Market at Potsdamer Platz, 2012

Christmas bling at the Arkaden, Potsdamer Platz

The days are getting colder and darker as midwinter approaches, but visiting a Christmas market is a great way to cheer up. Have a gluhwein (or two or three), take a look at the handcrafted goods (which can make nice Christmas presents) and eat something delicious like quarkbӓllchen, knödel with Mohn, smoked fish, wildbouletten, raclette, cheese fondue, mushrooms, grilled sausages, potato puffs, caramelized almonds and much more. Berliner Morgenpost has published a nice “Weihnachtsmarkfahrplan” showing the location of some of the Christmas markets in Berlin and the days they are open here:

From Berliner Morgenpost (see website)

Some of my favourites are:

Spandau Weihnachtsmarkt: This is a really big one and the old town of Spandau is lovely. We haven’t visited it yet this year. There is a stage where bands play Christmas music and you can also watch traditional music played by a group of people with some interesting instruments. It’s a really nice one to wander around.

Spandau Christmas market, 2012

Gendarmentmarkt Weihnachtsmarkt: Gendarmenmarkt is beautiful at any time of the year, but even more so once the star-topped white tents of the Christmas market appear. There is a heated tent in the middle where you can escape the cold for a bit to look at some of the craft items for sale, and there’s often music or even dancing on stage (once I saw some ballet dancers performing to the music of the Nutcracker suite).

Kulturbrauerei Weihnachtsmarkt: This market has a really nice medieval feel and some great food. Try the wildbouletten and the cheese fondue.

For a more extensive list see here: