Ultimate Guide to Cologne’s Christmas Markets: Food, Fun & Fairytale Vibes 🎄✨

#christmasmarket 🎄 – If you’re craving those magical winter vibes, Cologne’s Christmas markets will blow your mind! From tasty street eats to dazzling lights, here’s a quick rundown of my fab night exploring the festive scene. P2 is the map of the Christmas train. And guess what? This year’s pass is just 15€! So hop on and let’s go! 🚂 📍First Stop: The Cathedral Market This market is tucked right under the famous Cologne Cathedral. Find the train boarding area on the square directly facing the cathedral—just walk straight ahead with the cathedral at your back and you’ll spot the train easy! The whole market is a sea of red and looks soooo much prettier after dark. Snack game here is strong: the cheesy baguette and hotdog everyone’s lining up for are drool-worthy! Plus, this market has the cutest green cups you won’t spot anywhere else. 📍Second Stop: The Green Market (Biggest One!) The biggest market has major Harry Potter vibes at night with its skating rink and mini ferris wheel. If you love pics, this place is insta-gold! Their cups this year are red, but tbh, not really my style—couldn’t find a store dedicated to selling them either. Legendary eats alert: the 300-year-old pork knuckle stall! The sauerkraut there is next-level delish. 📍Ferris Wheel Tip! Save your ferris wheel ride for the third stop at the Chocolate Museum. This wheel is HUGE—9€ for 10 minutes and the views of the Rhine River are epic. I shared my cabin with two German grandmas and, well, half our convo was nervous laughter, but the ride was a blast! 📍Third Stop: Chocolate Museum Market The decor here is a little… let’s just say, not my cup of tea. It started raining too, so I just did the ferris wheel and browsed the museum. If you get tickets from xc (Trip.com), it’s 13.6€, and you skip the lines! Museum hack: You get one piece of chocolate at the entrance and four more as you leave! Inside, you can queue for three more—chocolate lovers, this is your paradise. Outside the museum, there’s a chocolate shop I HAVE to recommend! The pistachio ones with sleek green wrappers (look for the smooth ones, not those in foil) are out-of-this-world tasty, and way cheaper than the ones at the airport. Snagged a handful for 37€—major win! 📍Fourth Stop: The Tree-Lined Street Market When I arrived, it was already dark—the market looked grey or maybe green, but the twinkling lights overhead are the absolute ✨prettiest✨. A massive accessories store here is a photo spot dream (my pics P1 and P5 are from this store!). Every piece is super cute but gotta warn you, prices are a bit high—think 130+€ for a larger Santa or 240€ for a carousel with lights. Settled for a tiny cat ornament I totally loved (30+€), but didn’t buy—had to remind myself it’d just collect dust eventually. I started at around 1:30pm, hopped on the little Christmas train, and finished the last market by 5pm.🕔