Just Back From European Christmas Markets: 5 Things to Know in 2017

New article on Cruise Critic:

Just Back From European Christmas Markets: 5 Things to Know in 2017

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=8283

You may be the best host at CC.

JC

[blush]

Thank you for sharing as I have always wondered about crowds and well, just how cold is it to try this trip.

Based on 7 Christmas Market Cruises as a passenger (I love them):

As to the crowds: If possible, you want to avoid Saturday (evening especially) and Sunday. The crowds are very dense in the main markets! Based on experiences in Riquewihr (beautiful), Nuremburg, and Cologne. The market next to the Cologne Cathedral is always the most crowded, the others are much better. Christmas Eve in Nuremburg was simply impassable. If there is a soccer match in town (Saturday visit to Strasbourg), the crowds will be even heavier.

Still, it's fun to enjoy the jostling in the markets MOST of the time.

The temps usually range from 34F to 44F for a high. It sometimes reaches the mid 50s. Weather being weather, others will probably have had varying experiences. (My experiences include the Rhine, Main, Danube, and Elbe.) If you take an excursion into the mountains, expect it to be colder.