Advent Weekends in Europe: Three Christmas Markets in Four Days

Take a Friday to Monday, pick one of three rail routes, and you can see three Christmas markets in four days without a single flight between them: Vienna, Salzburg and Munich; Prague, Dresden and Nuremberg; or Cologne, Aachen and Brussels. On all four Advent weekends of 2026 (27 to 29 November, 4 to 6 December, 11 to 13 December and 18 to 20 December) every market on all three routes is open, with one catch: Prague's two big markets do not open until Saturday 28 November. Dates and hours checked in September 2026. The train between Dresden and Nuremberg is the weak link of route two, so read that section before you book.

Disclosure: Ciceru earns a commission if you book luggage storage through our Radical Storage link, and you get 10% off. It does not change what we recommend.

Every stop has a Ciceru walk for the daytime, listed at the end: a self-guided walk in the Ciceru app, with a story and a quiz question at each stop and a free 500 MB global eSIM. Choosing between single cities instead? The Christmas markets Europe 2026 calendar lists every opening date.

• Advent Sundays 2026: 29 November (the first), then 6, 13 and 20 December
• Route one, Vienna, Salzburg, Munich: the easiest for a first trip. Vienna to Salzburg is about 2 hours 20 by direct train, Salzburg to Munich about 1 hour 45 to 2 hours
• Route two, Prague, Dresden, Nuremberg: the best mix of price and craft stalls, but Dresden to Nuremberg is about 4 hours with a change. Start on 4 December or later
• Route three, Cologne, Aachen, Brussels: the shortest hops, and the only route where Bruges is an easy extra. Any weekend from 27 November
• Ceiling: one city a day and two markets at most. More than that turns into a queue with a mug
• Bags: hand luggage only, or store the big case on transfer days

One market is a two-hour job. You walk it, drink something hot, eat one thing, buy one thing, and by the second mug you are repeating yourself. The second and third city are what change the trip, because the markets stop looking alike. Vienna's Rathausplatz runs until 22:00 every day and Munich's Marienplatz closes at 21:00. Salzburg's stays open to 1 January. Dresden's Striezelmarkt is in its 592nd edition, Brussels has 238 chalets and a nightly light show on the Grand-Place. Three cities in four days gives you that contrast without a wasted evening.

Which weekend? All dates below come from organisers or city tourist boards.

• 🗓️ 27 to 29 November: everything is open except Prague's two big markets, which start on Saturday 28 November. Nuremberg and Brussels both open on Friday 27 November. On the routes below you reach them later in the weekend, so expect first-weekend crowds
• 🗓️ 4 to 6 December: the first weekend when every market on all three routes is open all weekend. Salzburg has a Krampus run on 5 December at 18:30, according to the city's tourist board
• 🗓️ 11 to 13 December: Aachen's market stays open until 22:00 on Saturday 12 December, an hour later than usual
• 🗓️ 18 to 20 December: the last full weekend. Every market here is still open, and by Sunday 20 December you are four days from the end of most of them. Book everything early

The classic, and the one with the fewest surprises. All three sit on one direct-train corridor.

• Friday, Vienna. The Rathausplatz market runs 13 November to 26 December, daily 10:00 to 22:00, closing at 18:30 on 24 December. For the rest of the city's markets, see what stays open in Vienna and Vienna in December
• Saturday, Vienna to Salzburg. Take a morning train and be in Salzburg by lunchtime. The Christkindlmarkt on Dom- und Residenzplatz runs 19 November to 1 January 2027. Saturday hours are 09:00 to 21:00, Sunday 09:00 to 20:30. Sleep here
• Sunday, Salzburg to Munich. Leave after a late breakfast. The Christkindlmarkt am Marienplatz runs 20 November to 24 December, Monday to Saturday 10:00 to 21:00 and Sunday 10:00 to 20:00. The city says it runs longer than in past years
• Monday, Munich. Still open, and calmer than the weekend. Fly home from here

Munich has the shortest Sunday hours of the three, so arrive with time to spare or save its best hours for Monday. The German dates guide has Munich's full dates. Sunday is also the awkward day for anything that is not a market, and what is closed in Germany on Sundays explains it.

Only the operators' own booking tools show live times and fares, so treat these as typical. They come from Trainline's route pages, checked on 30 September 2026. The operators include ÖBB, Westbahn and Deutsche Bahn.

• 🚆 Vienna to Salzburg: direct, fastest 2 hours 18, typical about 2 hours 30. Westbahn and ÖBB both run it, and Trainline lists dozens of trains a day
• 🚆 Salzburg to Munich: direct, fastest about 1 hour 45, typical about 2 hours
• 🚆 Prague to Dresden: direct, fastest about 2 hours 10, typical 2 hours 20 to 2 hours 40
• 🚆 Dresden to Nuremberg: no direct train. Fastest about 3 hours 10, typically about 4 hours with one change
• 🚆 Nuremberg to Munich: about 1 hour 10 to 1 hour 25, the escape hatch for route two
• 🚆 Cologne to Aachen: a short hop. no reliable journey time was found, so look it up on the bahn.de timetable
• 🚆 Aachen to Brussels: direct trains run. About 1 hour 45 typical, quicker on the fastest services

Fares vary with the day and how early you book, so none are quoted here. Book the cross-border legs early, especially for 18 to 20 December, and leave a buffer of at least 30 minutes wherever you change trains with bags.

Two a day is the ceiling, and only if one of them is small. In Cologne, seven markets in one night means a lot of walking and very little standing still, which is why the Cologne guide splits them into two evenings. The same logic applies across cities.

• One city a day. Change cities in the morning, not after dark
• Ninety minutes per market. One drink, one hot food item, one lap, one purchase
• One evening per city. Save the sights for daylight
• Transfer days: after a long train, choose a market near your hotel and stop there

None of the organisers has published 2026 stall prices, so these are 2024 and 2025 figures, a guide to the mood and not a budget.

• Mulled wine: about CZK 100 (roughly €4) at Prague's big two in 2025, according to Czech press. A national price roundup put Nuremberg and Aachen at €4.50 to €5 in 2025, Munich at €5 to €6 and the Cologne cathedral market at €5 or more. In Vienna a December 2024 press test put the average at €6.25 on Rathausplatz
• Mug deposits: Vienna's markets mostly charged €5 in 2024, and Spittelberg €3. Cologne's Nikolausdorf charged €3 in 2024. Prague's big two described recyclable cups in 2025, with no deposit reported. Salzburg, Dresden, Nuremberg, Brussels and Aachen deposits are not published on the pages checked, so ask at the stall. Do European Christmas markets take card explains how deposits and payments work
• A drinks estimate: two mulled wines at these prices is about €8 in Prague and €10 to €13 in Munich or Vienna, per person, per market
• Rooms: Advent weekends are the expensive ones. Book a cancellable room for each night first, then lock in the trains
• Is it worth it? Are Christmas markets worth it has the honest version

Travel with hand luggage only if you can. If not, store the bag on transfer days. A hotel check-out at 11:00 and a train at 16:00 is a five-hour gap, and a suitcase does not belong in a market lane.

Station lockers first. DB's own station pages confirm lockers at München Hbf, Nürnberg Hbf, Dresden Hbf, Aachen Hbf and Köln Hbf, though the station pages do not show sizes or prices. Vienna's Westbahnhof has coin lockers from €2, and Prague's main station has lockers at about CZK 60 a day, according to our guides to getting around Vienna and getting around Prague. Lockers at the Salzburg and Brussels stations are unconfirmed, so check first.

When Radical Storage wins. Radical Storage has listings in all nine cities. It wins when the station lockers are full, when your case is too big for one, or when your hotel is nowhere near the station. Checked on 30 September 2026:

• Vienna: 294 locations, from €2.50 a bag a day
• Prague: about 45 locations, from €3.90
• Munich: a station-area partner on Goethestrasse, 09:00 to 20:00, from €3.90
• Cologne: 38+ locations, from about €3.90. The Hbf partner is online booking only
• Brussels: 40 locations, including Midi, Central and Nord stations, from €3.90
• Salzburg, Nuremberg, Aachen: 10, 6 and 5 locations, each with a spot at or near the station. Listings show €5 a bag a day
• Dresden: 10 listings at €5, but it is unclear which are central, so use the station locker there

The €10,000 guarantee per bag is stated on the Vienna, Prague, Munich, Cologne and Brussels pages, not on the others. Check each partner's closing time before you book a late train, because several close at 20:00. 10% off through our link.

• Hand luggage and a day bag. One more layer than you think, because you spend hours standing still. What to wear at a European Christmas market has the full list
• Small notes for mug deposits. Euros for Austria, Germany and Belgium, koruna for Prague. If a card terminal offers to charge you in your home currency, decline
• A power bank. Your train tickets live on your phone, and standing outside drains it
• Shoes with a proper sole. Cobbles and cold do the damage, not distance

Can I do three Christmas markets in four days?

Yes, on any of the three routes here. Plan one city a day, change cities in the morning and keep the evening for the market.

Which is the best Advent weekend for a market trip?

4 to 6 December is the first weekend when every market on all three routes is open all weekend. 27 to 29 November also works, except that Prague's big two do not open until Saturday 28 November.

Are the markets open on Sundays?

Yes. Hours are shorter in Munich (10:00 to 20:00) and Salzburg (09:00 to 20:30), and Cologne's cathedral market closes at 21:00 rather than 22:00. The others keep their usual daily hours.

Which route is best for a first trip?

Route one, Vienna, Salzburg and Munich. The trains are direct and quick, and all three markets are big.

Choose the route by the train, not the market. Book rooms first and trains second, and book the cross-border legs early. Recheck each organiser's site in late November, because dates and hours can still move. The German dates guide and the Europe calendar are the two to keep open.

For the daytime, the Ciceru walks cover each city, each with a story and a quiz question at every stop, plus a free 500 MB global eSIM:

• Vienna Christmas markets walk, €7
• Salzburg, €5
• Munich, €7
• Prague, €5
• Dresden, €7
• Nuremberg, €7
• Cologne, €7
• Aachen, €5
• Brussels, €5