The Best of Cologne's Christmas Markets
- Lucy and the lens
- Dec 5, 2018
- 5 min read
Updated: Dec 5, 2019
Our official line when asked why we moved to Cologne is "for our careers", but if we're being honest, the number one reason for living in Cologne rather than any other European city is its Christmas markets, generally seen as some of the best in the world! The problem is that there are so many to choose from, and you can (and we do) happily spend weekend after weekend visiting them a) in order to work our way through all the food you can only get at Christmas time, and b) that festive feeling of being in a very cold place yet feeling utterly cosy and contented with your hands firmly wrapped around a steaming mug of Gluhwein.
So to celebrate our fifth year of being able to enjoy Cologne's festive offerings, here is a list of the foods and drinks you shouldn't miss, followed by a ranking of my top 5 favourite Christmas markets in the city!
Cologne Christmas Markets: Food and Drink!
Gluhwein - mulled wine! Comes in red (rot) or white (weiss). Inexplicably, you can also get this with an added shot of something a bit stronger....but why you'd want to, I have no idea!
Heisse Shokolade - hot chocolate. Ask for Heisse Schokolade mit Baileys for a boozy addition!
Kinderpunsch - a non-alcoholic hot beverage for kids and designated drivers alike, featuring mulled grape juice instead of wine
Calvados and Apfel Punsch - at the Alter Markt (Old Town Market) only, you can sip hot, alcoholic apple punch or slurp a shot of hot Calvados with whipped cream on top.
Pfand - the deposit you pay on your Gluhwein mug. It usually costs about as much as the drink itself, but when you return your mug you'll get your deposit back. If you plan on keeping a mug as a souvenir, I recommend heading to the Nikolausdorf market at Rudolfplatz, where the mugs are uniquely boot-shaped! (2019 update - our visit to this market this year suggests that the boot-shaped mugs might not currently be available - will just have to go back a few more times to investigate!)
Reibekuchen - a thin, grated potato pancake fried to perfection, crispy on the outside and slightly gooey in the middle! It's traditionally served with apple sauce (Apfelmus) on the side which is a little odd but totally works. You can also usually order them with cranberry sauce (Preiselbeeren) or garlic sauce (Knoblauch) if you fancy a change. Reibekuchen is probably the market food we eat the most each year - usually as an appetiser before moving on to other delicacies!
Flammkuchen - one of my favourite German dishes, ironically this originated in the Alsace region just over the border in France. It has a very thin dough base cooked for a very short time at an extremely high temperature, with a choice of toppings. My favourite is the traditional combination of sour cream, onion and bacon bits. We like to pretend that it's a healthier alternative to pizza thanks to its thinner base, but if we're being honest, that's just so we can eat more of it!
Schokokuss - a chocolate-coated marshmallow tea cake very popular in Germany. At the Dom (cathedral) market you can get them in all sorts of flavours - we tried marzipan and caramel.
Flammlachs - salmon grilled over a wood fire in the traditional, smoky way, served with bread. This one smells incredible when you walk by - just try resisting!
Mandeln - I can't visit the Christmas markets and not buy a cone of candied almonds. They come coated in all sorts of flavours, from amaretto to spicy chilli. My favourite is the Raffaello (white chocolate and coconut)
Handbrot - found only at the Alter Market (Old Town), this hot oven-baked bread is stuffed with gooey cheese and bacon bits and topped with sour cream and chive.
Fleisch-Spiess - literally just a two-foot-long stick of barbecued meat with the option to drizzle a choice of sauces all over it. These have got quite pricey in the last couple of years, but it's still worth sharing at least one, especially the beef!
Champignons - these fried mushrooms with garlic sauce are everywhere. I wish I liked mushrooms more, because they do look delicious!
Lebkuchen - this is a soft, spongy kind of gingerbread. You'll see them most commonly as hanging, heart-shaped medallions with iced messages on them, but these tend to be a bit underwhelming Instead, go for the bags of smaller, often chocolate-coated Lebkuchen for a true gingery flavour. (Or, just get them at one of the supermarkets near the Christmas markets for a fraction of the price - they're the same same exact thing!)
Wurst - if you fancy a classic German sausage, try the traditional Bratwurst. Or go for an iconic Cologne favourite, the Currywurst, usually served chopped into small pieces and liberally doused in a curry sauce. Don't worry: it's not spicy!
My Top 5 Christmas Markets in Cologne
1. Nikolausdorf at Rudolfplatz
This one is also known as the Bavarian Village, because its stalls are made to look like stereotypical Bavarian houses. It's the most traditional-looking of the markets because of this - with the possible exception of the animatronic reindeer head singing Wham's 'Last Christmas' that greets you at the entrance.
I love this market because although it's smaller than some of the others, it's got the most personality. It's unique for its boot-shaped mugs (pictured earlier in this post), which make the best souvenirs in my opinion, even if they're not the easiest to drink out of! We also love the Reibekuchen (potato pancakes) here, and usually start at this market before moving on to one of the larger ones.
Look out for the giant advent calendar that sits above one of the stalls near the reindeer head: each day, one of the doors gets opened like a real advent calendar!
2. The Dom (Cathedral) Market
Because it’s located right near the city’s central station and main attraction (the cathedral itself), this market is probably the first most visitors see, and can get quite busy as a result. Those who dislike crowds should probably head there first thing in the morning, but it’s probably the most stunning market at night time once the lights go on, so perhaps head there as soon as the sunset sets. The Dom market is completely covered by a pyramid-shaped canopy of fairy lights that make you feel like you’re walking around inside a giant Christmas tree. In a word, it’s magical.
3. The Old Town Market
This might be the city's largest market, stretching between two huge squares: Heumarkt and Alter Markt. At the Heumarkt end, you have an ice rink, delicious cheesy handbrot and wood-fired salmon, as well as an indoor Christmas beer hall with a life-sized, fully animatronic, coin-operated oompah band! At the Alter Markt end, you have your meat on a stick, which you can eat while sipping your hot apple punch, calvados, or glogg and listening to a real brass band.
4. The Stadtgarten Market
This is more of a local market thanks to its slightly less central location,so you can expect to see quirky local businesses getting a look-in here. The emphasis is on 'bio' products, so the food quality tends to be even better than elsewhere, which is quite a feat! Our favourite snack here is the Korean bulgogi beef flatbread wrap with spicy kimchi.
5. The Angel Market
Filling Neumarkt square, the Angel Market is known for its stars - hundreds of them hanging from the trees around it. It's also known for its angels - no surprises there! The angels are people dressed in white who wander around greeting people and posing obligingly for photographs, and once in a while the crowd parts to let through an angel riding majestically on a white horse. This market gets incredibly crowded in the evenings, but it's the loveliest spot for a morning drink on a Saturday or Sunday. If you get there early enough, you can cosy up on a cushioned bench by the christmas trees with a mulled wine in place of your usual morning coffee - what could possibly be more festive than that?
Now there's just one more phrase to learn: Fröhe Weinachten! Merry Christmas!
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