My daughter recently started working as a flight attendant for United, so the wife and I have access to NRSA travel.

I was thinking about trying to make a "quick" trip to Frankfurt for the Christmas markets. This would be a direct flight from Houston and seems to always have available seats. I have been to Germany a few times, but only for work.

Would it be better to take a train to another town once there? Anyone have any suggestions or recommendations?

Nuremburg has probably the best known Christmas market, though it gets very crowded. The market gets over 2M visitors each December. Cologne's is good as well

Frankfurt has its own Christmas market, but overall the city of Frankfurt isn't that interesting for visitors, in my opinion. I lived in Wiesbaden, about 25 miles from Frankfurt, for a number of years, and honestly didn't care much for Frankfurt - the architecture isn't that interesting overall, since it was bombed so heavily during WW2. the pub district in Sachsenhausen is my favorite thing about Frankfurt, and even then that's not that big a deal.

Nuremberg is another great option! Had clients there this past year and they had a great time. They stayed at the Sorat Hotel Saxx Nuremberg and it's in a prime location for the markets.

Mainz and Wiesbaden have excellent smaller Christmas markets and are a quick train from FRA

I appreciate all the suggestions. Thanks!

Kreg17 said:

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I would definitely take trains, super easy, and Frankfurt has never impressed me.

Rothenberg ob der Tauber and Heidelberg would be my top two choices.

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Pretty much the end of the thread right there.

The Cologne / Koln suggestion is good one too.

If it was me... (what I did in May 2025) is, rent a car and drive down the A5 toward Basel at a high rate of speed and spend some time in Baden Baden.

I was there during Christmas 1977 and unfortunately, it took me ~ 48 years to get back.

+1 on Cologne. 1-1.5 hr Highspeed Train, get on at the airport, off at the main Cologne Station, right at the Dom, and one Christmas Market there, and another on the way to Heumarkt, my personal favorite. Check out Memo's there if you need a good food orgy.

Frankfurt sucks. Not the biggest fan of Cologne either.

Go to Heidelberg or Speyer.

If you're looking for another cool Christmas market to add to your list, consider going over the border to Strasbourg.

We're taking a group of 12 December 1. Flying into Frankfurt, then group travel to Rothenburg for 2 nights, then to Heidelberg for four nights. Taking day trips to Strasbourg and Esslingen. Doing castle tour and wine tasting one day in Heidelberg. Flying back home from Frankfurt.

If you like coffee, Coffee Nerd in Heidelberg is one of the best specialty shops in the country.

Nuremberg is awesome like mentioned. The market is one of the best. It's where lebkuchen is made, even though you'll find it at all the markets. But remember that it's a walled city, which makes it super cramped when the market is busy.

I'm headed to Cologne in a month. Just looked up Memo's and it appears permanently closed.