Best christmas markets

I am a huge fan of christmas. Not the christmas eve itself but I always loved all decorations, candles and the cozy atmosphere lightening up the darkest days of December. Seeing friends and family over a cup of glögg, eating Lucia buns and playing boardgames and chill infront of a chimney could be the very best way to spend a December evening. Or if you go to a christmas market. Here in Stockholm there are quite a few but on ones as great as in other major cities in Europe. I been to quite a few ones and I want to share my top three recommendations if you are in the planning mode for a christmas weekend in Europe. Usually they open the last weekend of November.

Hamburg

The big Weinachtsmarkt at lake Astern in central Hamburg is really one of my top ones. When I lived in Hamburg during christmas 2009 we had afterwork there every weekend in December with my colleagues at Lufthansa to drink glühwein and socialize. The locations perfect just in the city center and even though it is not snowing that often it really feels like christmas to go there. There are also quite a few other christmas markets in Hamburg worth a visit, for example there is a quite big one in the more alternative neighborhood of St Pauli and I also remember there was one at the main shopping street Mönckenbecksstrasse. (Ps: the picture is from roncalli.de)

Weisbadener

Drinking glühwein is the main thing on christmas markets and all christmas markets in Germany has their own kind. Two years ago I was visiting my friends in Frankfurt and we had a christmas weekend going to christmas markets. One of the favorite ones we went to in the region was the one in Wiesbaden. That one was very big but it was still cozy. The town of Wiesbaden was also very cute and this is definitely a place I could recommend going to during christmas. People often forget about Frankfurt when going to Germany but there are loads of great places to explore in the area outside of the huge airport.

London

I never thought about London as a destination to visit to get the christmas feeling but last year I went there in December and it was such a great place during December. There were christmas lights everywhere, loads of gorgeous decorated trees and the very best thing was the christmas market at Somerset house. In addition to being a place where you could enjoy a cup of glühwein you could also ice skate (if you prebook or wait for hours). We did unfortunately missed out the last detail so we had to watch the other skaters but it was a great place that I would more than recommend in order to get some christmas spirit. Here you can read more about how to spend a christmas weekend in London.

What about you christmas lovers? or are you christmas haters? Do you have any favorite christmas markets in Europe that I need to put up on my bucket list?

/ Pernilla in christmas mode