Our Visit to the Magical Nuremberg Christmas Market

Nuremberg Christmas Market

It’s no secret that the Nuremberg Christmas Market is one of the best in Germany. So when we started planning out our visit for the holidays, we knew we had to go see it for ourselves! It ended up being one of our favorite cities we went to along our Christmas markets tour. Here’s what to know before your own visit to the Nuremberg Christmas Markets, the delicious food and drink options, and all about our own experience. 

Nuremberg Christmas Market General Tips

Getting There: Nuremberg has an international airport with direct flights from all over Europe. Check out our article about how to score cheap flights with Skyscanner when starting your research.

For our trip to Germany, we used the high speed trains to get around. The ride from Frankfurt took just over three hours (check prices for your dates). The seats were comfortable, and honestly it was so much easier than flying domestic. 

Have Cash: Many of the stands do take credit cards at the Nuremberg Christmas Markets. However, it’s a good idea to take out some Euros at an ATM when you have a chance. 

This is especially important when it comes to tasting the delicious glühwein! You will typically need to leave a cash deposit for your mug, which you can either get back or keep the cup as a souvenir. 

Nuremberg Germany Christmas Mug

Multiple Markets: The star of the show is the main Christmas Market in Nuremberg. Yet, know that there are several others to see on your trip!

We’ll go into this in more detail later. Just be ready to walk a lot to make the most out of your time.

Hotels: Now where should you stay in Nuremberg? We recommend picking a hotel close to old town near the main market. 

We stayed at the cute Hotel Agneshof Nürnberg that was just a short walk from all the attractions. Our room on the 3rd floor offered views of the castle, and the breakfast spread was the perfect way to start each morning.

Other highly-rated hotels include Karl August and Melter Hotel & Apartments.

Dress Warm: Germany as a whole can be frigid during December, so you’ll want to dress for the occasion. Plan to bring winter essentials like hats, gloves, and several layers underneath your coat.

We always had thick socks on as well to keep us warm while strolling around the Nuremberg Christmas Market.

Nuremberg Germany Christmas Market

Our Visit to the Nuremberg Christmas Markets

When we first started planning our trip to Germany for the holidays, Nuremberg was at the top of our list! However, coming from Spain, we knew we wanted to see multiple cities over the course of two weeks. 

Our tour would actually start in Hungary exploring the massive Budapest Christmas Market. From there, we flew to northern Germany to see the Hamburg Christmas Markets and then trained to Frankfurt for one day. 

Frankfurt Christmas Market truly surprised us and we were blown away with the lights around the historic main square. The reason we initially went here was to hop on a Christmas Markets River Cruise that took us to so many beautiful small towns over 4 nights. 

After our cruise, it was time to head to the Nuremberg Christmas Market. We jumped on another train and arrived early in the afternoon. It was great to have two full days in the city before continuing on to our last stop. 

We ended this amazing trip at the Cologne Christmas Markets. While this may seem like a Christmas overload, it was truly the trip of a lifetime. There are so many other cities that we’re adding to our list for next year! 

Nuremberg Christkindlesmarkt

Nuremberg Christmas Market Itinerary

Nuremberg is a large city that’s home to half a million residents. Yet, during the holiday season, it transforms with over 2 million tourists making the trip to see the Christmas Markets!

For this reason, you may want to plan to visit mid-week as opposed to the busier weekends. As you’ll see in our itinerary, we also enjoyed getting out early in the morning to see some of the sights before the Nuremberg Christmas Markets opened up. 

When it comes to the market itself, know that this is one of the biggest and oldest in the country. The Nuremberg Germany Christmas Market dates back to the 16th century and has all the historic charm you’d imagine.

Nuremberg Day 1

After dropping off our bags at the hotel, we got right out into the streets to explore! We found it so fun arriving in a new city and heading right into the excitement of the markets. 

Our hotel was centrally located and it took just 3 minutes to get to the main area. One thing that we absolutely loved is that the Nuremburg Christmas Markets are quite spread out.

This means we were constantly passing different markets while out exploring the city. Check out the official Nuremberg tourism website for locations, dates, and times.

After a long afternoon of traveling, we were craving something hearty and a cozy place to warm up in. This led us to an early dinner at Bratwurst Röslein, which was one of the most delicious meals of our Germany trip!

It would be our first time trying the famous Nuremberg sausages. We also had a traditional rouladen here that was such a treat!

If you’ve never had it before, it’s basically large strips of thin meat filled with onions, pickles, and mustard. Once it’s cooked, the rouladen is covered in a thick brown gravy.

Nuremberg Sausages

Experiencing the Nuremberg Christmas Markets

After we’d eaten, it was time to head to the main Christmas Market! The sun had already set and the night sky brought out all the magical lights. 

We first walked through the smaller international market that plays host to stands from around the world. Here you can find food from Italy, France, Switzerland, Poland, and so many other countries. 

From there, we headed to the main square in Nuremberg… and we couldn’t believe our eyes! 

The square was covered in red and white tents, with the Frauenkirche church sitting elegantly behind it. There was a local choir singing, which only added to the Christmas magic. 

We wasted no time grabbing a hot glühwein and getting into the holiday spirit. For dessert we tasted the famous Nuremberg Lebkuchen (gingerbread) cookie and also a sugar cookie. 

These two cookies are ones that we are still dreaming about! Make sure to pick a stand that really only focus on cookies and baked goods for the best.

After a couple of hours strolling through the stands, we decided to head back to our room and call it an early night. 

Nuremberg Market

Day 2 in Nuremberg 

We started our second day in Nuremberg bright and early. It’s important to know that the Christmas Markets don’t really get going until around noon. 

While this may be disappointing for some, we found it nice to have extra time in the morning to see more of the city! We had a massive breakfast at our hotel with all our favorite German treats. 

The first thing we wanted to do before the Christmas Market was to visit the castle and walk the city walls. The castle opens at 10am, making it an ideal spot to begin your day.

Note that it does get crowded in the early afternoon. These historic walls date back to the 12th century and offer incredible views of the city. 

City View

After our castle walk, we decided to hop on the tourist train for a 45 minute historical overview and drive through town. This was an awesome way to learn more about the city and warm up a little bit. 

We were getting hungry at this point and we had a long list of things we wanted to try! For lunch we chose to go the oldest bratwurst restaurant in all of Germany. Zum Gulden Stern has been opened since 1419 and the scene inside was like taking a trip back in time. 

We ordered the white Nuremberg sausages boiled in a delicious sour broth and a fondue with a pretzel. There is so much food to try at the markets, but it’s totally worth heading to a local restaurant when you’re ready for a full meal. 

Zum Gulden Stern

Weisswursts

Pretzel Fondue

More Nuremberg Christmas Markets

Once we had our fill, we headed straight back to the Nuremberg Christmas Markets! We wanted to see some of the other markets on our second night before heading back to the main one.

One of our favorites ended up being just down the street from lunch. This small market is iconic for the massive ferris wheel that towers over it. Definitely take a spin on it for more incredible views of the city. 

Also, be sure to stop at one of the stands for a hot eggnog. There is one stand just to the side of the ferris wheel that has an indoor section and 2nd floor rooftop.

Nothing Familiar Germany

Eggnog

If you’re visiting Nuremberg with kids, you’ll also want to check out the Kinderweihnacht. It’s filled with fun rides, snacks, and all kinds of stuff for families. This was the most family-friendly market we went to on our entire Christmas markets tour! 

To cap off our trip, we walked back to the main Nuremberg Germany Christmas Market. This was an amazing end to our visit and we even bought some souvenirs to take home with us.

Nuremberg Kids Market

Is the Nuremberg Germany Christmas Market Worth Visiting?

Absolutely!! We had lofty expectations for Nuremberg, but it really lived up to the hype. The entire city is beautiful surrounding the markets. It is the type of German architecture that you think only exists in fairy tales before experiencing it for yourself. 

As we mentioned, this is one of the most visited Christmas Markets in Europe! Be prepared for crowds and go on a weekday if possible. Nuremberg is such a special city and we already planning a trip back during the summer. 

Nuremberg Christmas Market Guide

Have any questions on this article or want to share your own Nuremberg Christmas Market tips? Leave us a comment below!

Safe Travels,
Brigitte & Jake

This trip was made possible in partnership with Nuremberg Tourism. As always, any opinions and recommendations remain our own.

Pin For Later 

Nuremberg Christmas Market

Spread the love
*We receive a commission for purchases made through links in this post. This allows us to continue our travels and keep providing great content to our readers! Also, as an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Brigitte & Jake

We’re Brigitte and Jake! American travel bloggers currently based in Spain. If you can believe it, we started Nothing Familiar way back in 2015 on an Ipad in the Ecuadorian jungle. Ever since, we haven’t stopped traveling! We’ve now been to over 60 countries around the world, with our expertise being Europe and Southeast Asia. We love outdoor adventures, tasting local specialties, and island hopping through tropical destinations. Hopefully, our guides and authentic experiences will inspire you on your own travels!

Find me on: Web | Twitter/X | Instagram | Facebook

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *