Nuremberg Christmas Market History Tour

Included in the $28

The price includes a walking tour, a guide, snacks and mulled wine. The tastings are Elisen gingerbread, a bratwurst roll and snacks, with one cup of mulled wine at the end. All taxes and fees are part of the price.

• Walking tour
• Guide
• Snacks, named as Elisen gingerbread, a bratwurst roll and snacks
• One cup of mulled wine at the end

Not in the Price

No exclusions are listed. You pay for anything extra you eat or drink at the stalls beyond the included samples, for extra cups of mulled wine, for tips, and for your transport to the meeting point. There is no hotel pickup.

• Extra food and drinks at the stalls
• Tips
• Transport to and from the meeting point
• Hotel pickup, which this tour does not offer

The Mulled Wine

The mulled wine is included. One cup comes at the end of the walk. If you do not drink alcohol, ask the operator through the booking page what is offered instead.

Dates That Matter for This Tour

The walk runs in December only, so book inside the market season: 27 November to 24 December, daily 10:00-21:00 and 10:00-14:00 on 24 December. Two dates narrow your window. The tour ends at the Market of the Sister Cities, which closes 23 December, so book on or before 23 December if you want the finish point open.

And the opening ceremony on 27 November at 17:30 brings a sales break from 17:25 to 18:00 on the Hauptmarkt, which can disrupt an evening slot that day.

Cash, Cards and the 5-euro Taler

Stalls accept both cash and card, and the Christkindlesmarkt-Taler, a 5-euro voucher worth $5.57 (€5), works at the Hauptmarkt stalls, the Market of the Sister Cities, the Kinderweihnacht and Original Regional. Your included tastings cover the walk itself, but any extra Gluehwein or food is paid at the stall. Keep the mug deposit in mind if you want the collectible cup as a souvenir.

No invoice is issued for this booking, the booking confirmation is your proof of payment.

Getting There and What to Bring

The start at Rathausplatz 2 is under 5 minutes' walk from the Lorenzkirche U-Bahn station on the U1, about 15 minutes from the main station, with buses 36, 37, 46 and 47 stopping nearby. Driving is not recommended and the city advises Park+Ride on Advent weekends. Bring warm layers, the December mean at the airport sits around 0.6 C with a mean low of -2.4 C, and rain gear, because the tour runs rain or shine.

The walk is wheelchair accessible. No minimum age or bag rule is published for this tour. Public toilets in the Rathaus cost $0.56 (€0.50).

The Route Stop by Stop

You start at Rathauspl. 2, right by the town hall on the Market of the Sister Cities. The walk then moves on foot through short guided segments. The stops come with their own durations: a 3-minute guided segment with food tasting, 3 minutes at the Hauptmarkt, 5 minutes at the Fleischbrücke with a tasting, another 3-minute segment, 5 minutes at the Church of Our Lady, the Frauenkirche, and a final 2-minute segment with a tasting.

The route ends at the Market of the Sister Cities, the Market of the Sister Cities on Rathausplatz.

Start and End Times

No fixed departure or return time is published, so check availability for starting times. Do not try to build a clock time from the minutes listed per stop, they are not a schedule. The whole walk is 2 hours end to end.

The mulled wine comes at the end of the walk.

• Duration: 2 hours
• Start: Rathauspl. 2
• End: Market of the Sister Cities
• Language: German or English
• Weather: runs rain or shine

What the Guide Talks About

The tour tells the story of the Christkindlesmarkt from the Kindleinsmarkt of the 16th century to the market that now draws guests from all over the world. Expect stories about children's gift-giving days, the Barbie doll of the Middle Ages, and the specialties named in the description: the Kaiserlein, the Rauschgoldengel and the Zwetschgermoh. The tastings are folded into the walking, so you hear about each food and then eat it where it belongs.

Two Dates, Two Claims

The market's roots reach back to 1530, and its first explicit mention is a 1678 document calling it a Kindles-Marck. The pre-Christmas fair on the Hauptmarkt can be traced to the 17th century. The city's market history page uses 1530 for the roots and 1678 for the first mention.

• 1530: the roots of the market, per the city's market history page
• 17th century: the pre-Christmas fair is held on the Hauptmarkt
• 1678: first explicit mention, as the Kindles-Marck

How the Route Fits the Timeline

The tour description ties the walk to that timeline directly, saying the market developed since the 16th century from the Kindleinsmarkt to today's attraction. The Hauptmarkt stop sits at the center of that story, because the fair has been held on this square since the 17th century. The Frauenkirche stop adds a later layer, since the church on the Hauptmarkt dates to the mid-14th century and its clock procession has run daily at noon for over 500 years.

• Kindleinsmarkt: the children's market that started it all
• Hauptmarkt: the square the fair has occupied since the 17th century
• Frauenkirche: mid-14th century church on the market square

Why Guides Quote Different Years

Blogs and guidebooks pick the date that suits their story, so you will see 1530 and 1678 used interchangeably. There are roots and a first explicit mention, and they are not the same thing. A good guide will make that distinction, which is one reason a history-led walk beats reading a blog on the train.

The Christkindlesmarkt on the Hauptmarkt

The main market runs on the Hauptmarkt with more stalls toward Rathausplatz and at the Lorenzkirche. The city lists this season as 27 November to 24 December, open 10:00-21:00 daily, with the last day a short session from 10:00 to 14:00 on 24 December. There is no trading on 25 December, the market simply ends.

Around 170-180 wooden stalls stand under red-and-white cloth roofs, and the city has held a stall competition for the most beautiful stand since 1981. The tour's 3-minute Hauptmarkt segment is a guided pass through it, not a shopping stop, so leave time before or after.

• Dates: 27 November to 24 December
• Hours: 10:00-21:00 daily, 24 December 10:00-14:00
• Around 170-180 wooden stalls
• Free entry, no market ticket needed

The Market of the Sister Cities, Your End Point

The Market of the Sister Cities on Rathausplatz is a separate market run by the city's Office for International Relations, and it is where the tour finishes. It runs 27 November to 23 December, one day shorter than the main market. Last season it had 23 stalls selling goods from partner cities including Skopje, Antalya, Santiago de Cuba, Kharkiv, Shenzhen, Cordoba, Verona, Nice, Scotland and South Tyrol, with proceeds going to charities in the twin towns.

Nuremberg has 14 twin cities. If you book the walk for 24 December, note the finish point closes that day, so plan the mulled wine accordingly.

• Dates: 27 November to 23 December
• Opening hours for this season are not yet published
• 23 stalls last season from 10 regions
• Stall proceeds go to charity

What to Add Before or After

The Children's Christmas, the Kinderweihnacht on Hans-Sachs-Platz, runs 27 November to 30 December, longer than the main market, with a carousel, steam train and workshops. The Original Regional stalls by the Sebalduskirche sell Franconian goods and close 23 December. The Winterdorf at Jakobsplatz runs 13 November to 9 January with a 40-meter Ferris wheel.

If you want a guide inside the food side of the market rather than its history, compare the Christmas City Culinary Tour, and for a structured walk without the market focus see the Nuremberg Old Town Walking Tour.

A Young Woman Elected by the City

The Christkind is a young woman elected every two years by the citizens of Nuremberg. Applicants must have turned 16 by election day and be no older than 19, at least 1.60 m tall and free of fear of heights, because she works from high balconies. The election has been held every two years since 1969.

The first Christkind was Gabriele Bergmann. The Christkind for the current term is Nora Falk, born 2009 in Nuremberg. She looks the part in blond curls, a golden crown and a white-gold dress.

• Elected every 2 years, since 1969
• Age 16 to 19, at least 1.60 m tall
• Current Christkind: Nora Falk
• Blond curls, golden crown, white-gold dress

The Prologue That Opens the Market

The Christkind opens the market with a ceremonial prologue spoken from the gallery of the Frauenkirche over the Hauptmarkt. That is the same church the tour stops at for 5 minutes, which gives the stop its meaning. Admission to the opening ceremony is free, and it takes place on the Friday before the first Advent, at 17:30 on 27 November.

The gift-on-Christmas-Eve idea behind the figure goes back to Martin Luther.

• Prologue from the Frauenkirche gallery
• Opening ceremony 27 November, 17:30, free entry

When She Walks Through the Market

Last season the Christkind visited Tuesday to Friday, at 14:30 at the Kinderweihnacht and 15:00 at the Hauptmarkt, with a fairy-tale hour at the Sternenhaus on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She keeps more than 170 appointments over Christmas time, including over 150 visits to charitable institutions. If your tour day is a Tuesday to Friday, check at the market whether she is on the Hauptmarkt after the walk ends.

Elisenlebkuchen, the Gingerbread You Taste

Nuremberg Lebkuchen has carried EU protected geographical indication status since 1996, which means it must be made in Nuremberg. The Elisenlebkuchen you taste on the tour is the premium grade: at least 25 percent nuts and at most 10 percent flour. Lebkuchen bakers were recorded in the city in 1395 and the bakers' guild was approved in 1643.

• EU PGI since 1996, must be made in Nuremberg
• Elisenlebkuchen: at least 25 percent nuts, max 10 percent flour
• Bakers recorded 1395, guild 1643

The Bratwurst Roll

The Nuernberger Rostbratwurst has been made since 1313 and held EU protected status since 2003, the first bratwurst in Europe to get it. The recipe is pork, salt, pepper and marjoram, and the PGI protects the size too: 7 to 9 cm long and 20 to 25 g each. At the market the classic serving is Drei im Weggla, three in a bread roll.

One quirk worth asking your guide about: bratwurst stalls have changed location every year since the 1990s, so the sausage stall you taste at will not stand there next season.

• PGI since 2003, made since 1313
• 7-9 cm, 20-25 g per sausage
• Classic market serving: three in a roll, Drei im Weggla
• Stall locations rotate yearly since the 1990s

The Mulled Wine at the End

Nuernberger Gluehwein has carried EU protection since the early 1990s. The market runs a single reusable mug system across all 20 hot-drink vendors, the first deposit system at a German Christmas market, with one new mug design each season. Blueberry Gluehwein is the local insider tip if you order a second cup on your own tab.

Disposable tableware is not permitted anywhere on the market.