Thinking of taking the family (kids 7&4) to either spain or Portugal. Anyone done this before ? Want to go this year but more likely 2023

For Christmas or in general? What are you looking for in a Christmas trip to Europe?

Like Wildmen09 said, what are you looking for in a European Christmas trip? My wife and I have done it twice in the last 5 years. In 2017 we went to Brussels/Ghent/Amsterdam and we loved all of the Christmas markets and beer. 2019 we did Edinburgh/London and loved it all as well for similar reasons.

My wife and I have spent one Christmas in Rome before kids and loved it as well. I
Just wanting something different other than opening Gifts Christmas morning, eating lunch and sitting around making small talk and watching TV the rest of the day Kind of holidays. Or could just be my family is lame

I am interested as well - want to do something around Christmas in Europe - was thinking about Rome as well.

We did Ecuador this past Christmas and it was amazing - we spent the 1st few days in the amazon basing at Napo river lodge- a few days in the mountains around Banos and then a week in the Galapagos. was an amazing 2 weeks and the weather was great..

Great pictures. Bavarian Christmas is on the to do list for sure.

How festive was it for the kids ?

jaggiemaggie said:

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How festive was it for the kids ?

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We didn't bring kids (as it was a bit of a baby moon) but it would have been ok. Tons of shopping and little stalls selling things. Lots and lots of gluhwein drinking.

Christmas Markets are definitely more of a local thing since it's not "high tourist season" in Europe. Keep in mind many of the big ones in Munich close on Christmas Eve.

Prague's was great (where we spent Christmas). We actually did a Christmas eve concert in the klementinum mirror chapel - singer, piano and string quartet doing classic Christmas songs in a 300yr old chapel. It was quite neat and followed by pounding schweinhaxe, pilsner urquell and wine in the market until midnight

We then trained to Munich..

Be prepared for the weather and general dynamic of winter there. The days are VERY short... as in, sun is down by 4pm. If you want to enjoy things, you're walking around in coats, scarves, gloves and layers all day.

But those places are more suited for that... hooks and racks everywhere for clothes, fire pits, etc. Everyone else is in the same boat.

Skiing is awesome but I wouldn't bring beginners. The mountains are set up way different and harder to navigate than big mountain skiing in the US - resorts often have multiple bases and can be on different sides of the mountains. They also only have 3 rating of runs and aren't marked very well. Skiing Garmisch in Germany kind of sucked - all ice and no maps on the mountains or lifts. There's no Epic Pass app to show you where you are.

Skiing in Zermatt, SUI (the Matterhorn) was fantastic! Could ski there a week and maybe not touch it all, plus you can ski down into Italy (sits on the Italian/Swiss border). Lift tickets were $90 SFR a day (~$90USD) and the snow was awesome. The town of Zermatt is one of the most unique in Europe. No cars - just a little ski village under an epic mountain for great nightlife.

The most traditional of Christmas markets is in Nuremberg. Wonderful opening ceremony and great vibe.

Underrated I think is Strasborg France. We really enjoyed our time there. Northern Italy is another great spot to hop around during the winter. London is another great stop for markets but a bit more spread out, obviously.

Italy doesn't really do Christmas the way we do or Northern Europe does. I'm not sure how Rome is but I know where we lived it wasn't dressed up for the holidays like you would think.

Again, it really depends what you want. Cities? Outdoor rec? Something else?

wildmen09 said:

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The most traditional of Christmas markets is in Nuremberg. Wonderful opening ceremony and great vibe.

Underrated I think is Strasborg France. We really enjoyed our time there. Northern Italy is another great spot to hop around during the winter. London is another great stop for markets but a bit more spread out, obviously.

Italy doesn't really do Christmas the way we do or Northern Europe does. I'm not sure how Rome is but I know where we lived it wasn't dressed up for the holidays like you would think.

Again, it really depends what you want. Cities? Outdoor rec? Something else?

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We went to Nuremberg for a day trip to do a walking tour with some history stuff. There were still a few stalls open serving Gluhwein, but the market was closed it looked awesome.

We ate at the little Augustiner restaurant under the city wall/tower. First time I had ever had Edelstoff bier (from Augustiner). Apparently it's seasonal and they really only have it around winter time - I still like it more than the famous Augustiner Helles.

Love that place!

How early do the Christmas village type things start up? We're looking at a long weekend Dec 9-11 and deciding where we want to be. Barcelona was discussed but also considering going cold and going to Germany.

The Milkman said:

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How early do the Christmas village type things start up? We're looking at a long weekend Dec 9-11 and deciding where we want to be. Barcelona was discussed but also considering going cold and going to Germany.

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I want to say by the 2nd week of December they're up and going just about everywhere.

I would think by the 9-11 they're all up.

We actually looked at doing Spain for that trip from the get-go (almost 2 weeks in Spain alone). We decided against it since the weather, even in Spain, is kinda meh in winter. Cloudy, cold. We'd like the beach, vineyard, long sunny days to sight-see Spain.

instead, we chose to do Prague and Bavaria for about 6 days and then Switzerland for the rest.

Munich and Prague weren't that cold, just need to be prepared and bring layers. We did a lot of walking around and it's mostly in the 40s to 60s.

Typical daily dress:

• insulated duck boots (think Sorel brand) or sneakers.
• Long wool socks (I have 3 pair of smart wool) - they don't stink after wearing them so you can wear them for days at a time.
• Base layers (for skiing and if it's going to be really cold or you're doing some sites) - again, smartwool or wicking silks
• Jeans/pants. I actually had some flannel lined jeans and many days it was fine just wearing those with socks and shoes.
• good jacket - we brought our ski jackets for the slopes and then I had a longer wool peacoat. Having a longer jacket helps with the legs when the wind is blowing.
• flannel shirts
• insulated vest
• beanie
• leather, fleece lined gloves - don't forget gloves

Basically, think if you were living in NYC. Boston, Chicago. Streets will be wet often from snow and you'll need to layer. Once indoors at most places, you shed everything down to a shirt and pants.

If we weren't going far (maybe just to dinner, for example), I'd just wear a flannel and a vest and be fine.

Hope this helps. Winter there doesn't get brutal until January and February.

From 2002 through 2019 Mrs. Big Shoulders and I spent every Christmas in Europe. Italy is our favorite, and particularly Florence. However, Christmas is also a great time to be in Venice. High tides are a potential issue that time of year, but other than that crowds are significantly smaller than "in season." A silent St. Mark's square at night, with a chill and just a little bit of fog in the air is pretty amazing.

I have not spent Christmas in Spain, but if I were going to do so, I would probably choose Madrid.

Big Shoulders said:

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From 2002 through 2019 Mrs. Big Shoulders and I spent every Christmas in Europe. Italy is our favorite, and particularly Florence. However, Christmas is also a great time to be in Venice. High tides are a potential issue that time of year, but other than that crowds are significantly smaller than "in season." A silent St. Mark's square at night, with a chill and just a little bit of fog in the air is pretty amazing.

I have not spent Christmas in Spain, but if I were going to do so, I would probably choose Madrid.

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Good point here about Venice. This is shoulder season but there's never a bad time to visit Venice unless the tide is up. You don't need sunny and 75 to visit Venice.

I've been in Spain at Christmas. It was awesome. We did Madrid for a few days, then flew to Sevilla, and rented a car then drove around Andalusia, and then flew back to Madrid. Every town was decorated, had Christmas markets, etc. The temperature was much like Texas--50s up to the 70s on warm days. They did not believe in AC at Christmastime, even on warm days.

How much time should be allowed for the market in Nuremberg? Closer to a couple of hours or the better part of a day?