At the weekend, I headed to my first ever Christmas market of the year. I’ve been to plenty of these in the UK as they’ve become hugely popular, but this was my first market on German soil and I can officially say: the originals are the best.
We headed to Aachen for our first market trip, as it has a reputation for being the best in the state. It didn’t disappoint.
The Christmas Markets, Aachen
Aachen is Germany’s Westernmost town, bordering both Belgium and the Netherlands. It has a huge old town, of which the Cathedral is the most famous landmark and every year, three huge squares are filled with brightly decorated stands selling food, drink, gifts, decorations and more.
It was beautiful.
We strolled around the market as it got dark, drank Glühwein, Glühbier and Feuerzangenbowle and even had time to check out the cathedral.
Check out some of my snaps below.
The Aachener Weihnachtsmarkt is a popular choice for tourists from Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and even the UK (Aachen is roughly 3h, 30m drive from Calais). The market is open until 23 December and is well worth the trip.
The market is free to enter and even has free Wifi. Find out more here.
Getting there by train: Aachen is approximately 36min from Cologne, 1hr 15 min from Dusseldorf, 1 hr from Brussels, 2hrs from Antwerp.