Europe's Christmas markets, city by city

Several themed Christmas markets fill Cologne's center, anchored by the Cathedral Market and Heinzel's Winter Fairytale in the Old Town.

Typical season: Late Nov – Dec 23

The Christkindlesmarkt is one of Europe's best-known Christmas markets, centered on Nuremberg's Hauptmarkt and documented since the 1600s.

Typical season: Late Nov – Dec 24

Regensburg offers several different market experiences inside its UNESCO old town, from Neupfarrplatz to the ticketed Romantic Christmas Market at Thurn und Taxis Palace.

Typical season: Late Nov – Dec 23

Rüdesheim's Christmas Market of Nations lines the Drosselgasse with stalls from 25+ countries, in a Rhine-gorge wine town famous for Riesling.

Typical season: Late Nov – Dec 23

Bamberg's Christmas market sits before the UNESCO old town's four-spired cathedral, in a medieval town famous for its smoked beer (Rauchbier).

Typical season: Late Nov – Dec 23

Würzburg's Christmas market sits before the baroque Residenz (UNESCO) and the Marienberg fortress, in Franconian wine country.

Typical season: Late Nov – Dec 23

Passau, where three rivers meet, concentrates its Christmas market in Cathedral Square, with selected Advent organ programs nearby.

Typical season: Late Nov – Dec 23

Speyer's Christmas market sits before its UNESCO Romanesque cathedral, in a 2,000-year-old imperial city on the Upper Rhine.

Typical season: Late Nov – Dec 23

Mainz, Gutenberg's home, hosts a romantic Christmas market around its 1,000-year-old cathedral and the Gutenberg Museum.

Typical season: Late Nov – Dec 23

Koblenz sits at the Deutsches Eck, where the Moselle meets the Rhine, with a Christmas market and a cable car to the Ehrenbreitstein fortress.

Typical season: Late Nov – Dec 23

Miltenberg, the 'Pearl of the Main,' is a perfectly preserved half-timbered town whose tiny Christmas market fills the medieval Hauptplatz.

Typical season: Advent weekends

Frankfurt's Römerberg Christmas market sits in the reconstructed medieval old town, framed by Germany's most famous skyline.

Typical season: Late Nov – Dec 22

Cochem's Reichsburg Castle towers over a half-timbered Moselle wine town whose Advent market fills the medieval marketplace.

Typical season: Advent weekends

Bernkastel-Kues' medieval Marktplatz, framed by half-timbered houses, hosts a romantic Advent market in the heart of Moselle Riesling country.

Typical season: Advent weekends

Trier, founded by the Romans in 16 BC, hosts a Christmas market on its medieval Hauptmarkt beside a UNESCO Romanesque cathedral.

Typical season: Late Nov – Dec 23

Vienna hosts many distinct Christmas markets, from the large Rathausplatz and palace setting at Schönbrunn to the intimate lanes of Spittelberg.

Typical season: Mid-Nov – Dec 26

Salzburg's Christmas markets sit in baroque squares in Mozart's birthplace — and the 'Silent Night' chapel is a short trip away in Oberndorf.

Typical season: Late Nov – Dec 26

Melk Abbey, the baroque masterpiece above the Wachau Valley, hosts Advent markets and overlooks the most beautiful stretch of the Danube.

Typical season: Advent weekends

Strasbourg, the self-proclaimed 'Capital of Christmas,' hosts France's oldest market (since 1570) across its UNESCO old town.

Typical season: Late November to Christmas Eve; check the travel-year calendar

Paris's Christmas markets along the Champs-Élysées and Tuileries, with the Eiffel Tower sparkling on the hour, anchor Seine sailings.

Typical season: Mid-Nov – early Jan

Rouen, where Joan of Arc was martyred, hosts a Christmas market around its Gothic cathedral (painted 30+ times by Monet).

Typical season: Late Nov – Dec 31

Honfleur's Vieux-Bassin harbor, painted by Boudin and Monet, hosts a small Advent market in one of Normandy's prettiest ports.

Typical season: Advent weekends

Lyon, France's gastronomic capital, hosts a Christmas market on Place Carnot during the famous Fête des Lumières festival of lights.

Typical season: Early Dec – late Dec

Avignon's Christmas market sits before the Palais des Papes (the popes' 14th-century palace), with Provençal santons and Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

Typical season: Late Nov – Dec 31

Basel, the eastern anchor of Rhine sailings, hosts two of Switzerland's grandest Christmas markets in its medieval old town.

Typical season: Late Nov – Dec 23

Amsterdam's Christmas markets and the Winter Festival along the illuminated canals are the western anchor of most Rhine sailings.

Typical season: Early Dec – early Jan

Budapest's Vörösmarty Square and Advent Basilica markets anchor a dramatic Danube finale, with the illuminated Parliament and riverfront adding a separate evening highlight.

Typical season: Mid-Nov – Jan 1

Bratislava's old town hosts three compact Christmas markets — Hlavné námestie, Hviezdoslavovo námestie, and the castle — between Vienna and Budapest.

Typical season: Late Nov – Dec 22

Porto's Ribeira district, a UNESCO riverfront of tiled houses, hosts Portugal's coziest Christmas market among the port-wine lodges.

Typical season: Early Dec – early Jan

Salamanca, a UNESCO university city of golden sandstone, hosts a Christmas market in its Plaza Mayor en route up the Douro from Porto.

Typical season: Early Dec – early Jan

Breisach is the river port for Colmar, whose Petite Venise canals host five Christmas markets in a half-timbered Alsatian old town.

Typical season: Late Nov – Dec 30