My husband and I spent a day in Düsseldorf in December of 2019 to attend the Christmas Market. This itinerary is based on that experience. Want more visual inspiration? Check out the video of the trip! Want more ideas for a vacation in Germany? Check out my blogs on Oktoberfest, Füssen, Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Berlin.
Transport and Accommodation:
We utilized NS International (The Netherlands train system; buy tickets online, 2-3 hour journey depending on chosen route/train) to and from Amsterdam. Otherwise, it is a very walkable town. For our one night, we stayed at the Das Carls Hotel Düsseldorf.
Part 1: City Sights
After getting into Düsseldorf Central Station mid-morning, we stopped at Lina's Coffee before heading to the hotel to drop off our luggage. We passed by the Johannes Church and the Justizministerium des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen (government building). Next was the Triton Fountain in a beautiful tree lined canal. The hotel was right across from the Carlsplatz; a market with produce and food stalls. After settling in the room, we headed back near the station to have lunch at the Brewery Schumacher; this meal had us reminiscing about Oktoberfest. After lunch, we headed South West towards the Rhine River, passing by the Kunstsammlung art museum.
Once at the river, we walked by the Rhine Tower (9€), which you could go up, but we skipped this and wandered towards the Ausblick Medienhafen; an observation deck you get to by crossing the Fussgängerbrücke. We then followed the river North, walking along the Rheinpromenade until we got to the Katholische Gemeinde St. Lambertus (free to enter). Next, we headed to Paul-Klee-Platz; a little town square with a beautiful mosaic. Finally, we went to see the exterior of the Ratinger Tor, which has replaced a medieval customs gate. It was finally time for the Christmas Markets, which we spent from 3:00 pm until 9:00 pm. At the end of the night, we were able to walk by the Lichtbrücke.
Part 2: Christmas Markets
General Notes: There are seven (but technically eight) Christmas markets in Dusseldorf, all of which can be seen in a few hours. An official map along with times and dates of the market can be found here. The reason we chose this Christmas market in particular was because it was one of the few that were open past Christmas (we went on the 28th). Each market is going to have a different theme, but all will sell a variety of crafts and goods as well as have various food and drink options. Wanting a souvenir from your trip? For most drinks you order will come in a festive mug that you will pay a 2-5€ deposit for. You can either return the mug and get your money back, or you can keep the mug! The following is a breakdown of each market and the order we saw them.
1. The unnamed one
Location: Burgplatz
This market is not on the official list, but it was one of my favorites. It has the backdrop of a ferris wheel, and the stalls looked like a mini-village. Here we tried the Reibekuchen with applesauce (potato pancake) as well as a Flammkuchen (similar to a pizza). To drink, we had eierpunsch (egg yolks, white wine, spices) which tastes like apple strudel and glühwein (mulled wine, originally red wine but some locations also had white and rosé glühwein).
2. The Handwerker-Markt
Location: Marktplatz
This market was also one of my favorites, with its scenic backdrop of Düsseldorf’s Rathaus (City Hall), as well as a 100-year-old merry-go-round and the landmark statue of Jan-Wellem-Reiterstandbild. We enjoyed some glühwein as we perused the stalls, these stalls felt like a tiny Christmas village.
3. The Altstadt Markt
Location: Flinger Straße
This market is all along the street rather than in a square. A highlight is the Christmas Pyramid selling mulled-wine. We stopped at a crepe stand here, and ate what I believe was a straube; it was some sort of funnel cake/donut situation with apples. Whatever it was, it was fantastic.
4. Engelchen Markt
Location: Heinrich-Heine-Platz
It’s no wonder this is the ‘little angel’s market’, there is a beautiful music pavilion in the center and all the stalls have angels on top; everything was surrounded by white string lights.
5. Sternchenmarkt
Location: Wilhelm-Marx-Haus courtyard
This market was gorgeous with tiny white twinkling lights covering the ‘ceiling’ of the entire market. There was a tiny inside seating area where we were able to enjoy glühwein in a slightly warmer environment.
On your way to the final two markets, you will pass by Corneliusplatz, which houses the Eislauffläche zur Adventzeit (ick rink).
6. The Märchen Markt
Location: Schadowplatz
The huts here reminded me of neatly made gingerbread houses, there was a carousel here as well. There was a large Wurst (sausage) tent with a variety of options, so we got one on a roll with sauerkraut.
7. Kö-Bogen Markt
Location: Joachim-Erwin-Platz
This market had lots of options for food, with a backdrop of the Hofgarten. Here we enjoyed some Käsespätzle (similar to mac & cheese) and for those who like cider, there was an ‘apple’ tent that had warm apple cider (which we had) as well as apfelküchle (fried apple rings).
8. The Schadow Markt
Location: Along Schadowstrasse
Like the The Altstadt Markt, this one was lined on the street rather than a square. We only saw this market for a few minutes; this one felt the least festive to me, possibly due to the street it was one (it's a popular shopping street).
Other foods to try: Gebrannte Mandelen (roasted almonds), Stollen (bread with fruit and nuts), Schupfnudeln (noodles with pork and sauerkraut).
Thing I would change: I would have liked to go to the Düsseldorfer Senfladen; it’s a mustard shop/museum.
General Travel Tips:
Figure out an idea of sites you want to see; this will determine a centralized area for where you should stay.
Utilize Google reviews when looking for something to eat. General rule, stay away from streets with lots of neon signs.
Mark everything on your google maps. Google is also (in my opinion) the best pedestrian and bike navigation app.
Other: Planning for a trip, especially overseas, can be stressful and overwhelming. Hopefully this gave you an idea of what your next trip to a German Christmas Market could look like. If you are looking for other things to do in Germany, check out my blogs on Oktoberfest, Füssen, Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Berlin. I try to do as many quick links as possible, to send you directly to the website so you can get the most accurate and up-to-date information possible (fees and timetables).
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Safe and Happy Wandering.
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