C
onsidering that I’m not
much of a shopper, my
first experience of a tradi-
tional Christmas market
came as a revelation. It was
nearly 20 years ago in the
ancient Polish city of
Krakow, and the tem-
perature was 20ºC
below freezing.
Yet more snow dust-
ed Krakow’s many spires
November/December 2009
The Travel & Leisure Magazine 15
Traditional Christmas markets in towns and cities
throughout the Continent and farther afield are now
hugely popular for festive get-away breaks.
Dave Richardson explores their attraction
In the market for
Chr stmas
■ Christmas in Augsburg
CHRISTMAS MARKETS
ESCAPE to…
■ Children with toffee apples in Lemgo
German National Tourist Board
Bavaria Tourism
as darkness fell in mid afternoon, creating a
true Christmas card scene. I followed the
crowds to the vast Market Square – said to
be the largest in Europe – and made straight
for a stall selling hot mulled wine.
Everyone around me seemed happy and
soon I forgot about the cold as I wolfed
down sausage and fried cheese, before buy-
ing some woollen slippers and wooden toys
at bargain prices. I went away feeling warm
and also the warmth of humanity, and ever
since I try to visit a European Christmas
market far from the blandness and rip-off
prices in Britain.
I’m not alone in wanting to flee these
shores as Christmas approaches, despite the
increasing number of festive markets in this
country. According to research by Leger
Holidays, nearly one person in four is plan-
ning a festive break and a key reason is
wanting to escape the over-commercialisa-
tion of Christmas.
Krakow is actually a fairly unusual
choice, as the most popular traditional mar-
kets
are
in Germany. The website
Christmasmarkets.com offers information
on over 400 markets in 22 countries,
although many of these are not traditional
and as far away as Japan, Canada and the
USA. Germany and France both have about
80 listings, with Austria having 29 and
Belgium 16.
In Germany – as in Krakow, no doubt –
this year’s markets will have an extra reason
to celebrate. November marked