Guided by Adventure

Hayden and I decided it was finally time to visit the Christmas markets in Europe! We usually do not travel during the holidays due to how busy it can be, we usually enjoy low-season travel in spring and fall, but you can’t travel to Christmas markets in spring and fall, so we gave in and booked the trip last minute!

1. Our Trip
2. 2 Days in Antwerp, Belgium
3. 3 Days in Cologne, Germany
4. 1 Day in Valkenburg, Netherlands
5. 1 Day in Amsterdam, Netherlands
6. Transportation Options
7. What is the Cost of the Trip
8. Our Awards

Our Trip

This was such a fun trip! We think it is the perfect 7 day Christmas market trip due to the mixture of towns and activities we did along the way! The cities were the perfect choice, one medium size, one small, and two large cities made for the perfect relaxation and high energy mixture.

2 Days in Antwerp, Belgium

Antwerp was our favorite city on the trip! There are tons of museums to check out, cute shops, incredibly beautiful architecture, delicious food, and of course awesome Christmas markets. Spending two days here allows for the perfect amount of time to explore the city and everything it has to offer. Below is what we did in Antwerp!

MAS Museum! This museum was so interesting with lots of World War 2 history and other interesting facts about Antwerp. It was a fun introduction to the city and its history. The museum only costs $10.43 and has 8 different stories to explore with interactive and video displays!

Chocolate Nation! This was one of our favorite experiences on the trip. The Chocolate Nation museum takes you through the history and making process of chocolate. Once you finish with the fun facts, you are taken to a chocolate tasting room where you can try about 10 different types of chocolate! We were given a student discount and paid $12.28 per person.

Wafelhuis Van Hecke! Enjoy a waffle at Wafelhuis Van Hecke! These are incredible Belgian waffles. We were told to do 2 things in Belgium, try the waffles and beer!

Barbarella! This is a delicious Italian restaurant with amazing Pizza! We tried the cheese platter, wine, and pizzas and loved it.

Local Store! We ate breakfast at Local Store. It is cute and delicious.

Billie’s! Dinner and beer at Billie’s Bier Kafeteria were yummy! They have a wide selection of beers, some local and some world-renowned!

The Chocolate Line! Visit The Chocolate Line for delicious chocolate! These chocolates make for great gifts.

Grote Markt! This is the main Christmas market in Antwerp! It had lots of yummy treats and cute gifts to purchase. From churros, cocoa, Glühwein, and adorable decorations. This is the place to be!

Suikerrui! This market almost seems like it is part of the Grote Market. It is along a street coming out of the Grote Market and has adorable decorations and goodies.

Groenplaats! This is the second largest market in Antwerp. It has lots of snacks, goodies to buy, and best of all, an ice skating rink! To ice skate, gloves are required (you can buy them for €6.) Adults are €8 and kids are €5 to skate. To rent skates is an additional €4.

Operaplein! An adorable little Christmas market next to the central train station.

Koningin Astridplein! This little Christmas market is at the Antwerp central station and has a Ferris wheel!

3 Days in Cologne, Germany

Three days in Cologne in the perfect amount of time before you start getting bored! There is a good amount to do here but the two main attractions are the Cologne Cathedral and the Christmas Markets! If you want to know more in-depth about Christmas Markets in Cologne click here! Below are our favorite activities in Cologne.

Cologne Cathedral! At 157 m (515 ft), the cathedral is the tallest twin-spired church in the world! An incredible sight inside and out.

Climb the Cologne Cathedral Spire! This costs about $8.46 per person, there is no elevator so you have to climb the stairs to the top, but the view is incredible!

Dom Treasury! You can visit the catacombs under the cathedral and learn more about its history. This is a great activity for history lovers like us.

Lindt Chocolate Museum! This museum was not as fun as Chocolate Nation, but if you didn’t get the chance to visit Chocolate Nation this is fun! With lots of history on how chocolate is made and tastings along the way.

Christmas Market at Cologne Cathedral! This Christmas market is so magical due to its size and the fact that the Cologne Cathedral looms over the market in all of its magnificence! This was one of the bigger and more magical markets with cute red accents and adorable pine décor.

Heinzels Winter Fairytale! This is the biggest of the 6 markets in Cologne! It is split into two different markets, the Alter Markt (Old Market) and the Heumarkt (Gnome Market,) which has a massive ice skating rink!

Cologne Harbour Christmas Market! The Harbour Market is fun due to its location! It is on the edge of the river, next to the Lindt Chocolate Museum. In this market, you will find a Ferris wheel with incredible views along with the BEST salmon we have ever had! Not to mention the potato spiral was delicious!

Market of Angels! The Market of Angels Christmas market was one of the cutest markets. One of the most adorable things about this market is the lights dangling from the trees! It feels magical. Not to mention each stall has a star and Christmas decorations!

Village of St. Nicholas! The Village of St. Nicholas (Weihnachtsmarkt Köln Rudolfplatz – Nikolausdorf) was another fun market with lots of food! In addition to the market stalls, there are also food trucks outside of the market for more options.

1 Day in Valkenburg, Netherlands

Valkenburg was the city we felt had the most holiday cheer! There are three Christmas markets here (two of which are in caves,) and other fun things to do! The town has so many different Christmas decorations to make it feel festive. Below are our recommendations.

Valkenburg Castle! This is such a cool experience! Tickets cost €10 per person and you get to walk around the castle ruins and read about what happened and when it happened! Not to mention the view from the top is amazing.

Santas Village! Compared to the Christmas markets in Germany, this one was very small, but still cute with food, authentic sweet treats, and drinks to enjoy!

Christmas Market Municipal Cave! This is Valkenburgs main cave Christmas market! The caves are from the castle, escape rooms, and tunnels. They have transformed the caves into adorable Christmas markets! This one has food, drinks (a bar), and lots of fun gifts!

Velvet Cave! The velvet cave is similar to the Municipal Caves, but smaller and there is no food until the very end, there is a small coffee shop/car. This cave is mainly a gift shopping area.

Blokbreker! Brunch at Blokbreker was delicious! We love the chicken sandwich. It is in a great location, right next to the Municipal caves.

Bij De Jongens Valkenburg! Dinner was incredible and fairly cheap! We had chicken tenders, french onion soup, pork ribs, a burrata appetizer, a mule, and a glass of wine for $72! The food was absolutely amazing

1 Day in Amsterdam, Netherlands

Amsterdam feels like the Las Vegas of Europe! That is the best way to describe it. It is dirty and extremely busy with lots of shipping, museums, things to do, and fun activities. It is definitely a party city! And Haydrb and I aren’t partiers. We woke up many times throughout the night to people coming in from partying. The city’s architecture is gorgeous and there are lots of activities and good restaurants in Amsterdam, so there are some benefits to the city but Hayden and I were overwhelmed with the amount of people.

Van Gogh Museum! This was one of the museums we had really wanted to check out.

Dal Pagliaccio! Looking for good Italian food? It was delicious for us!

Just Walk Around! Walking around Amsterdam is beautiful! There is so much to see and so many stores and cute shops to visit.

Transportation Options

Since we started off in Amsterdam and since we choose not to rent a car we choose trains as our preferred transportation. A few reasons as to why we did not rent a car: 1. they are expensive, 2. they are slower than trains, 3. parking in the cities would have been very challenging!

The trains are fairly easy to navigate. Make sure you choose a flex ticket when you buy your tickets so you can hop on any train to your destination. Also, when you are traveling, have Google Maps open on a route to your destination by train so you can have a second source of directions rather than just where you booked.

From Amsterdam, Netherlands to Antwerp, Belgium: We landed around 7pm local time in Amsterdam and instead of staying the night in Amsterdam, we felt it was best to head straight to Antwerp. There is a train station at the Amsterdam airport, and from there we took a train to Antwerp. We only had to change trains once in Rotterdam. It was a very smooth journey and took about 1.5 hours until we reached Antwerp! This train costs about $45 per person.

From Antwerp, Belgium to Cologne, Germany: Yet again the easiest and quickest option was by train. This train takes about 2.5 hours and has two changes, one in Brussels, Belgium, and the other in Aachen, Germany. It cost $83.27 per person.

From Cologne, Germany to Valkenburg, Netherlands: Yet again the train was easier, quicker, and cheaper than a bus. It cost $37 per person and was about a 1.5-hour ride. We had to change stations in Aachen.

From Valkenburg, Netherlands to Amsterdam, Netherlands: Yet again we choose the train for this 3.5-hour journey. Luckily there is only one change in Maastricht, other than that it is a straight shot. This train costs $38.50 per person.

From Amsterdam to the Airport: From Amsterdam, there are a few ways to get to the airport if you do not have a rental car. 1st option is Uber (Uber uses taxis.) The 2nd option is the trains! For the trains, you can either walk to the central station or any stations along the main line to the airport and go directly on one train to the airport, or you can take a tram to the main line. This was a bit more complicated so we decided to take a taxi from our hostel to the airport which cost €30 for a 30-minute ride.

What is the Cost of the Trip

Here is a quick breakdown of costs for 2 people!

• Flights from LAX to AMS – $1,131.68
• Train from Amsterdam to Antwerp $90
• Hotel in Antwerp $541.47 (3 nights)
• Train from Antwerp to Cologne $166.54
• Hotel in Cologne $318.25 (3 nights)
• Train from Cologne to Valkenburg $
• Hotel in Valkenburg $250.77 (1 night)
• Train from Valkenburg to Amsterdam
• Hostel in Amsterdam $134.84 (1 night)
• Uber to the airport $27.51
• Euro ATM withdrawal $156.8 (all spent at Christmas Markets on food, drink, and gifts)
• Food $503.38 (plus some of the cash above)
• Activities $137.61 (Student discounts were available for some activities.)

To save money on food you can always eat lunch and dinner at only Christmas markets! We ate breakfast out as only one of our hotels (Hotel Walram in Valkenburg) had free breakfast, and about 50% of our dinner and lunch was eaten at a restaurant which is more expensive than snacking at the Christmas markets.

Our Awards