There is no more magical European experience than a Christmas market tour through the Alpine heartland in late November and December. The amber glow of market stalls against centuries-old baroque facades. The scent of mulled wine, roasted chestnuts, and pine resin drifting through cold mountain air. Handmade wooden decorations, gingerbread hearts, and traditional crafts passed down through generations. And everywhere, the unmistakable warmth of Alpine Gemütlichkeit — the Austrian and German word for the cosy conviviality that defines Christmas market culture.
NextView Tours operates a guided Christmas Markets tour through Austria, Germany, and Switzerland — visiting the finest and most authentic festive markets in the Alpine region. This tour is available as a multi-day package departing from Vienna, taking you to the celebrated markets of the Austrian and German heartland before returning via Switzerland’s own exceptional winter festivities.
If you love Christmas, this tour is the best version of it you will ever experience. Book early — this is one of our most popular seasonal packages and places fill quickly once the festive booking season opens in September and October.
Vienna’s Christmas markets are legendary — and rightly so. The Wiener Christkindlmarkt on the Rathausplatz, in front of the magnificent Neo-Gothic City Hall, is the city’s most famous and one of the grandest in all of Europe. Vienna also hosts markets at Schönbrunn Palace (with the baroque façade as backdrop), Am Hof (one of the oldest in the city, dating to 1772), and in the charming Spittelberg neighbourhood with its Biedermeier houses. Your tour likely starts in Vienna, giving you the chance to warm up with a Glühwein and explore the capital’s festive atmosphere before heading west.
The Salzburger Christkindlmarkt on the Domplatz (Cathedral Square) is one of Austria’s most atmospheric markets — set against the backdrop of Salzburg’s UNESCO Old Town and the fortress looming above. The stone arches and baroque facades create a setting that no other Christmas market in the world can quite replicate. Local artisans sell hand-carved wooden figures, beeswax candles, and traditional Advent decorations. The smell of Lebkuchen (gingerbread) and Punsch (hot fruit punch) fills the square. This is quintessential Austrian Christmas culture at its finest.
The Nuremberg Christkindlesmarkt is perhaps the most famous Christmas market in the world — a tradition dating to 1628 that draws over two million visitors annually. Set in the historic Hauptmarkt square beneath the Gothic spires of the Frauenkirche, Nuremberg’s market is renowned for the quality of its traditional crafts and the authenticity of its festive atmosphere. The famous Nuremberg Lebkuchen (gingerbread), Bratwurst (grilled sausages), and Zwetschgenmännle (dried plum figurines) are among the Christmas market traditions that originated here.
Strasbourg’s Marchés de Noël, in the heart of the Alsatian capital on the Franco-German border, are among the oldest Christmas markets in the world — dating to 1570. The city itself, with its extraordinary Gothic cathedral and timber-framed medieval streets, provides the most beautiful possible backdrop for festive market exploration. A glass of local Alsatian Vin Chaud (mulled wine) in the shadow of Strasbourg Cathedral is one of the great Christmas travel experiences in Europe.
Swiss Christmas markets bring a different flavour — Swiss precision, Swiss chocolate, and Swiss quality applied to festive traditions. Zurich’s Weihnachtsmarkt inside the main train station (one of the world’s largest indoor Christmas markets, beneath a cloud of 7,000 Swarovski crystal stars) and Basel’s market on Barfüsserplatz are among Switzerland’s finest. The tour route through Switzerland provides the opportunity to experience this distinctly Swiss take on the Christmas market tradition.
Tour Type | Multi-day guided tour |
Season | Mid-November to late December 2025 |
Departure | Vienna, Austria |
Route | Vienna → Salzburg → [Bavaria/Germany] → [Switzerland] → Vienna |
Duration | Multi-day (enquire for current year’s exact schedule) |
Price | Enquire for 2025 pricing — places limited, early booking recommended |
Includes | Coach transport · Accommodation · Expert guide · Market entry (most markets are free to enter) |
Languages | English (German on request) |
Book at | nextviewtours.com/trip/christmas-markets-of-austria-germany-and-switzerland/ |
✓ What’s Included | ✗ Not Included |
✓ Round-trip transport by comfortable heated coach | ✗ Individual market purchases |
✓ Expert local guide with Christmas market expertise | ✗ Meals (other than breakfast) |
✓ Hotel accommodation for tour nights | ✗ Personal travel insurance |
✓ Daily breakfast | ✗ Seasonal market entry fees where applicable (rare) |
✓ Entry to all scheduled Christmas markets (most free admission) |
|
Attending Christmas markets across three countries independently requires careful coordination of trains, accommodation, border crossings, and market schedules — which vary significantly and change each year. Our guided tour handles all of this, maximising your market time and minimising the logistics overhead.
A good guide transforms a Christmas market from a pleasant shopping experience into a genuine cultural event — explaining the centuries-old traditions behind each craft, the regional variations in food and drink, the stories of the artisans, and the historical significance of the squares and cities in which the markets are held. NextView’s guides make every market visit genuinely educational as well as magical.
December temperatures in the Austrian and Bavarian Alps can be bitterly cold. Our heated, comfortable coaches provide a warm refuge between markets — and make the driving across potentially snowy mountain roads completely safe and stress-free.