Our visit to the Mannheim Weihnactsmarkt unfortunately was all too brief, and amidst a light…read moreshower. It is located in a very dense area, buses and cars busily circle round the market. This is right at the Mannheim Water Tower at Friedrichsplatz. It is noted that this is the oldest and largest Christmas market in Germany; however, I did prefer the markets in Speyer and Rudesheim.

This market has a lot going on. The main market is at Friedrichsplatz near the Wasserturm. Here you…read morewill find a giant weihnachtspyramid where you can purchase gluhwein. Plenty of kids rides include a small ferris wheel, merry-go-round and small train. Vendors offerings include ornaments, hats and scarves, wooden household items, holiday décor, lots of food choices including roasted chestnuts, wurst, and so much more. I love the atmosphere German Christmas markets invoke. Small wooden huts decorated with greens and lights. Music. The smell of mulled wine and chestnuts roasting. Snow falling. Kids bundled up. This is not a huge market, but plenty big with lots of vendors and definitely worth the trip. Close enough to Heidelberg and Speyer that you can easily get to all three markets. Check out the Mannheim Christmas market video at https://www.youtube.com/@Travel-with-Ron to get an idea of what to expect.

The Christmas market in Speyer was a short stroll from where our Viking longship docked. We stopped…read moreinto the Romanesque cathedral, burial place of eight emperors, before enjoying the Speyrer Weihnachtsmarkt. Several streets were festively decorated with booths, and we enjoyed all the lights. This market has a blue phonebooth to call Weihnachtsmann (Santa), although obviously not in the evening. I enjoyed a gluhwein, and we tried waffeln and spaetzle, while shopping. Quite an enjoyable market.

We visited the Speyer Wiehnactsmarkt three days in a row as we are staying in town. The market is…read moreheld on Maximilianstrasse between Dom du Speyer and Postplatz by the city gate. The street is lined with wooden huts occupied by vendor selling all the expected Christmas market wares and foods. During the market season, Maximilianstrasse is a one-way street during daylight hours so vendors can get replenished with food and wares. At night, the entire area is a pedestrian zone. Wooden huts are set up on the north side of the street along the edge of the sidewalk. In some areas of the sidewalk there are also huts. This makes for a very narrow alley where visitors can walk. Maximilianstrasse is a long street and there is plenty of room to line up all the huts in the street. There really should not be any obstructions on the sidewalk. This was particularly difficult on Sunday when many people were visiting. It was so congested it was impossible to see what was available for sale. On Monday and Tuesday the crowds were much less and it was much easier to spend time viewing vendor wares and purchasing foods. The Cathedral at one of the street is a lovely building to visit and the city gate at the other end is a good photo spot. There are also several very good restaurants in Speyer open during the market. I do wish the city would remove the sidewalk huts and only allow the huts in the road in order to make pedestrian traffic on busy nights easier. But there are a good number of vendors as well as rides for the kids. Definitely worth a look if you are in the area.

We were recommended this town and market by a taxi driver in the Frankfurt area. We were driving…read moreback along this area and decided to stop and check it out. The Odenwald is a mountain range that goes through Hesse, Baden Württemberg and Bavaria. There are many towns dotted along these ranges and it's a beautiful part of the country. This town is also part of the German Fachwerk Straße and is a beautifully old town with a small palace. The market is held on the palace grounds and it meanders around the walkways and gardens of the castle. There was about 100-120 stalls in all selling gifts and food from the local area. The two things I found here that I loved were Kirschglühwein and Wildschwein Wurst. The sausage made from wild boar was just spicy and amazing. The varieties of mulled wine were also interesting. There was a stall selling Dresdner stollen and many other local delicacies. It's hard to know there is a market on here as it's enclosed within the city walls and not easy to spot. I would highly recommend a visit to this area for walking and exploring as well. A hidden part of Germany that is not so touristy and beautiful countryside.