Wanderlust · 4 min read · December 9, 2025

Whose idea was this Christmas market chaos?

3 cities. 3 countries. 3 Christmas markets. In 24 hours?

Short on time? Let us summarise this guide for you.

In under 24 hours, we set out to visit three Christmas markets in three different countries, hopping from Colmar's fairy-tale streets to Freiburg's glowing night market and finally Basel's chic, gift-worthy stalls. Starting at the tri-national EuroAirport, this guide shares the unexpected border chaos, weather changes, mulled-wine moments and practical tips that shaped our festive sprint across Europe.

EuroAirport lies in the Trinational Eurodistrict of Basel, meaning it's part of Switzerland, France and Germany. Though it technically exists in France. It's all a bit complicated, but basically there's an airport with an exit in France and an exit in Switzerland, and it's just across the border from Germany.

That in mind, when deciding what Christmas markets to go to this year we had an idea. Can we do at least three Christmas markets in three cities in three different countries… in under 24 hours?

If you fancy giving it a go, there are a few things to remember (that we didn't).

As you navigate the airport and try and work out your route, you'll probably get a few texts from your network provider as you hop over the borders so casually. Make sure your roaming plan includes Switzerland as some don't!

Know your exit. EuroAirport has an exit in France and an exit in Switzerland. Though we were heading to Colmar in France first, we had to pick up our hire car from the Swiss side. This meant frantically rushing up escalators and down elevators to get to the right exit, only to drive back across the border pretty much straight away.

Layers and waterproofs are your friend. It was raining while we were in Colmar, but by the time we reached Freiburg there was freezing fog rolling off the mountains. Luckily cups of mulled wine are excellent hand warmers.

Take some Swiss francs in cash – while most of the stalls we visited were happy to take card there were quite a few in Basel that were cash only.

This is the route we took…

Colmar

We were out of the airport by about noon and thought it would make most sense to hit Colmar first. The little French city is very much giving fairy-tale with half-timbered buildings leaning over canals and cobbled streets. Pretty much the perfect place for hosting a Christmas market. One particular highlight was a stall selling some award-winning chocolate – we tried the pistachio praline for obvious reasons.

It's easy to get swept up in the buckets of charm but were the markets here worth visiting? Absolutely – though there are only so many pretzels, baguettes flambée and foie gras one human being can take.

Freiburg

Freiburg Christmas market very much brings the vibes – you'll be jingling from all the mulled wine cups you've collected and in awe of all of the food. You can return the cups for the €4 deposit, but they're all so pretty you'll want to take them home and impress your friends when they pop over for Christmas drinks.

By the time we got to Freiburg it was dark which made everything feel so much more magical. The wine was flowing, the lights were twinkling and everyone was just having a good time. We loved it so much we just had to go back in the morning to see it in the daylight, even though we only had a few hours left of our self-imposed deadline (thankfully we'd booked our hotel right in the middle of the city).

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Basel

Basel has the boujiest market of the three and we made it there with an hour or so to spare (which was definitely not long enough). The vibe here was completely different from the others – it was the kind of place where you could actually do your Christmas shopping and get something thoughtful, not just overpriced tat.

From locally made marzipan blocks to candles you can make yourself, as well as all manner of sweet treats. Keep an eye out for stalls selling Basler Läckerli – it's the city's signature Christmas biscuit, and if you're lucky you might find a friendly merchant willing to give you one for free.