I love Christmas markets and wanted to take my kids. Then I took them to the one in Baltimore, and they were so miserable in the cold even with hot chocolates and other treats that I decided to skip the ones in Europe. The Baltimore market actually does have some of the same German vendors. It’s not a bad test to see if the kids would like it.

I do think kids would like the spa at Baden-Baden in winter.

I live in Europe and this something we would do just as a weekend trip because others have mentioned it gets repetitive and also really crowded.

My 5 year old enjoyed Cologne. There are a half dozen markets, so we did a couple markets during the day and then - this is important - went to the big evening ones with rides and ice skating early before the crowds got super-crushing.

The Eurostar runs Paris to Cologne, so I’d do a Paris-focused trip with a 2-night detour to Cologne (or Strasbourg) did the markets. Just make sure to book ASAP as trains and hotels sell out.

Anonymous wrote:We went when my son was 5 and he had a blast. Wants to go back now as a teen. We went to Rothenburg and Nuremberg with other stops along the way by car. Rothenburg felt like being in a fairytale to him. Highly recommend the nightwatchman tour. Nuremberg has several markets and one is a children's market with rides. They also have a train museum that he loved. He's a pretty seasoned traveler and just loves to eat, so as long as we fed him every two hours, which is easy to go at the markets, he was great.

+1 The towns along the Romantic Road are lovely.

We haven't been at Christmas but I also LOVE Copenhagen with kids.

I love Christmas markets!! I traveled to Heidelberg, Alsace-France (based ourselves in Colmar), Paris, Copenhagen, Hamburg, and Bremen.

1st trip my kids were 4 & 7 and the 2nd year my kids were 5 & 8.

I think they were all great with kids. Heidelberg was beautiful, there was ice skating, lots of great rides, beautiful decorations, great food and drinks, and we all enjoyed doing a little shopping and just seeing what they had. Some of the rides were Christmas themed and was so fun for my kids! My kids were not bored but we kept busy with a variety of activities...not just wandering around rows of shops.

Colmar is delightful with little kids, as there are rides basically everywhere and it feels like you are in a fairytale and is very walkable. I didn't find it as crowded as Strasbourg, which was too overwhelming for us with how crowded it was (I love Strasbourg as a city though). The food was delicious, there was a really fun ice skating rink along with a carousel bar (it spins slowly and my kids got this elaborate hot chocolate lol) and a mini roller coaster next to it. The little villages were cool too but had a little less for kids but still fun for short visits.

Paris was less about Christmas markets for us but we did enjoy wandering around and found some great food. We did a lot in Paris anyways and if you happen to be there on December 26th, musee des arts forains should have their holiday festival that is so unique and fun....one of our favorite parts.

Copenhagen: the markets end earlier than in a lot of places in germany/france and they are not as rowdy but there is a ton to do at Christmas! I utterly love Copenhagen with kids. The food was delicious, Tivoli gardens is completely magical, there are multiple places to go ice skating that was magical, and the zoo has a really cool mini market and lights, ect. We traveled from Copenhagen to Hamburg as we thought we wouldn't have enough to do for our entire trip in Copenhagen but honestly, we would have been totally good. Hamburg was really cool, the markets were great again and it was a different vibe and maybe more relaxed?? Bremen was beautiful.

The trick is mixing it up a bit and trying different foods, listening to music together, going ice skating, exploring the city a bit and going to a museum or something else (maybe an indoor play area, ect.). My kids absolutely loved our trips.

We go to Christmas markets every year now as part of a holiday trip. We visited Philadelphia last year and the market was pretty decent (way better than dc) but we added in lots of other activities....we had plenty to do. Quebec city- also fun but there aren't children's rides but there is lots of ice skating and snow play.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is this the era of all the white instagram girlies discovering Christmas markets?

Late-stage capitalism makes everything so predictable.

OP here— I don’t know about the IG girlies. I’m just a well traveled Black woman trying to get perspectives on family trips that might be fun to try. Thanks for others who offered helpful feedback.

Sorry OP, I swear some bored people just come on here to snark! I do agree with the suggestion to pick somewhere that interests you in general and treat the markets an add-on rather than the sole focus. We have family in Poland and one year went to Wroclaw and then onward to Dresden. Wroclaw was fun for the kids because there were rides and food they liked. Shopping wise it wasn't awesome but it's beautiful and a fun little city in general for a couple days. Dresden was more traditional and better for shopping and the city also has a lot of other activities. Neither of these are probably convenient for visitng from the US but just an example. I think something like Munich + another smaller city by train could be fun. Good luck!

Anonymous wrote:Please don't. Not everything is geared towards bored kids.

+1. Don’t create an entire itinerary around going to a Christmas market or many markets with kids. Good for maybe a few hours but that’s it. This isn’t going to be a Hallmark movie moment - they are often crowded, long lines and filled with Chinese junk.

Please don't. Not everything is geared towards bored kids.