Best Christmas markets in Baden-Württemberg

Have you ever been to the best Christmas Markets in Baden-Württemberg? There is nothing that describes a winter wonderland more perfectly than Germany’s Christmas Markets. Walking hand in hand with a steaming cup of cocoa or a mulled wine, snow falling and dusting the cute wooden roofs on the Christmas Market stalls and the smell of chestnuts roasting on an open fire wafting through the air.

And if you want a major dose of holiday cheer in December, head to Baden-Württemberg region in the south of Germany. Warm spiced cider, inviting wooden chalets, and twinkling lights will surely ward off your winter blues. And thanks to the country’s excellent public transit system, visiting the Christmas markets here is even easier and more efficient. We spent four amazing days roaming around this beautiful region with Visit BaWu and here are the best places we visited during our trip!

Stuttgart

Every year from mid-November to late December, the city of Stuttgart becomes a Christmassy wonderland thanks to the Stuttgart Christmas Market, which fills the city with over 200 stalls that spread from the New Palace and the Königsbau across Schiller Square, with the Old Palace and the Collegiate Church, to the Market Square.

The Christmas Market at Palace Square is inarguably the core of the Stuttgart Christmas Market. (And you can expect it to look like that at peak hours, so plan accordingly). The openness of this square allows you to take in a good panoramic view of the whole scene. With its old traditional timber houses as a backdrop, fairy lights hanging from any surface that allows, and the smell of mulled wine in the air, it doesn’t get more Christmassy than this! When: November 23rd – December 23rd (check the specific dates and opening hours of each of the markets here) Cost: Free

For a very unique and modern Christmas experience, make your way to the Christmas Garden inside of the Botanical Garden Wilhelma. Here you can discover a magical world accompanied by festive classics. Just let the many glittering illuminations whisk your away to a unique, magically illuminated Christmas world. When: Novembre 17th – December 15th (specific opening hours here) Cost: from 16€ to 24,50€

Tübingen

You guys, Tübingen’s Christmas market is all about chocolate! The chocolART Christmas market is Europe’s largest chocolate market and boy does it deliver! Stands sell chocolate in every form imaginable – hot chocolate, spicy chocolate, vegan chocolate, chocolate cake, chocolate spread, chocolate covered fruit, and chocolate booze. If it exists in chocolate form, you can find it at chocolART.

This is a popular market, so we highly recommend getting there early and staying until the lights come on at night in the town square, projecting designs onto each of the adorable buildings. We adore this little town at any time of year but at Christmas it becomes a real chocolate delight! When: November 29th – December 4th (specific opening hours here) Cost: Free

Esslingen

This market was quite different from all the rest, as it has a medieval theme – and they keep to it. But that’s what makes it one of the coolest and most unique Christmas markets in the country! Everything from juggling performers, harpsichord players and fortune tellers were about, all dressed to the theme.

It felt a bit like a Christmas-themed renaissance fair, with mulled wine served in clay mugs, hollowed out cow horns and flower garlands for sale. Various workshops, taking place in the half-timbered houses that make up the Medieval and Christmas markets, offer visitors the chance to learn the old market language, how to smoke and cure food, or to make their own tinder. When: November 22nd – December 22nd (specific opening hours here) Cost: Free

Ludwigsburg

If you love beautiful Christmas lights then you’ll love the baroque market in Ludwigsburg, just 20 minutes north of Stuttgart. The town lights up with golden wings and in the main market square, four golden angels fly over the Christmas market facing in each direction. This was one of the most beautiful markets we visited and it’s quite convenient to reach as well.

There’s also a merry-go-round for kids, lots of stalls with lights, knits, ornaments, and of course mulled wine and food. It’s only about 15 minutes from Stuttgart, so be sure to stop by! When: November 22nd – December 22nd (specific opening hours here) Cost: Free