Christmas markets by train: five cities in a week

The route runs one way. Fly into Munich, go straight to Nuremberg, come back through Regensburg and Munich, then cross into Austria for Salzburg and Vienna and fly home from there. Seven nights cover it: two in Nuremberg, one in Regensburg, one in Munich, one in Salzburg and two in Vienna. No leg takes more than about two and a half hours, so every travel day still ends at a market.

In 2026 the dates that work are 27 November to 23 December. Vienna's markets open on 13 November, and Salzburg, Munich and Regensburg follow a week later, but Nuremberg, the first stop, does not open until Friday 27 November at 5:30pm. At the other end, the Regensburg palace market and Spittelberg in Vienna close on 23 December.

The week, night by night:

• Nights 1 and 2: Nuremberg. Land in Munich and take an ICE north the same day. The fastest take 1 hour 11 minutes from the Hauptbahnhof.

• Night 3: Regensburg, about an hour east by regional train. The palace market opens at 3pm on weekdays.

• Night 4: Munich. Marienplatz in the afternoon, Tollwood on the Theresienwiese in the evening.

• Night 5: Salzburg, about two hours from Munich. The market is on the Domplatz and the Residenzplatz.

• Nights 6 and 7: Vienna. Two evenings for two markets, Rathausplatz and Spittelberg, and a flight home.

Times are for direct trains on Deutsche Bahn's route pages in October 2026. Vienna to Salzburg is Westbahn's own figure.

Every city on this route has several markets. These are one or two for each stop, in the order you reach them, with the 2026 dates and hours from each organizer.

The Christkindlesmarkt fills the Hauptmarkt with wooden stalls and is open every day from 10am to 9pm. It opens on Friday 27 November 2026 at 5:30pm, when the Christkind greets the crowd on the square. Eat the Nuremberg bratwurst, grilled over a beechwood fire and no longer than a finger, and buy gingerbread.

Two smaller markets sit next to it. The children's market on Hans-Sachs-Platz has a carousel, a Ferris wheel and places to bake cookies. The sister cities' market on Rathausplatz, just north of the main square, sells crafts for charities in Nuremberg's partner cities.

Regensburg is the stop most itineraries drop, and its palace market is the one on this route that charges at the gate. The Romantic Christmas Market fills the courtyard of Schloss St. Emmeram, the Thurn und Taxis palace, from 20 November to 23 December 2026, and is closed on Sunday 22 November. Adults pay 9.50 euros from Tuesday to Friday and on Sunday, 6.50 on Monday and 13.50 on Saturday. Children aged 6 to 16 pay 3.50, and nothing on Sundays.

It opens at 3pm from Monday to Friday and at 2pm on weekends, and closes at 9pm, or 10pm on Friday and Saturday. If the fee puts you off, arrive late: from 7pm on Monday to Thursday the ticket drops to 5.50 euros.

Munich's city market, the Christkindlmarkt on Marienplatz, starts earlier from 2026: on Friday 20 November, running to 24 December with 137 stalls. Like the other German markets it is closed on Sunday 22 November.

For a different evening, the Tollwood winter festival fills the Theresienwiese, the Oktoberfest field, from 24 November to 23 December. Entry to the grounds is free, and so are most of the shows. The Christmas village in the Kaiserhof, the largest courtyard of the Residenz, runs from 16 November to 22 December.

The Salzburg Christkindlmarkt covers the Domplatz and the Residenzplatz and has the longest season on the route: 19 November 2026 to 1 January 2027. That makes it the stop to keep if your trip runs past the 23rd. It closes at 3pm on 24 December and opens from 11am to 6pm on 25 and 26 December.

Vienna's big market, the Christkindlmarkt on Rathausplatz in front of the city hall, runs from 13 November to 26 December 2026. It is open daily from 10am to 10pm, and until 6:30pm on Christmas Eve, and its ice rink stays until 6 January. The U2 stops at Rathaus and the U3 at Volkstheater.

Spittelberg is the smaller one: stalls in the lanes of the Spittelberg quarter from 13 November to 23 December, open until 9:30pm. It does not open until 2pm on weekdays (11am on weekends), so with two nights the daytime belongs to Rathausplatz and one evening to Spittelberg.

Two kinds of ticket cover this route. The two short legs inside Bavaria, Nuremberg to Regensburg and Regensburg to Munich, run on regional trains, and the Bayern-Ticket covers local and regional trains across the state for a day: 34 euros for one person in second class, 44 for two, up to 74 for five. On weekdays it is valid from 9am. It also reaches Salzburg on regional trains. The ICE to Nuremberg and the Railjet need their own tickets.

The long-distance legs are cheapest as advance fares tied to one train. ÖBB sells its Sparschiene fares up to six months ahead and says the earlier you book, the lower the price. Westbahn runs its own trains between Salzburg and Vienna Westbahnhof, with its own fares. Price those legs before you consider a rail pass. If you arrive from outside the EU, read the EES explainer first: your first Schengen border crossing now includes a face photo and fingerprints.

Seat reservations are optional on ÖBB trains and normally cost from 3 euros. ÖBB advises them for anyone set on one particular train on a busy day.

Sleep inside or next to each old town so the market is a walk away after dark. In Nuremberg, stay near the Hauptmarkt. In Regensburg, stay in the old town, within reach of the palace. In Munich, the streets around the Hauptbahnhof save time on a one-night stop. In Salzburg, the Neustadt is across the river from the Domplatz. In Vienna, Neubau puts you beside Spittelberg, and the Rathausplatz market is at the U2 stop Rathaus.

Book the Saturday night first, wherever it falls on your route, and keep the single nights in Regensburg and Salzburg on weekdays if you can.

Most of the route is free to walk into. The 2026 prices that are published:

• Market entry: the markets on public squares have no gate. The Thurn und Taxis palace market charges 9.50 euros on most days, 6.50 on Monday and 13.50 on Saturday.

• Mulled wine: priced by each stall, plus a deposit on the mug.

• Bayern-Ticket: 34 euros for one person and 44 for two, in second class.

• Seat reservation on ÖBB trains: from 3 euros.

The largest cost you control is the train. The two regional legs have a fixed price, so the saving is on the three long-distance legs, where the fare depends on how early you commit to a train.

Mulled wine comes in a mug with a deposit. In Nuremberg it is the official market mug, redesigned every year, and any mulled wine stand gives the deposit back, so you do not have to return to the stall that served you. Ask how the deposit works at your first stand in each other city.

Check the day of the week as well as the date. The German markets here are closed on Sunday 22 November 2026, and the Regensburg palace market and Spittelberg do not open until the middle of the afternoon on weekdays.

Starting too early is the first. A trip that begins before 27 November reaches Nuremberg before its market opens. Ending too late is the second: the Regensburg palace market and Spittelberg are gone after 23 December, and from the 25th only Salzburg and, until the 26th, Vienna's Rathausplatz are still running.

The third is leaving the long-distance legs unbooked. Advance fares are tied to one train and priced by how early you buy, so fix those three trains as soon as your dates are set and keep only the regional legs flexible.