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- Oct 2, 2006
It was the Marche de Noel; it's quite small but the vendors are all very goodwhats the name of the one in paris?
There are advantages of doing a river cruise, but I would not choose to visit the European Christmas markets that way. My favorite markets are: Nuremberg (by a decent margin), Salzburg, Heidelberg and Vienna -- I'd do a trip combining these places, or research other markets, chose your favorites and plan travel that way. Rudesheim market can easily be done in a half day, leaving enough time to train to Weisbaden and Mainz to see their markets. While I didn't price out a river cruise, I can tell you that my nights at the Westin Grand in Frankfurt were on average US$200./night and that included a full breakfast and access to the Club Lounge, which had a decent selection of food each night from 6-8:30 (excellent soup, salad, fresh breads, cheese and chicken and noodles to be added to soup -- could easily be a light dinner). For my stay at the Dress Code in Paris I paid in cash US$800 including breakfast for 4 nights (I used $300 Venture1 credit and a $100 credit from a travel promo to bring the OOP cost down). Another reason is that I might want to see some sites in places I'm visiting (other than the markets) and a river cruise doesn't allow any time for that. Then add that to the fact that I hate being on a tight time schedule when I'm traveling; I will only cruise to places that I can't get to any other way (i.e. Antarctica).European Christmas markets are also on my bucket list. Sounds like an amazing trip! Your TR has me wondering if I should stick to the idea of a river cruise or simply land and train down the line or both.
Paris markets are not great (seriously I wouldn't consider visiting Paris just to visit Christmas markets because they pale in comparison to other European cities), but the department store windows are AMAZING. Totally worth seeing IMO. And the decorations inside the large department stores are beautiful too. I don't need a reason to visit Paris -- I just love it there.
@LilSweetPeaPhoto The weather in Europe isn't that cold -- averaged around mid 40's to low 50s when I was there. I didn't wear either my cashmere sweater or Merino wool when I was there. Just a long-sleeve shirt (love Patagonia capilene), Arcteryx light jacket and goretex jacket. A waterproof jacket was essential because it rained a fair bit while I was there. Temps were similar last year in Budapest, Vienna, Salzburg, Munich and Vienna, minus the rain!
Gelleries Lafayette:
La Samarataine (maybe one of the most beautiful department stores I have ever been in, though I didn't buy anything because the prices went from a $480 Burberry cashmere scarf to a $25 phone case with not much in between!)
1 of the many Le Printemps windows:
Another Printemps window:
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