Christmas time in Germany is famously associated with snowy markets and warm drinks enjoyed with friends and loved ones. Step into this magical season during your visit to Frankfurt and the Frankfurt Rhine-Main region. From Aschaffenburg to Limburg, almost every town in the region has a festive shopping center you’ll want to step inside.
The most idyllic scene in Germany can be found at the Twinkling Star Market in Wiesbaden, held each December in the Schlossplatz, a gathering place at a castle or palace. Visitors enter the Twinkling Star Market through one of four lily gateways. Inside you’ll find a giant Christmas tree decked for the holidays, and traditional music setting a festive scene. Stalls decorated in blue and gold are piled high with traditional arts and crafts, some of them made on site. It’s the perfect spot to pick up a gift for someone you love.
At the Frankfurt Christmas Market, guided tours (available in English) help lead you through the holiday scene. Sip on the hot mulled wine that wafts through the air, take a ride on a vintage carousel, and taste a specially made marzipan candy. End your day shopping or simply admiring the illuminated Christmas tree.
For a more international holiday experience, visit the charming town of Rudesheim. Here more than 120 booths representing 17 nations offer enough variety to ensure one-stop shopping for even the longest Christmas list.
Fairy tales come alive in Hanau, where the town hall’s 24 windows are each lit with different themes from the Brother Grimm’s stories, creating a towering Advent calendar of enormous scale.
The Christmas Market in in Darmstadt is distinctly international and includes homemade crafts, delicious food, live music at the market square and even a visit from Santa on December 6th. There are rides for children and plenty of places for adults to buy mulled wine.
The Christmas Market in the charming town of Bingen is also one of the markets in the region guaranteed to give you the Christmas magic.
And a quiet walk through the romantic Christmas markets in Bad Homburg v.d. Hohe, Weilburg, and the “Bergweihnacht” in Bad Nauheim offer the perfect time to sip hot drinks and delight in your special someone’s company.