The best European Christmas markets are found well off the tourist trail
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It’s difficult to imagine a more perfect festive scene. The snow, already half a foot deep, is falling softly in fat flakes. The town square’s Christmas market is twinkling with lights, children are shrieking happily as they careen around an ice rink, the air is thick with the smell of warm honey mead and sweet ‘trdelnik’ pastry cooked over fire. Large groups of friends and family are gathered together. I cannot hear a single English accent.
We are in Premysl Otakar II Square, the historic centre of Ceske Budejovice, about 75 miles south of Prague in South Bohemia, having travelled for about three hours in increasingly nerve-inducing weather conditions as darkness set in. But with the car safely parked outside the hotel and already blanketed in snow, it’s time for a celebratory restorative drink and some fun.
This small-but-perfectly-formed Christmas market is well off the tourist trail. We meander happily around, picking up local delicacies and festive decorations to take home, fielding plenty of interested questions – and the odd raised eyebrow – about how far we’d travelled.
By the end of the evening, my shopping bag holds some locally-made ‘klobasa’ sausage and a too-large chunk of cheese for the road, a pair of woollen socks, a large brass bell for which I’m sure I’ll find a use if I can get it home, a candle in the shape of a snowman and a plush gnome with a bulbous nose and a Santa hat. It is the first night of our holiday and it is off to a suitably festive start.
The Czech Republic celebrates the festive season in its own unique way, with many families enjoying a traditional Christmas dinner of carp on December 24. But by the time we arrive in early December, the country has already become a playground of festive markets and church nativity scenes, all set against a backdrop of fairytale villages and castles.
Just to complete the scene, the snow does not stop falling all night. We wake to the tell-tale muffled hush next morning to find that an army of snow ploughs have been out clearing roads. We set off from the cosy security of our hotel on a 25km trip to lively Cesky Krumlov, a UNESCO World Heritage site considered one of the most beautiful towns in Europe, and, after Prague Castle, the second most visited location in the country.
Dominated by a castle built from the 14th century and stretching across the Vltava river, which cascades through the centre of the town, the already picturesque setting is made breathtaking by the deep blanket of snow. Warm cafes tucked into nooks along the narrow cobblestone streets are serving hot chocolate, and as the day goes on craft workshops show visitors how to make decorations and ornaments.
As the evening draws in, the small yet bustling Christmas market in Svornosti Square offers the warmth of open fires to stand next to while sipping a glass of svarak (mulled wine) and a crispy cinnamon trdelnik, while carols led by local children’s choirs fill the air and – if you’re lucky – a procession of angels will parade past – with any visitors in the appropriate costume welcome to join in.
It is with a mixture of reluctance and excitement that we set off out into the snow again for the journey to Prague, which would usually take a little over two hours but becomes an exercise in finding any road still open that has not been blocked by tankers and buses that have lost their battle with the conditions. The sausage and cheese come in handy, and the unexpected detours give us a Narnia-esque experience of the Czech countryside.
Eventually the lights of Prague come into view, and we make a beeline for the mighty 24-metre Christmas tree in the centre of the city’s Old Town Square. The tree is dressed with giant Christmas stars and red and gold baubles, and is draped in 100,000 LED lights, making a spectacular sight set against the dark Gothic skyline.
The city’s main Christmas markets are held in both the Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square from the end of November to early January, and are just five minutes’ walk from each other. They are a major tourist attraction, drawing people from all over the world to their brightly decorated wooden huts, where you can purchase everything from handmade wooden puppets to traditional Christmas fish soup (rybi polevka) made from carp, vegetables, cream and brandy, and cooked in huge cauldrons.
Every possible Christmas decoration is on offer, while the air is thick with delicious aromas of popular Czech foods such as large hams roasted on spits (sunka), klobasa, flatbread topped with garlic, cheese and ketchup (langos), chips (hranolky), smoked meat dumplings (knedliky plnene uzenym masem), sweet dumplings (sladke knedliky) and crepes (palacinky).
We spend hours weaving among the crowds eating and drinking, selecting hand-blown and hand-painted glass baubles in dizzying displays of colour, and painted wooden marionette puppets – a particular speciality of Prague’s Christmas markets.
Rising above it all is the Old Town Hall Tower, almost 70 metres high with a viewing gallery at the top offering breathtaking views over the city. We make our way to the top, and look out over a scene of snow-topped roofs, Christmas trees, the glowing markets with smoke rising from the food stalls, and entire avenues of trees running through the city lit up with fairy lights.
Prague is a spectacular festive scene, but a long weekend can easily extend to the smaller towns where visitors can immerse themselves in the country’s unique Christmas traditions.
I’m not sure carp will ever take the place of our roast turkey and trimmings, but our fat little gnome now takes pride of place on the mantelpiece.
How to plan your trip
Doubles at the Falkensteiner Hotel Prague cost from £160 per night (two sharing).
For more information on the destinations, go to visitczechia.com, prague.eu and Jižní Čechy.
