How I’m Planning a 2025 European Christmas Market Trip (from a 40-something gay Black traveler)

I’m a Hallmark-movie holiday person. Give me fairy lights, mugs of something hot, and corny choir music and I’m good. This year I sat down and mapped out my 2025 Christmas Market run across Europe. Here’s exactly how I’m planning it, in plain language, from the first idea to picking dates that actually work.

The best time to travel (and why I’m choosing late Nov → mid-Dec)

Christmas markets don’t all open on the same day, and they don’t all run through New Year’s. Most open late November and ramp up fast in early December. Many German markets wind down right before or on December 24, while some French and UK spots keep going a bit longer. That’s why I aim my trip for the two to three weeks after U.S. Thanksgiving. It hits opening weeks, avoids the very last-minute crush, and gives me weekday options (cheaper rooms, fewer crowds, easier filming).

My rough timing window for 2025:

• Fly in: last week of November
• Market sprint: first two weeks of December
• Fly out: around mid-December

Why weekdays matter: Monday –Thursday is where you find space to breathe, better light for photos, and lines that don’t eat your whole evening. If a market gets wild on Saturdays, I’ll do my “hero” market on a Tuesday or Wednesday instead and save Saturdays for slower strolls, museum hours, or a long lunch.

One more timing trick: I look up sunset times for each city. In December, it gets dark early (which is perfect for lights), but you lose daylight shots fast. So I plan golden hour for the first market of the day, and I leave my last market for prime night bokeh.

How I use blogs, YouTube, and social to plan (without drowning in tabs)

I love a cute Reel, but I plan with a system, not vibes: 

1. 1. Blogs for facts:  I search “city name + Christmas market guide + year.” I want posts with maps, opening dates, prices, and access tips (metro stops, bag checks). I save the best ones to a Pinterest board per city and a Google Doc with the key bullets: dates, “must eat” foods, any ticketed areas, and mug deposit notes (that little fee you pay for your cup that you can get back)
      1.  Also I will encourage you all to go view Happy to Wander! She has a ton of informative content for this!
   2. YouTube for visuals: I dont watch the walks, I need more than the sites!  I want someone to tell me what they tried what the missed and more importantly how the market was!  I need to know was it busy; was it difficult to locate or was it expensive.  
   3. LGBTQ checks:   Wherever I am at I want to feel welcome and safe. So searching for our community is always a must.  I peek at local hashtags, check city tourism sites, and look for community orgs or queer media with city guides. I add two or three “soft landings” per stop—places I can warm up, charge a phone, and be around my people.
   4. Budget snapshots:   I save price photos (menus, food boards) into a “Price Check” album. I’m not counting pennies; I just like to know if a waffle is €4 or €9 before I get hangry.  Its also a great reason to have those YouTube or Tiktok videos to watch.  Grab your camera and grab picture of a YouTube video on your tv or screenshot that Tiktok where the Price shows for that Gluwhein that the vlogger loved!

• ChatGPT or Google Gemini:  I know I am a Travel Agent but one of the things both will do is some of the heavy research for you!  You are not going to let it book anything for you; and confirm CONfirm CONFIRM.  But Both will allow you to ask “What are the hours of the Cologne Cathedral Christmas Market and it will provide and answer with a LINK to double check that they didnt pull that information out of a hat. 

Before you book anything, lock your dates (future you will thank you)

I used to book flights first and figure the rest out later. No more. Now I do dates first, then I book. Here’s how:   

• Pick your anchor events: Maybe it’s Hyde Park Winter Wonderland in London, or Phantasialand Wintertraum near Cologne, or a Disneyland Paris parade you want to see. Put those on the calendar first.
• Stack nearby cities: If I’m in Cologne, I add Frankfurt or Strasbourg as doable hops. If I’m in Paris, I save a day for Disneyland Paris or a quick lights walk.
• Check market opening days: Some markets are closed on certain weekdays, or open later on day one, or shut early on a Sunday. I sanity-check that against my plan.
• Mix days and nights: I try to land in a city by lunch, drop my bag, shoot a daylight loop, break for dinner, then go back out for night lights. That flow helps me actually see the place and not just sprint stall to stall.
• Lock the train times: If I’m using trains between cities, I sketch exact trains that get me into town by early afternoon. I build in buffer time in case of delays.

Once I’ve set the skeleton—which city on which date—I book lodging that’s near transit and a market. Then I buy long-distance train tickets (if needed) and add two or three “float” hours across the whole trip for bad weather or a long line. When you book your train travel book with at least an hour in between connections if not more especially if you are on Deutsche Bahn which is notorious for delays! Also if you are planning an overnight ride back- No Connections! 

Small packing notes that save a day

• Power + warmth: extra phone battery, gloves that let you tap the screen, hand warmers.  And if you are anything like me.  Bring extras gloves you might lose the pair you are wearing!  
• Shoes with grip: cobblestones and rain are not playing.
• Small tote: for a mug if you keep one, and flat souvenirs.
• Cash + card: most places take card, but stalls can be card-only, cash-only, or the card machine can glitch. I carry a bit of cash so I don’t miss the good stuff.

My planning checklist (copy it)

• Pick late Nov → mid-Dec window
• Make a city list with one anchor event
• Save two blogs + one video per city
• Find two LGBTQ-friendly cafés per city
• Sketch train arrival times (aim lunch in, lights at night)
• Lock dates, Market with Hours and then book rooms + long trains
• Pack warmth, power, and a good mood

That’s Part 1. I wanted to keep it honest and simple. In Part 2, I’ll talk about which cities I chose and why, and why I’m doing the whole thing by train (no gas stress, no left-side driving panic, no parking fees). See you there.