Christmas Markets in Hamburg, Germany

Thank you for coming to read our blog on Christmas Markets in Hamburg, Germany. This post has been updated for 2021. Please bear in mind that Covid-19 restrictions can change at any time so always check with the relevant Government websites to ensure you are up to date before you plan to travel.

Hamburg has over 30 Christmas Markets opening in 2021 and each one will make its individual choice as to what restrictions will be in place.

Travelling to Hamburg

We like, when we can, to go to a Christmas Market in Europe and have been to quite a number of them now. They are always full of festive cheer and lots to see and do. This time we decided to give Hamburg a try and weren’t disappointed (the Germans do Christmas markets exceptionally well).

Unfortunately both our 1 year old and I came down with Hand, Foot and Mouth whilst we were there so doing too much was out of the question. However, we did plenty of wondering around the markets, sampling what there was on offer.

Dad looking out of plane window with Daughter
Bye bye England

How to get to Hamburg, Germany

We flew from Heathrow Terminal 5 at 7.05am which is very early but we live close by so it didn’t feel too bad. We had a bit of a panic where our daughter lost her beloved teddy bear in Departures, never to be seen again, but she was absolutely fine with him – maybe it was more of a security blanket for us than her!

RyanAir, Easyjet and British Airways all fly Direct to Hamburg from the UK, in around 1.5 hours. Check best deals here.

Getting from Hamburg Airport to the City Centre

The distance from Hamburg Airport to the City Centre is 10km and the travel time is around 25 minutes by train. By taxi it is 20 minutes and will be around €30. The cheapest way from Hamburg airport to the City Centre is by public train and bus at €3 per person and it will take 25-30 minutes to reach the City Centre.

Girl sleeping on plane
At least one of us is comfy!

Where We Stayed in Hamburg

We decided to stay in an Apart-hotel for this trip and it was a great first taste of the benefits of having a kitchen/living area when traveling with children. It was very small but suited us perfectly for a short visit. We booked via Hotels.com who we like to use as after booking 10 nights you get your next night free!

Whilst we did not book with them on this occasion, Airbnb has lots of great looking places in Hamburg, check it out here.

Where are the Christmas Markets in Hamburg 2021?

Bergedorf Christmas Market -East Hamburg

Blankenese Christmas Market – West Hamburg

City Christmas Market РM̦nckeberg- and Spitalerstrasse

City Hall Christmas Market – One of Hamburgs biggest Markets.

Winter Pride Xmas Market – St. Georg

This is just a sample of the many Christmas Markets in Hamburg in 2021. There is even one dedicated to Dogs! For a full list of all the Christmas Markets around Hamburg, click here.

What else is there to do in Hamburg at Christmas time?

Christmas Parades

Colourful parades spread Christmas joy throughout Hamburg’s city centre the first four Saturdays in December.​​ 

The Märchenschiffe Boats

These wonderful boats offer activities galore for younger family members. With storytellers, witches, magicians, face paintings, a library, games and many surprises, kids will love the Märchenschiffe. On the two Backschiffe boats, kids can bake Christmas cookies for a small fee.

Mum and daughter at christmas markets
It was freezing cold but the Gluhwein warmed me up!

Eating in Hamburg

There was plenty of nice places to eat in the City so we ate out a fair bit – they were always accommodating to our daughter and we had some good meals. We tend to use TripAdvisor quite a lot on City breaks to find good places to eat.

mum and daughter in baby carrier
We took a stroll around the City

Summary

We had a lovely visit to Hamburg and as always the Christmas Markets were excellent. A lovely city for a quick mini break away.

For more on the Christmas Markets in Hamburg check out our YouTube guide (Pre-Covid) here:

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