I especially loved the Nuremberg Christmas Markets because they had so many surprises to offer throughout the day. We arrived early (a big accomplishment!) and were startled when we heard several people speaking English. After a long time of not hearing anyone other than your spouse speaking English in public it feels like culture shock when you hear it. I even heard a lady talking with a southern accent and I wanted to go hug her.
Of course, we had to stop at the Lego store before the Christmas Market. Mr. Meena has priorities.
We had a lovely time in Nuremberg and if it weren’t for the crowds I would not have left. Seriously, be prepared for packed like sardines style browsing. But there are many reasons to brave the crowds. We saw a Turkish Santa playing an accordion, a Spanish group singing Feliz Navidad with all their heart, and a larger than life Panda bear costume. I even got some Christmas gifts!
This is my attempt to show how crowded it was. And I took this photo at 2pm! I can’t imagine what it was like in the evening.
Here’s what we did in Nuremberg and our recommendations for your visit to the Nuremberg Christmas Markets.
1. Walk through the Handwerkerhof.
If you’re arriving at the main train station, exit via the underground level where you will walk under the main street and then take the stairs up to the Nuremberg city wall. When you walk inside you’ll see the Handwerkerhof on your right, also called “little city at the Königstor” (King’s gate).
It’s a cozy market, that we found to be much quieter than the Christmas stalls, and the towers of the city wall provide a lovely background. We had our first traditional Nuremberg bratwurst there, called ‘Drei im Weggla’ for ‘Three in a bun’. These small sausages proved to be my favorite so far in Germany.
2. Head to Kaiserburg Castle early.
I won’t say head to it first because I can’t imagine how anyone could walk past the Christmas Markets without stopping for at least one stall (or bratwurst). However, the Castle has the best viewing spot in Nuremberg… in the morning. In the afternoon the viewing area is facing the sunset and you’ll get such a glare that you likely won’t have a good view or photo. I took this photo at 12:30 and you can tell that winter sun had already dropped in the sky.
I encourage you to make the trek to the Kaiserburg Castle because it’s only a five minute walk from the Christmas Market and the hill isn’t that bad (it might as well be a speedbump compared to Heidelburg).
3. Be in the Hauptmarkt at noon.
We were wandering down an aisle of the Christmas Market stalls when we noticed that everyone had stopped and was holding up a camera or phone. It was strange but the crowd was nearly too bottlenecked to keep moving anyway, so we joined in. We were lucky that we were almost in the middle of the square and had a great view of the Frauenkirche (the Church of Our Lady). The bells chimed noon and we were quite surprised to see things start moving high up on the church! We had no idea there was a show. If you look up on the church exterior you will see a statue of Emperor Karl IV with two trumpeters at his side that start the “Männleinlaufen” by raising their horns.
Photo by Jaime licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
The drummer and flutist above him play for a bit before the doors open and seven electors take three turns around the Emperor, each pausing to face him as they pass. There is also a crier that rings the bell. This mechanism was made around 1509 and the scene is meant to honor the Golden Bull of 1356. I thought the whole thing was delightful.
4. Go to the Children’s Christmas Market even if you don’t have kids.
Yes, you’ll have to brave some squealing – but it’s worth it. They have an incredible model train track encased in glass where you can watch a regional DB train, an ICE train, and a little engine chug along the various tracks. You’ll enjoy animated displays on the stall roofs, colorful Kinderpunsch, a Playmobil display, and a double decker merry-go-round that is a beauty to behold.
The guys were swiveling around and leaning forwards and backwards. It was almost hypnotic.
5. Stop by the Altanta stall in the International Christmas Market
Now if you are an American on vacation this won’t appeal to you that much. But if you’re an American expat that hasn’t seen a Reese’s chocolate in over 3 months then you definitely will make this a priority. I think a lot of Germans and Europeans were excited to try some American candy. I saw poptarts, Hershey bars, butterfingers, Twinkies – the booth was mostly sweets. They were also serving Jack Daniels with apple juice, which I don’t think is a good example of an American cocktail. Have you ever ordered a Jack and juice? You can get Jack Daniels at any grocery store here so it didn’t seem like a great novelty to me.
Don’t worry, I shared with Mr. Meena (kind of).
6. Get your getränke from Norma+Rodi.
I have a confession to make. I don’t like glühwein. Honestly, even getting a whiff of it can make me nauseous. It’s sour and hot and I like my alcohol cold and sweet. So this makes me feel a bit like an outcast at Christmas markets where nearly everyone has a cup of the stuff (16 year olds can drink beer and wine here). Mr. Meena and I found this grocery store along an outer aisle of Christmas Market stalls and they had a surprisingly good selection of wine for such a small store. Even better, they had lots of small wine bottles to choose from. I was happy to enjoy a Riesling and feel more a part of the festivities (although it still feels very strange to be able to walk around and have a drink).
They don’t have a great beer selection or a cooler where they keep cold drinks, I’m sad to say. But it’s a great place to stop and get water so you can stay hydrated on the cheap. The address is Hauptmarkt 11, 90403 Nürnberg.
7. See the Way of Human Rights on your way back to the train station.
This outdoor monument is barely out of your way and definitely worth a stroll. It starts on Kornmarkt street near the Germanisches Nationalmuseum and has 30 pillars that lead you to the old city wall. Each pillar has an article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, first in German and then in various other translations. The 7th pillar is the one that has an English translation, “Equality before the law”. It’s part of Nuremberg’s efforts to be known as a “City of Peace and Human Rights” instead of the place where the Nazi party rallies happened.
That’s all for now. Next time we go to Nuremberg it will be as plain tourists instead of giddy Christmas Market attendees. Have you been to the Christmas Markets? What was your favorite thing about them?
1 thought on “7 Tips for Visiting the Nuremberg Christmas Markets.”