We spent thirty-four days exploring eleven cities and twenty-three Christmas markets across Europe. From Vienna’s famous Rathausplatz market to celebrating a medieval White Christmas in Tallinn, this was a once-in-a-lifetime adventure filled with snow, mulled wine, fairy lights, and a few unexpected hiccups along the way.
In this blog, we’ll give you our full itinerary — city by city — along with the lessons we learned on the ground, so you can decide what to include in your own Christmas market trip. For deeper dives, you’ll find links to our detailed blogs and videos.
Enjoying our time in the snow in Helsinki
Need to Know Before You Go
Currency → Mostly euros, except for the Czech Republic (Czech koruna) and Poland (złoty). We carried a small amount of cash in each country, but cards were widely accepted. Using our Wise card made managing money easy and saved on fees.
Weather → Expect cold days (0–5°C) and even colder nights (down to -6°C). Snow is common, daylight is short (sunset around 3:30–4:30 pm), and icy streets can make walking tricky.
Language → English is spoken every day in tourist areas, but not always fluently. A smile and patience go a long way.
Couples’ Take: Plan for downtime. With the short days and constant walking, energy levels dip quickly. Some of our best memories came from slowing down with a hot chocolate or a glass of mulled wine, rather than rushing to “tick off” another sight.
Vienna (Days 1–3)
The Famous Sachertorte at Cafe Sacher
Our trip started in Vienna; this destination was a little less complicated because it was our second visit to the city. Exploring all the things was not as high a priority, and we could concentrate on an itinerary around the chosen markets and the few things we wanted to include. We included a maximum of two non-market must-sees each day; yes, we visited other places as we passed them, but it did not matter as much if we did not make it a complete visit.
When you Google Markets in Vienna, you will find over 20 locations for Christmas Markets. So, how do you decide where to go, how many to squeeze in, and whether you want to explore the city? It can get overwhelming, but by taking a moment to determine your priorities, you can devise a fantastic itinerary that suits you and your travel desires.
We planned each day so that places were close to the markets we intended to visit, to limit travel time as much as possible. However, on day 3, we ended up crossing the city. Our visit to Vienna was at the end of November, so we were not in the peak season for the Christmas Markets.
Christmas Village Campus at the University of Vienna Market
“Want more? Watch our full Vienna video playlist or read our Vienna blog here.”
Prague & Brno (Days 4–9)
King Wenceslas and the National Museum
Prague’s Christmas markets opened amid heavy snow, which caused chaos but made the city look like a postcard. The Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square markets were crowded but magical. Peace Square gave us a more local vibe.
On the ground lesson → Arrive early in the day or later at night for fewer crowds. Mondays felt calmer than weekends.
Brno was a convenient stopover between Prague and Poland. Smaller, calmer, and more local, with great food stalls in Cabbage Square and a charming atmosphere in Peace Square.
Read more: Prague blog + Prague/Brno Christmas blog.
Watch the Videos Here.
Poland (Days 10–20)
View from the Peniant Bridge, Wroclaw
We dedicated a significant portion of our trip to Poland because it’s more affordable — but it turned out to be a mixed experience.
Zakopane → meant to be our “rest stop” in the Tatra Mountains. Snowy and beautiful, but hard to navigate, and Phil had a severe reaction to MSG in the food, which limited our plans.
Kraków → a favourite. Huge Old Town market, nativity displays, Wawel Castle at dusk, and a cooking class.
Auschwitz
Wrocław → one of Europe’s best Christmas markets. We also loved the quirky dwarf hunt (we found 42 of the 1000).
Warsaw → we weren’t as taken with it. Highlights included the cooking class and Old Town lights, but overall, it didn’t capture us like Kraków and Wrocław did.
Watch our Poland series here
Zakopane at sunset
Couples’ Take: Travel days here were long, so we learned the value of planning “light days” to recover.
Also, check food sensitivities in advance — if we had, it would have saved Phil a lot of pain later in the trip.
Vilnius & Riga (Days 21–25)
Cathedral and Clock Tower Vilnius
Vilnius felt small but charming, with its famous floating-light Christmas tree. Riga struck the perfect balance — Dome Square was lively but not overwhelming, and the tree was stunning. We loved exploring the old town and even stumbled on markets with live rabbits (the quirky things you remember!).
The Three Brothers Riga
Watch the Baltics videos here.
Tallinn (Days 26–28)
Glogi Stand Tallinn
Tallinn was our Christmas stop, and it delivered. Snow fell on the medieval rooftops, the Town Hall Square market was storybook perfect, and celebrating Christmas Day here was magical.
Highlights included:
A medieval dinner at Olde Hansa on Christmas Eve.
Gingerbread exhibit.
Exploring the old town walls and the upper town.
Phil is keeping a lookout on the town wall.
Staying in an apartment with a sauna right in the heart of the old town (best decision we made).
Read more: Tallinn blog
or watch it here
Couples’ Take: If you dream of a white Christmas, make Tallinn your base. It was worth every bit of planning.
Helsinki (Days 29–30)
We only spent one night in Helsinki — a mistake, because we loved it. From the Church in the Rock to the best cinnamon bun at Café Regatta, it was the perfect finale to our trip.
More here: Tallinn to Helsinki ferry blog or our videos
The other 2 days were our travel days from Australia.
More From Sapphire Blue Travel Explores
Seeking more information on planning for or attending Christmas Market visits for a bit of inspiration? In this section, we include our Christmas Market Blogs and Links to our YouTube videos
More Christmas Blogs
Visiting European Christmas Markets – 19 Tips to Help You Plan
Links to YouTube
The complete playlist of our Market visits
Discover 32 Must-have Travel Essentials For Comfortable And Efficient Trips!
*Affiliate Links denoted with a*
