 15€, view the menu here (in Luxembourgish…but with pictures!). Or, view the fuller agenda here.

When: December 10-11
What: Chrëstmoart, weekend Christmas market in Grevenmacher. You can find a few more details here

When: December 3, starting at 3pm
What: Chrëschtmaart, the town’s one-day Christmas market. View the agenda here.

When: November 25 to January 1, 11am to 8pm daily. Markets are closed on Christmas Day. 
What: Luxembourg Ville's Winterlights is a festival of markets, concerts, and a Christmas circus. Weihnachtsmärkte in centre ville on the Place d'Armes is the main show, with plenty to eat, drink and several chalets to wander. Concerts daily. The Saint Nikolaus Markt is smaller and located toward the train station on Place de Paris (it closes Dec. 23). For a complete list of events, view the brochure online, here.

Mondorf-les-Bains
When: December 10 to 18, weekdays from 3pm to 7pm and Saturdays and Sundays from 12pm to 8pm.
What: The annual Christmas market in Mondorf-les-Bains
Where: Place des Villes Jumelées

Remich
What: Annual Christmas market and outdoor ice skating rink
When: December 3 to 23. Ice skating rink is open Sundays through Fridays from 2-8pm and on Saturdays from 10am-9pm.

When: December 9-10
What: The annual Wiltz Christmas market, complete with something called "ice smashing." (If you go, will you e-mail to let me know what that is - with a photo, if possible?) View the agenda here

When: December 10 & 11 from 3pm – 6pm
What: Magie d’un Noel Feerique, an afternoon of artisans selling crafts and foods at 30 different stalls and jazzy Christmas music. Takes place at the Vianden Castle and more information can be found here.

Germany

When: November 21 to December 22
Kassel
Monday through Wednesday: 10:30 a.m. - 8:30 p.m., Thursday through Saturday: 10:30 a.m. - 9:30 p.m., Sunday: 11:00 a.m. - 8:30 p.m.
What: The Trier Weihnachtsmarkt is scattered throughout the downtown pedestrian area and boasts more than 95 booths. For more information, visit the Trier Christmas market web page (in English). And don’t forget, CFL runs a special 8€ one-day ticket to/from Trier, details here.

When: November 24 to December 18, daily starting at 11am. 
What: Cochem’s annual Christmas market. On Dec. 10 and 11, you can be part of the castle Christmas festival, Cochemer Burgweihnacht, where actors and animals will perform a living nativity and treats and other Christmas items for sale. Entry is 5€ adults, 3€ kids or 14€ for a family. Burgweihnacht info is at this link
View the Christmas market program here (in German) 
Note that the CFL runs a special one-day ticket from Luxembourg for 23€, details here.

When: November 25 to December 18
What: Wittlich Weihnachtsmarkt, in the historic downtown from 11am until 7:30pm daily.
The CFL runs a one day train ticket special for 14€, details here. More information is available here (in German), and if Google Translate got the translation right, it looks like there are free pony rides on the weekends…which is obviously awesome.

When: November 18 to Dec. 22, from 10am-8pm on Monday-Thursday, from 10am-9pm on Friday and Saturday and 11am-8pm on Sundays.
What: More than 130 stalls and Christmas decorations galore at the Koblenz annual Christmas market.
For more information, click here (in German). And remember: the CFL offers a special one-day ticket to Koblenz from Luxembourg for 32€ round trip, here. Or, if you’re traveling within one day with up to 5 friends, you can take advantage of the Rhineland-Pfalz one day ticket. Check out my previous blog post on that, here.

When: November 21 to December 23, 11am to 10pm daily.
What: Seven markets scattered throughout old town and surrounding areas make up the Kölner Weihnachtsmarkt. More details on this web site (in English), or view a printable map of the seven markets here.
CFL offers a special Luxembourg to Cologne train ticket for 19€ each way, details here.

When: November 24 to December 23
What: Saarbrücken’s annual Weihnachtsmarkt.
View the Weihnachtsmarkt web site here (in German). CFL offers a one-day 14€ round-trip bus ticket. Click here for info.

Belgium
Montreux

When: December 16, 17, 18
What: Arlon’s annual weekend Christmas market. 40 vendors will be selling their wares all weekend and for the opening on Friday, Dec. 16th, you’ll find fire eaters and jugglers between 4pm and 10pm, and Old Saint Nick will make a special appearance for the market opening at 6:30pm that day. A few more details can be found here (in French).
CFL runs a special one-day train ticket to/from Arlon for 9,80€, details here.

When: November 25 to January 1, on Mondays to Thursdays from 12pm to 9pm and Fridays to Sundays from 11am to 10pm.
What: The web site promises “2km of fun,” with hundreds of chalets, ice skating, a ferris wheel and tons of other activities. And every night at 8pm, 9pm and 10pm you can enjoy “Nuits Electrabel” a laser light show on the Grand Place. For lots more information, check out their terrific web site, here (in English).
CFL offers a round trip ticket to anywhere in Belgium for 41€ for a single traveler, 60€ for two people and 79€ for three people, details here

When: November 25 to December 30, open from 11am to 10pm on Mondays – Wednesdays, 11am until midnight on Thursdays to Saturdays, and Sundays from 11am to 10pm
What: Liège’s Cité de Noël - Village de Noël. It’s the 25th anniversary of the Christmas market here, complete with 200 chalets and a large sledding run. Find more information about the market at this link (in French).

France
Valkenburg

When: November 19 to December 29
What: Five markets make up the Metz Marché Noël. Check out this link for a map and additional details.
CFL offers a one-day train ticket special to Metz for 16€, details here

When: November 24 to December 24, daily from 10am to 7pm.
What: Nancy’s annual Marché Noël. View a map and a lovely little movie at this link
CFL offers a one-day train ticket special to Nancy for 21,40€, details here

When: December 10 and 11, from 4pm –11pm on Saturday from 11am – 6pm on Sunday.
What: Rodemack’s medieval Christmas market. For more information, click here (in French).  


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  1. I wish we were coming to visit this month - these markets all sound great! Enjoy the festivities!

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