Wife and I are talking about doing Christmas this year somewhere in Europe with the 3 kids (17, 14, 10). Looking at spending about 2 weeks over there, somewhere around 12/13 - 12/29. Any specific recommendations on destinations, sights, activities, etc. that would be good for family Christmas experience?

Thanks in advance.

We did Germany and Switzerland around the same timeframe in 2019. Incredible trip. The Christmas Markets are a lot of fun to wander thru. It is also easy to do by train, if you don't want the hassle of trying to drive. Let me know if you want more information on what we did.

I''d look at Switzerland, Austria, northern Italy.

A few years ago I went to Berlin, Florence, and Rome over the Christmas break. The markets in Berlin were great and Italy was amazing at that time of year as well.

Vienna for Christmas markets. Prague is too dang crowded these days.

One word of advice, depending on where your itinerary takes you, many places are fully shut down the 24/25…No restaurants, nothing to do. Keep that in mind.

FC12 said:

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One word of advice, depending on where your itinerary takes you, many places are fully shut down the 24/25…No restaurants, nothing to do. Keep that in mind.

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And Boxing Day on the 26th. It's not uncommon for many European cities to basically be shut down for 3 days. Just be aware of that.

Christmas markets in Germany was one of the most memorable for our family. Dresden was our favorite. Food is amazing, and so much holiday spirit.

You can find castles to rent for surprisingly affordable prices (similar to hotels) around Europe. We've rented places in France and Ireland/Scotland and bunkered down for the week. Got groceries, brought and exchanged presents, and just relaxed. Pretty cool experiences.

We did Spain two years ago. We wanted to go to Austria and Germany, but Covid was spiking and we moved our trip to Spain because Christmas markets were getting canceled. It was a good trip, we did Madrid, Barcelona, and went skiing in Andora for a few days.

We are going to Findland this year for Christmas & taking our 4 year old to Rovaniemi, the hometown of Santa Claus. Pretty excited about this adventure!!

TW1993 said:

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We did Germany and Switzerland around the same timeframe in 2019. Incredible trip. The Christmas Markets are a lot of fun to wander thru. It is also easy to do by train, if you don't want the hassle of trying to drive. Let me know if you want more information on what we did.

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I'd love to hear more about this trip. I'm looking at taking the family likely in 2024, but my wife is a super planner, so the earlier we can get on this, the better. TIA.

Salzburg and Munich.

Had a wonderful time in Vienna after Thanksgiving last year. Was really magical with the Christmas markets and lights.

We flew into Frankfurt then took the train to Rotenburgh on see Tauber, the old medieval walls still surround the old town. Many old half timbered buildings. We spent a couple of days there and day tripped to Nuremberg. Spent nights in Heidelberg, Baden Baden and Freiburg. All their Christmas markets were great and lots of other sights to see. The castle in Heidelberg was very impressive. Also hit the market in Ravenna Gorge in the Black Forest. From there we went to Zermatt for a couple of days of skiing and sightseeing. The scenery in the alps is just incredible. After that we spent a few days in Murren , Switzerland. Took the lifts up to the Schilthorn, wandered down to Gimmelwald and did some sledding. The views from Murren were amazing- the Eiger, Monch and Junfrau mountains were all across the valley. Great food everywhere we went. Several of the places we went are car free. Really liked traveling by train. We used the Rick Steves guidebooks for a lot of our planning. They have great info on train logistics and sights you might want to visit as well as hotel and restaurant recommendations. About the only thing we would have changed is adding a day in Lauterbrunnen. We changed trains there and it was gorgeous with some amazing cliffs and waterfalls that we only saw from the train station.

I hate autocorrect… Rothenburgh ob der Tauber is the first town we stayed in.

Do you ski? If so, alps alps alps.

My wife and I did this back in 2018 (no kids at the time).

Started in Prague, trained to Munich, did Nuremberg, did the day trip ski pass down to Garmisch, then headed to Switzerland. Few days in Zermatt to ski around new years then back to Zurich as a home base for a few more days - went to Lucerne, etc.

Wish we had done a few different things in Switzerland and holy ****e was it expensive.

I love being at Home for Christmas but my son and his wife did this once and loved it

Been looking more into planning this trip, and looking like it will be about 2 weeks, coming back on 12/28. Biggest thing I am trying to decide now is where would be best to spend Christmas Eve/Day. I am guessing most places are closed both days, so not sure what the best plan is for those two days.