With Rail Europe, Christmas is different: dragons, fabrics and cowbells included

Wroclaw pic by Shox Art via Unsplash.

Paris, 9 October 2025. Christmas markets are among Europe’s best-loved traditions. Beyond the major tourist hotspots, many towns and cities offer experiences that feel more personal and rooted in their own history — and they are easiest to reach by train. This season, Rail Europe shines a light on six festive destinations that international travellers may not yet know well. 

Switzerland – Chur’s alpine glow 

Switzerland’s oldest town celebrates with stalls in its medieval alleys, decorated cowbells, wooden crafts and alpine choirs. With a Swiss Travel Pass, travellers can combine Chur with other mountain destinations in one seamless trip. And where else would you find cowbells as Christmas gifts? 

France – Mulhouse’s Christmas fabric 

Mulhouse stands out with a yearly Tissu de Noël inspired by its textile heritage, decorating both stalls and streets. With around 80 chalets and a strong focus on Alsatian crafts, it is intimate and distinctive, yet still little known outside France. 

Germany – Esslingen’s medieval twist 

Ten minutes by train from Stuttgart, Esslingen stages both a Christmas market and a medieval fair. Traders in costume, blacksmiths and glassblowers, clay mugs of mulled wine and children’s games create a lively Advent setting. Visitors may feel they’ve stepped straight out of a history book — tankard included. 

Italy – Trento’s alpine traditions 

Set in Piazza Fiera and Piazza Cesare Battisti, Trento’s market offers vin brulé trentino, mountain cheeses, wooden toys and carved presepi. Rail links from Verona and Innsbruck make it an easy journey into the Dolomites. Even the nativity figures seem to smell faintly of Alpine pine. 

Austria – Klagenfurt and the new Koralmbahn 

From 14 December 2025, the Koralmbahn will link Vienna and Carinthia in record time. Klagenfurt’s Neuer Platz market, watched over by the Lindwurm dragon statue, serves Reindling cake and Glühmost cider, accompanied by regional choirs. Where else can you do your Christmas shopping under the gaze of a dragon? 

Poland – Wrocław’s fairytale forest 

Wrocław’s Rynek square transforms into a “Fairy Tale Forest” with scenes from Polish stories. Visitors sip mulled wine from boot-shaped mugs and shop for gingerbread and Bolesławiec ceramics. Yes, the mulled wine mugs really are shaped like boots — and yes, people take them home as souvenirs. 

For Rail Europe, travelling by train is about more than getting from A to B. It means arriving in the heart of a city, moving at the pace of the locals, and discovering festive traditions that feel distinctive rather than staged.