Christmas Markets: Festive Season

Sip mulled wine and tick off your gift list on a leisurely Christmas market cruise.

- Debra Bokur

Here’s an irresistible holiday recipe: charming medieval villages dusted in snow, cobbled streets decorated with festive holiday trappings, and plenty of wintertime cheer. If that sounds as heavenly to you as it does to us, a seasonal European Christmas market cruise delivers all of the necessary ingredients.

Generally available early November through December, Christmas market cruises offer a holiday experience that’s a dream come true for countless travelers. Stocked with selections of handmade ornaments, these markets — called Christkindlmarkts — are typically organized as rows of embellished booths and stalls displaying a variety of lovely gifts and trinkets that vary by region and country. You can count on a few standards, though, such as tree ornaments, toys, nutcrackers, porcelain Christmas villages, jewelry, intricately cut paper stars, slippers, handknit scarves and mittens, carved angels and figurines — not to mention plenty of jams, sweets and other local foods.