Do your Christmas shopping on Christmas European Market

If you love the holidays, and holiday shopping - try something truly different this year!

The old European towns of Nuremberg, Bratislava, and Budapest - and many others - host old-fashioned Christmas markets to celebrate the season.

Many of our Christmas celebrations are grounded in the traditions of some of our European ancestors. Nutcrackers, mulled wine - even our Christmas trees - are all European traditions.

The Christmas markets of Europe are a walk back in time, to the narrow streets many of our great-grandparents wandered. The foods, crafts, and gifts available there are reminiscent of those our great-grandparents would have enjoyed.

Many of the markets have been held annually for centuries (the oldest, in Dresden, began in the 1400's!). The markets were traditionally located in the town square, often near the church - the intention was to attract buyers after church services, but some clergymen complained that the markets were so popular, parishioners skipped services to shop!

Some markets were started much more recently, but all are unique - only local vendors are allowed to sell their wares, so each market promotes the foods and crafts of the area.

These markets are unabashedly Christmas - celebrating both the Christian tradition and the secular, "Santa/Kris Kringle" tradition. These markets may be open only a few days, but most are open for weeks, generally during the entire Advent season. They are a cacophony of sights, sounds, and smells of the season. Christmas music mingles with the smells of roasting chestnuts, mulled wine, and gingerbread, while each stall offers colorful wooden toys, blown glass ornaments, painted nutcrackers, knitted woolen socks and mittens, and many, many, more holiday treats and gifts! It would be hard not to get caught up in the spirit of the holiday!

How do you find these markets?

There are land tours that visit Europe during the holiday season (generally from late November to Christmas), as well as river cruises that tour several cities.

Globus has Christmastime land tours of Bavaria, Alsace, Munich, or Eastern Europe. Each of these tours visits at least 3 cities, each of which has it's own Christmas Market. They also include tours of churches and cathedrals, Christmas concerts, and much more.

Collette Vacations has an Alpine Christmas tour that allows you to stay in Innsbruck, with day trips to markets in Munich and Salzburg for shopping.

But the best way to enjoy the markets is on a river cruise Virtually all river cruise lines offer Holiday Market cruises and each cruise visits at least 4 or 5 towns (if not more!).

And when you're not shopping the markets or exploring the town, you'll be relaxing in a comfortable river cruise ship, watching the world go by as you sip hot chocolate in the lounge or your cabin - much better than the seat of a bus!

Since towns and villages have always been located on a river or other waterway, the river cruise ships can take you right to the heart of town. You get off the ship, and start exploring! No need to travel from a hotel on the outskirts to the heart of the city; no need to pack and unpack every day, either - your "hotel" travels with you, so there's more time for enjoying the sights.

And there are many rivers in Europe, and many areas to explore. Cruises along the Danube will take you to Nuremberg, Vienna, and Budapest. (This is the most common route, and is offered by
Viking, Uniworld, Avalon, and Amadeus).

The Rhine river takes you to Cologne, Heidelberg, and Strasbourg, and is available from Uniworld.

Amadeus Waterways has a Holiday cruise that starts with a few days in Paris, then travels the Moselle River in France, and joins the upper Rhine, visiting Frankfurt and Dusseldorf before ending in Amsterdam.

No matter which river you cruise, or which land tour you choose, exploring the Christmas Markets of Europe is an experience not to be missed!

And since there are so many markets and so many ways of visiting them - you can try something different every year!

The cruise lines and land tour operators start offering sales and discounts on these trips in late summer and early fall - keep your eyes open for a deal, and plan a trip to Europe this holiday season!