December 12, 2025

Rhein Valley and Bavaria Christmas markets

We were both looking forward to this trip into Germany and its world renowned Christmas markets.

The first place we found was a charming little village along the River Rhein, whilst the second was in the heart of Bavaria.

We spent two days and two nights exploring both, sampling the food and wines of each region. It made the trip to our final destination south of Salzburg, Austria, all the more relaxing and enjoyable.

It’s the first time we have been on a ski trip ‘before’ Christmas, so we thought we’d add these two days to the front of our holiday in order to take advantage of the season.

Rüdesheim am Rhein

This little town is on the north side of the Rhein surrounded by vineyards, castles and fortresses. It is not the sort of place that springs to mind when looking for Christmas markets; some of the cities have larger more established ones, but this one does have a really great reputation. It’s quaint and picturesque, with some lovely scenery en-route.

After we left the Autobahn, the last hour of our journey found us weaving along the River Rhein on a small road which hugged the valley.

The journey took longer than it should have, as we kept stopping to marvel at it’s castles and ruins. The weather wasn’t great, but the cloud and mist added some drama to the view.

We could instantly see why Rhein river cruises are so popular… something we’ve probably never considered until now.

Our hotel was smack bang in the middle of the area closed off for the market; ideal to explore.

The market itself was stunning, set within the narrow cobblestone lanes and centred around the market square.

Our host recommended a few restaurants and we headed to one of them, before finding a quaint (Scottish) bar for a nightcap.

The nearby town of Eltville was a gem of a find which we spent an hour or so exploring; we almost missed it given the by-pass which skirts this town. It was only a momentary glance at a set of traffic lights that alerted me to this historic place, with castles, manor houses, timber framed buildings and narrow cobblestone streets.

Bad Tölz – Bavaria

We first found this place in 2020, when COVID had closed almost every country in Europe except for Italy and Germany. Of course, that didn’t stop us from travelling – indeed it worked out to be a fabulous trip. On that occasion, we metaphorically held our breath when we travelled through Austria and found this place just across the border into Germany. It happened to be the first alpine town we could find, nestled the foothills of the Alps – a little slice of heaven.

We knew this place has a great Christmas Market, so after checking into our accommodation we walked to Market Street where the celebrations were in full swing.

Of course many stalls served Glühwein, but one caught our eye. It was serving delicious food, including duck and venison. These dishes were accompanied with potato dumpling and red cabbage and served on ‘proper’ plates with decent knives and forks, no ‘one-use’ plastic nonsense here!