Plan Now for Christmas Markets in Germany

After two years of cancellations, Stuttgart and its surrounding towns celebrate the coming season with their traditional Christmas markets. The comeback will be spectacular, making it a good year for family travel to Germany for these December festivals.

In the heart of Stuttgart’s old town, between New Palace and the marketplace and all around the Old Palace, nearly 300 wooden cabins spring up, topped with evergreen boughs and bright decorations. These are filled with gifts, handcrafts, Christmas tree ornaments, holiday decorations, sweet treats and foods. Shoppers browse as they munch on sizzling sausages and warm their hands around mugs of hot mulled wine.

Your children will find an entire market just for them, with a tiny village they can ride through on a genuine miniature steam train. Activities there are designed for little hands, and they can make Christmas cookies, candles and other gifts. The Nativity scene there even features live animals as well as a kid-friendly ice-skating rink.

A short ride on Stuttgart’s easy-to-use transit system takes you to one of Germany’s loveliest Christmas markets in the Baroque town square of nearby Ludwigsburg. Here, a more limited number of vendors are carefully chosen for their handmade or locally produced goods. Food specialties include authentic gingerbread from Nuremberg.

Your family can step back into the Middle Ages in nearby Esslingen, where an entire section is dedicated to replicating a medieval marketplace where blacksmiths, basket makers, wood carvers, bakers and glass blowers demonstrate their crafts and sell beautifully handmade treasures. Jugglers and stilt walkers entertain, and kids can try games and amusements popular 600 years ago.