The 12 most beautiful Christmas markets in Bavaria

Photo by lex_t

We have picked out the 12 most beautiful and prominent Christmas markets in Bavaria for you, which thousands of guests from Germany and abroad prefer to visit.

With our tips and information, you will quickly find the way to "your" Christmas market.

The Berchtesgadener Advent

Opening times (November 26 - December 31):
● Weekdays: midday - 8 p.m.
● Saturday and Sunday: 11 a.m. - 8 p.m.
● From December 26 until 6 p.m. / 24.12. and December 31 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
● Closed: December 25

In 2017, the Berchtesgaden Advent won with over 48 percent of the votes in the large Advent market voting in the south. Here prevails a very special atmosphere: the idyllic setting for the Berchtesgaden Advent is the unique backdrop of the Royal Palace and the historic houses.

The following attractions await you at the Berchtesgaden Advent:

● Horse-drawn carriage rides: daily between 2 and 5 p.m., except on the 5, 6, 24 and 31 December;
● Show carving: discover the centuries-old art of carving in Berchtesgaden;
● Böllerschießen - Berchtesgaden Christmas shooters on the Lockstein: in the last week before Christmas Eve, at 3 p.m.

● Historical market tours with the nightwatchman Anna Glossner:
· Every Friday at 5 p.m.
· Meeting point: at the Schlossplatz
· Fee: 5 euros

● Pastoral and nativity plays from local schools and kindergartens, music and singing groups: daily at the Schlossplatz;
● Craftsmanship: living wooden crafts from the Berchtesgaden craft guild. It shows what woodturners, carvers, crib builders, Fleitl and box makers still produce today;
● The blower of the bell tower of the collegiate church: every Saturday and Sunday at 2.30 p.m.;
● Raffle for the Berchtesgaden advent calendar: every Saturday at 5:00 p.m.;
● Visit the Nikolaus market with its Buttnmandl and Kramperl: on December 5 and 6.

For children there are:
● Christmas tree labyrinth;
● Painting workshop;
● Children's bakery;
● Living crib: a stable with animals.

Discover the Berchtesgaden Emmaus circular route (Emmaus, a village near Jerusalem, has become the symbol of the encounter with Christ), which leads from the Stiftskirche at Schloßplatz to the Franziskanerklosterkirche, via the Christuskirche to the Kalvarienberg. We recommend you to take a flashlight with you! Duration: approx. 1 hour, follow the signs "Berchtesgadener Emmaus-Rundweg"

Lindau’s Harbour Christmas Market

Opening times: November 26 - December 20, 2020: Always from Thursday to Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

The tour with the nightwatchman takes place every Friday on 27.11. as well as on 4., 11. und 18.12.2020 at 5 p.m.

The meeting point for all appointments is in front of the large stairs at the Old Town Hall.

*Fee: 8 euros per person, all tours are held in German.

Enjoy the view from the lake during Advent cruises by boat from November 26 to December 20, 2020, and experience the winter magic with the Lake Constance shipping companies.

When and where: Saturdays and Sundays at 2:00 p.m., from the ports of Constance and Lindau.

The journey takes two hours, a cup of coffee or tea with a delicious piece of cake is included in the price. Adults € 24.00. Tickets are available at the Tourist Information at Alfred-Nobel-Platz 1 or directly on board.

The journey's duration is two hours, a cup of coffee or tea with a delicious piece of cake are included in the price. Adults € 24.00. Tickets are available at the Tourist Information Office at Alfred-Nobel-Platz 1 or directly on board.

* For information: You will find the Lindauer Tourist Information directly in front of the Insel-Bahnhof. The Tourist Information Office is open on Thursdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Romantic Christmas market at Castle Thurn & Taxis

The Christmas market takes place in a lovingly designed Christmas village in a picturesque castle setting, where you can expect the following festive surprises:

● The opportunity to be carried away in the time of horse-drawn carriages, noblemen and court ladies;
● Soft atmospheric light from countless candles, lanterns, and torches;
● Wooden Christmas-decorated houses;
● Beautifully decorated Christmas tree;
● I.D. Duchess Gloria von Thurn and Taxis together with her family, who always intermingle with the guests;
● Long forgotten or dying handicraft, especially from the Bavarian Forest, such as goldsmith, furrier, soap manufacturer;
● The opportunity to rent lovingly decorated wooden houses heated with a rustic wood stove for your private or business celebration (for 12, 24, or 55 people). Further information at: Telephone: +49 (0) 941 46521180, email: Catering@Party-Engel.de - keyword "Christmas party";
● For children, there is Children's magic forest with nostalgic rides in an enchanting atmosphere!

Entrance fees

Adults:
● Monday: € 4.00
● Tuesday-Friday: € 7.00
● Saturday – Sunday: € 9.50
● Night owls Sunday-Thursday from 8 p.m.: € 3.00
● Night owls Friday & Saturday from 9 p.m.: 5.00 €

Children:
● (6 to 16 years) € 2.00
● People with disabilities: € 2.00

Birthday children upon submission of their ID card: free entry.

In the evenings, you can enjoy the Christmas market at a reduced night owl rate:

º Sunday-Thursday from 8 p.m.: € 3.00
º Night owls Friday & Saturday from 9 p.m.: 5.00 €

The Christkindlesmarkt in Nuremberg

There are many good reasons to discover the Christkindlesmarkt in Nuremberg for yourself every year

● Nuremberg sausages
The famous 9 cm small Nuremberg grilled sausages are even sold in organic quality as "3 im Weggla", ie 3 fried sausages in a roll.

● Nuremberg Elisen gingerbread
Nuremberg gingerbread has been made for over 600 years. They are available here in all conceivable sizes and types. A delicious souvenir for loved ones at home.

● Nostalgic time travel with the stagecoach
The stagecoach drives you stylishly past the Nuremberg sights, and the Postillion plays Christmas carols on the trumpet.

● Partner Cities Market 27.11. until 23.12, 2020
Here you will find great gift ideas, partner cities of Nuremberg, selling products from all over the world.

● Nuremberg Christ Child
Every week from Tuesday to Friday, Christkind visits the Christkindlesmarkt in Nuremberg at 3 p.m., chats with its guests, take photos with them and accepts wish lists from adults and children.

● Christmas decorations made of glass and wood in all shapes and colors
A famous Nuremberg Christmas decoration is the Nuremberg "Rauschgoldengel".

● Nuremberg Zwetschgenmännle (Prune man)
Made from dried prunes and figs, as a piano player, waiter, football player, or in numerous other costumes.

● The most beautiful view of the Christkindlesmarkt from the Frauenkirche gallery
Visit the "Christkindles-Blick" exhibition in the Frauenkirche and get access to the gallery from where the Christkind opens the Christkindlesmarkt every year.

● Children's Christmas
It is an unforgettable experience for both children and adults with a beautiful nostalgia carousel, a Christmas bakery, the star house, and much more!

● Mulled wine
In addition to traditional mulled wine, there are also children's punch, white mulled wine, and local berry mulled wine. The mulled wine cups are designed each year differently and are popular as collectibles or souvenirs.

Be sure to try the world-famous Nuremberg gingerbread, which taste incredibly good!

Christmas Experience Market Bad Hindelang

Opening times:
● from 27.11 to 06.12.2020
● Monday - Friday from 2:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
● Saturday and Sunday 10:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Visit the unique Christmas experience market in Bad Hindelang in the Allgäu and discover a world full of magic, sparkling lights, and fairytale magic.
The following encounters and experiences await you:

The following encounters and experiences await you

● Festive removal of the Christmas village: at 6:00 p.m. The Christ child with the other stroke, the Christmas market and the place where the lights are in the sea of lights with around 200,000 lamps

● The enchanted world of fairy tales and legends: every Friday and Sunday, 150 characters move through the dreamy Christmas village - true angels, elves, nutcrackers, snow queens, grandfather Frost and many more

● The last song "Silent Night" became already 200 years old in 2018.

Showtimes 2020 - Kurhaus Bad Hindelang

• 27.11.2020 3:30 p.m.
• 27.11.2020 7:30 p.m.
• 28.11.2020 3:30 p.m.
• 28.11.2020 7:30 p.m.
• 29.11.2020 3:30 p.m.
• 02.12.2020 5 p.m.
• 03.12.2020 5 p.m.
• 04.12.2020 3:30 p.m.
• 04.12.2020 7:30 p.m.
• 05.12.2020 3:30 p.m.
• 05.12.2020 7:30 p.m.
• 06.12.2020 3:30 p.m.
* Ticket prices from 28 euros

There is a special children's Christmas market here with:

● Wichtel Bear House, where you can stuff your own teddy bear
● Villa Kunterbunt, where Pippi, Tommi, and Annika tell you adventurous stories
● Angel workshop, where you can make great gifts for Christmas
● Heaven Post Office, where you can write a wish list with an angel and send it to the Christ Child
● Candle house, where you can draw a candle
● Mini hut with delicious sweets to buy.
● Animal stables: in front of the parsonage with donkeys and sheep, on the church wall with dwarf goats, on the Christmas forest at the farmers' market with sheep families.

Come on Tuesday, 01.12.2020 for Children's Day, where numerous surprises await you from 2 to 6 p.m., such as baking cookies with Pippi, Tommi, and Annika in the Kurhaus, nostalgia children's carousel (ride free), children's theatre "Princess on the Pea" and much more.

Christmas market on the Fraueninsel/Chiemsee

Opening times:
● On the first and second weekend of Advent
● 27.11. - 29.11.2020 and 04.12. - 06.12.2020
● Friday: from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.
● Saturday and Sunday: from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m.

At Christmas time, the Fraueninsel in Chiemsee becomes a romantic winter fairy tale. You will surely find a suitable gift here because around 90 Christmas stalls offer the most beautiful things:

● the finest handicrafts
● various jewelry
● scenting delicacies
● At the stand with live alpacas, you can observe the animals and buy a variety of products made from their wool.

*Advent concerts in Inselmünster are a special experience.

In the program

● Saturday, 28.11.2020, 2 p.m. - Old Bavarian Advent with BR moderator Wolfgang Binder
Admission: 22 euros

● Sunday, 29.11.2020, 2 p.m. - Classic Advent concert
Admission: 18 euros

● Saturday, 04.12.020, 2 p.m. - Alpine Advent concert
Admission: 18 euros

● Sunday, 06.12.2020, 2 p.m. - Alpine Advent concert
Admission: 18 euros

You can get tickets at the Prien ticket office, Alte Rathausstraße 11, by phone at +49 8051 965660 or online at ticketservice@tourismus.prien.de and at all ticket sales points in Munich.

Try gingerbread and marzipan from the monastery sisters of the Frauenwöhr/Frauenchiemsee Abbey, which are prepared according to old secret recipes.

Arrival tip:
With a combi-ticket, you can comfortably get from the Prien am Chiemsee train station to the Prien/Stock harbor by RVO shuttle bus or the “Winterdampf-Bockerl” and then directly to the Fraueninsel by boat. Combined ticket adults € 12.30, children € 6.10. When: 29.11. - 01.12./06.12. - 08.12.2019.

Augsburg Christkindlesmarkt

The Augsburg Christkindlesmarkt on Rathausplatz is one of the oldest Christmas markets in Germany, with a tradition going back over 500 years.

In more than 150 stalls with handicrafts, heavenly treats, and hot mulled wine you will find a rich and special offer of Christmas items.

A special highlight is the well-known and unique angelic game on the town hall balcony. Next to the Christmas tree, you will find an eight-meter high Christmas pyramid with angel figures, which is considered a reference to the traditional angel play.

23 angels transform the dreamlike town hall backdrop into a huge advent calendar based on the painting by Hans Holbein.

Dates Engelesspiel 2020:
● at 6:00 p.m. on the following dates.
● Mon 24.11.
● Fri 27.11. | Sat 28.11. | Sun 29.11.
● Fri 04.12. | Sat 05.12. | Sun 06.12.
● Fri 11.12. | Sat 12.12. | Sun 13.12.
● Fri 18.12. | Sat 19.12. | Sun 20.12.

Be sure to visit the Augsburg fairy tale streets, where many scenes from famous fairy tales are shown in the adjacent shop windows around the market.

Besides, children can win attractive prizes in a puzzle game with questions about the "Augsburg Fairy Tale Route".
Participation cards are available at the Tourist Info on Rathausplatz, and at the Himmlischen Postamt on Christkindlesmarkt, and at Wöhrl in Bürgermeister-Fischer-Straße.

Rothenburg Reiterlesmarkt

On November 27, at 4:45 p.m., the church bells of St. Jakob ring the Christmas market, and the Rothenburger Reiterle speaks its festive prologue.

According to Germanic mythology, the "Reiterle" is like Santa Claus and a lucky figure who has become a friendly courier for everyone. Children receive Christmas presents, sweets and other presents on the light train from the "Rothenburger Reiterle".

Visit one of the numerous daily events offered at the Reiterlesmarkt.

Daily events

● 11 a.m. Marktplatz: City tour, until 06.01.2021, not on 24. – 26.12.2020
● 11 a.m. St. Jakobs Church: Church tour, until 06.01.2021
● 2 p.m. Marktplatz: City tour, until 23.12. and from 27. – 31.12.
● 2.30 p.m. St. Jakobs Church: Church tour, until 06.01.2021
● 4.30 p.m. Reiterlesmarkt: tour of the Pelzmärtel, until 23.12.
● 5 p.m. Reiterlesmarkt: The new Advent window lights up, from 01.12.
● 5.30 p.m. Reiterlesmarkt: brass concert, until 23.12.
● 6 p.m. Market square "Rathaus Arkaden": ghost tour with the executioner, except on 223./24./25./26./31.12.
● 9:30 p.m. Marketplace: Guided tour with the nightwatchman, except 24./31.12.

Daily exhibitions

● Christmas cribs in the courtyard of the town hall in the Jakobs Church, Franciscan Church, St. Johannis Church, Holy Spirit Church
● Photo exhibition "Rothenburg a different view": 1. – 22.12.2020, Saturday and Sunday 1 p.m. - 5 p.m., longer on Thursday 17.12.2020, 9 p.m. - 9 p.m.
● "On the way from picturesque Rothenburg views to modernity - Walter John's way to abstraction", Galerie John, Herrngasse 27, until 31.12.2021, Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. - 3.30 p.m.

For children

● In the "village of the Christmas elves" in the city library, children from the age of 4 can join in and help the village to grow. The children get: the handicraft material, a sweet surprise, at the end of the campaign three prize vouchers will be raffled off.
When: from December 2 to 23, Monday and Thursday 1.30 p.m. to 6.30 p.m., Tuesday and Friday 10 a.m. to 6.30 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Christmas Village in the Munich Residence

What the Christmas village has to offer

● Beautiful fairytale forest with speaking characters who tell their stories to the children and remind adults of their own childhood;
● The complete farming village, built especially for this event, with a small chapel that houses a life-size crib under the bell tower;
● Craftsmanship: Here you can look over the shoulders of goldsmiths or glassblowers;
● Live music programs on a round stage in the middle of the Kaiserhof: daily between 4:00 p.m. and 4:45 p.m.;
● For children: puppet theatre at 2:30 p.m., exact dates will be published later;
● On 05.12 and 06.12 at 5 p.m. you will definitely meet Santa Claus, who is bestowing the children;
● Families can take a photo for free on a 200-year-old sledge, with reindeers and Santa Claus.

If you like to be among people, we recommend visiting in the afternoon. If you prefer something more comfortable and quiet, come by at noon.

Medieval market at Wittelsbacherplatz in Munich

What is offered

● Find out how Christmas was celebrated 500 years ago.
● The Munich Advent Spectacle shows what the Nikolausdulten looked like, where the roots of the Christkindelsmarkt go.
● Knights, noblewomen, jugglers, and market people from an impressive world of a bygone era.
● The captivating artist shows;
● magic;
● Morisko dancers, musical performances on old instruments;
● handicrafts such as forging or glass blowing;
● A journey of discovery into the past with a variety of typical food and drinks;
● Unique music: medieval rock, pagan and folk;
● Current culinary trends: there is even a large offer for vegans, in the “Knödelstube, e.g. a large bread dumpling with meat-free gravy. At the other end of the market, you get Feuerzangenbowle in a surprisingly large clay cup.

* For information: The framework program only takes place on weekends. Admission is free.

Why you should definitely pay a visit? There are many beautiful Christmas markets, but only a medieval Advent spectacle with jugglers, knights, and fair maidens.

Christmas market in Dinkelsbühl

The charming Christmas market in the historic Spitalhof has prepared the following for you:

● Artisan market: unique items made of wood, clay, paper, textile, felt, and much more.
Opening times: Monday to Friday 1 p.m. - 8 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m. - 8 p.m.
● Extended Christmas market in the Christmas courtyard from 26.12.2020 to 01.01.2020
● In the basement under the old town hall, there is a creative offer for children and all young at heart, where “LandArt” is created - beautiful things made of natural materials
Opening times: daily 1 p.m. - 7 p.m., except on 31.12, 1 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Long shopping night on 05.12.2020, open until 10:00 p.m., with competitions, raffles.
● Guided tour of the historic old town from Münster St. Georg
Daily at 11:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., 5.00 euros per person
● Santa Claus comes to the Christmas market and gives small gifts to the children
Daily at 5:30 p.m.
● Christmas program with brass bands, choirs and much more, on stage on the Christmas market
Daily at 5.30 p.m.
● "Organ at half" 30 minutes of organ music on the large Riegel organ, Münster St. Georg
Fridays at 2.30 p.m.
● Musical chorale blowing from the tower of the St. Georg cathedral
Sundays at 4 p.m.
● Guided tour of the House of History, 7 euros per person
Saturdays at 3 p.m.
● Tour with the nightwatchman from Münster St. Georg
Friday and Saturday at 9 p.m.
● Family theatre "On the ark at eight" 11.11 - 23.12 (dates - see event calendar).

The visit of the St. Georg cathedral with the almost 60 square meter crib, which relocates the Christmas scene into the scenery of the old town of Dinkelsbühl, is particularly beautiful.

German-American Christmas market in Pullman City

Eging am See, Lower Bavaria

The colorful German-American Christmas market - Sea of Lights in the Wild West - opens its doors from November 15t.

The whole western city is typically American illuminated with millions of colored lights, it glitters and sparkles at all corners. Here you can enjoy:

● Musical Country Christmas shows with a typical American pre-Christmas flair.
● pre-Christmas flair.
● Willie Jones, the singing Santa Claus.
● Pullman City mascot.
● Giant plush toys "Frosty, the Snowman & friends".

Tip for children:
In the show arena, Santa Claus and Nikolaus bestow children with small gifts.
In the kids club, tinkering and baking are offered.

The program

● The program item "Christmas Memories" takes viewers on a small world tour through the Christmas customs of different countries.
● The fairytale Christmas forest invites you to a romantic tour away from the main street.
● In the rustic Hudson Bay tavern, children hear stories about the mystical fairy world.
● Christmas stalls in Main Street.
● Mulled wine, punch, culinary delights, and creative handicrafts on the many stands and stalls to buy.
● The opportunity to look over the shoulder of a blacksmith and a turner and to blow a heart out of the glass at a stand of Joska Glasparadies.
● In the evening there are live bands on stage.

Discover a very special fairytale forest circular walk, where you can meet many well-known fairy-tale characters such as Frau Holle, Snow White, or Rumpelstiltskin and the light tunnel - an amazing attraction for young and old.