Hi guys! Germany is famous for its Christmas markets. And of course there are some beautiful ones in and around Stuttgart, as well. In this post, I would like to point out three of them: the one in Stuttgart, the medieval one in Esslingen and the baroque one in Ludwigsburg,

I was lucky when I went to the Christmas market in Stuttgart during my lunch break as it had just begun to snow. And of course Christmas markets always look amazing when it’s snowing…

A great thing to do for kids is ride the miniature steam-train on Schlossplatz:

The Christmas market in Stuttgart is one of the oldest of its kind in Europe. Its roots date back to the 16th century. And it is also a very large one, including parts of the Schlossplatz, the whole Schillerplatz, several streets between Schillerplatz and Marktplatz and the whole Marktplatz. Around 280 beautifully decorated stands offer food, drinks, Christmas decorations and much more. Especially the roofs of the stands are worth looking at.

Poet Friedrich Schiller looking down on what’s going on on “his” square, the Schillerplatz.

Because of all the lights, it is always a stunning experience to visit a Christmas Market at night. So here are some impressions of one of my visits:

Two angels in front of the city hall on the Marktplatz:

Of course, the steam-train runs when it’s dark, too.

When it gets too cold, it’s a good idea to step inside the Sporer Alm, between Marktplatz and Markthalle. It’s warm and cosy inside.

Some of the stands offer very cute Christmas decorations. I have to admit, I do get weak sometimes…

When visiting a Christmas Market, it’s a MUST to have a Glühwein (mulled wine). This year, I got a bit adventurous and tried Eierpunsch, which consists of egg-nog and white wine… well, I can’t recommend it… If you want to have something different from the traditional Glühwein, try a white Glühwein. That tastes very nice.

What I found very fascinating, but didn’t have the guts to try, were these chocolate-covered chillies…

One of my favourite places on the Christmas Market in Stuttgart is the Finnish Village (Finnisches Dorf), which is located on Karlsplatz, close to the U-Bahn sation Charlottenplatz. They don’t serve Glühwein there but Glögi, which is made of berries and tastes very nice. And they sell the best salmon I ever had – seriously! You can have it on the plate for 10 Euro or in a bread-roll for 5 Euro. But they also offer a lunch special for 7,50 Euro for the plate. If you’re lucky, you find a seat inside the tent, close to the fireplace. Very cosy!

The next Christmas market I went to this year was the medieval one in Esslingen.

Actually, only a part of the Christmas market in Esslingen is called “Mittelaltermarkt” (medieval market), there is also a “normal” Christmas market around it. When you enter the gate to the Mittelaltermarkt, you step into another world…

… and meet people you would not expect…

Actually, the Grim Reaper turned out to be very polite and didn’t mind me taking a picture of him. Who would have thought that?? But I still asked him to keep his distance for some more decades… And he promised to do so! 🙂

When it comes to food, I made one epic discovery: Waffles with Nutella and cherries taste fantastic! How could I have lived without them for so many years???

There is one more Christmas market I would love to introduce to you: The Barock-Weihnachtsmarkt in Ludwigsburg. It takes place on the Marktplatz and is surrounded by baroque buildings and churches.

What blends in very nicely with the baroque surrounding are the illuminated angel statues in the middle of the market square.

Don’t they just look beautiful?

Unfortunately, it was raining heavily when I visited Ludwigsburg, so I didn’t take a lot of pictures. But I hope you can still get an idea of how lovely the baroque Christmas market is.

These were the Christmas markets in and around Stuttgart that I have visited this year. But of course there are many more around Stuttgart. I hope I get the chance to go to some of them next year.

That leaves me with only one more thing: I want to wish all of you a very merry Christmas with your friends and families! Have a good one!

More information about:

Christmas market in Stuttgart

Medieval Christmas market in Esslingen

Baroque Christmas market in Ludwigsburg