Christmas Markets by Regional Train: Weekend Trips on Your Deutschland-Ticket

Guest post by Brian Mahany of VacationInGermany.com

We moved to Germany in 2024, and it didn’t take us long to figure out that the Deutschland-Ticket and the Christmas markets go together really well. My wife and I and our two boys each have one, and December is when we get the most out of them. You get on a regional train in the morning, walk around a market in a town you haven’t seen yet, have a Bratwurst and a hot drink, and come home in the evening. No parking, no designated driver.

Christmas markets Deutschland ticket

If you live here and already have the ticket, these trips cost you nothing extra. The ticket is 63 euros a month in 2026 (it goes up to 66.80 euros in January 2027), and it covers RE, RB and S-Bahn trains plus local buses and trams. It does not cover ICE, IC or EC trains, so when you plan in the DB Navigator app, turn on the option to show only local transport. Otherwise the app will happily send you on an ICE.

Below are some easy trips, grouped by where you live. Travel times are for regional trains only and are rounded, so check the app for your exact connection.

Christmas Market Dates

Most German Christmas markets wait until after Totensonntag, the Sunday in late November when people remember the dead. In 2026 that’s 22 November, so a lot of markets open on Monday 23 November. A few start earlier, and some of the smaller ones only run on certain weekends, so it’s always worth looking at the market’s own website before you go. If you want dates for markets beyond the ones in this article, I keep an English Christmas market calendar with opening dates and hours for markets all over Germany.

From Munich and southern Bavaria

Augsburg (about 35 to 45 minutes). This is the easy one. The RE9 runs from München Hbf to Augsburg Hbf, and the Christkindlesmarkt is on and around the Rathausplatz, a short tram ride or walk from the station. In 2026 it runs from 23 November to 24 December. It’s open 10:00 to 20:00 Sunday to Thursday and until 21:30 on Fridays and Saturdays. The thing to see is the Engelesspiel, where people dressed as angels appear in the windows of the town hall like a big Advent calendar. It’s at 18:00 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings, plus the opening night and 23 December. Get there early, the square fills up.

Regensburg (about 1.5 hours). Direct regional trains run from Munich to Regensburg via Landshut. The main Christkindlmarkt on Neupfarrplatz runs from 23 November to 23 December 2026, 10:00 to 20:00 Sunday to Wednesday and until 21:00 Thursday to Saturday. The food is the reason to go. Look for the Regensburger sausages and the blueberry Glühwein from the Bavarian Forest. Wednesdays are Kindertag with St. Nicholas handing out treats to kids at 14:00 and 16:00, which is good to know if you have little ones.

Salzburg (just under 2 hours). A lot of people don’t know this one. The Deutschland-Ticket is valid on regional trains from Freilassing to Salzburg Hbf, and the Meridian RE5 runs hourly from München Hbf all the way to Salzburg Hbf. So you can do an Austrian Christmas market on your German ticket. The Christkindlmarkt on Dom- and Residenzplatz runs from 19 November 2026 to 1 January 2027. Two things to know: the ticket does not cover Salzburg city buses, so either walk into the old town or buy a local ticket, and from November 2026 dogs on a leash and with a muzzle are allowed on the market.

Kufstein (our local one). We live in Kiefersfelden, a small village right on the Austrian border, and Kufstein is the next stop over the border. The Deutschland-Ticket is valid on the regional train from Kiefersfelden to Kufstein. The Weihnachtszauber up in the Festung Kufstein (the fortress) only runs on four weekends in 2026: 28 and 29 November and 5 and 6, 12 and 13, and 19 and 20 December, 11:00 to 19:00. It costs 7 euros for adults, and there’s a family ticket for 16.50 euros. Walking up the Kaiserjägerweg from the town center takes about 10 minutes. Pay attention to this one if you have a stroller, because strollers and dogs aren’t allowed in the casemates.

From NRW

Aachen (about 55 minutes from Cologne, about 1.5 hours from Düsseldorf). The RE1 runs hourly from Düsseldorf through Cologne to Aachen Hbf. The Aachener Weihnachtsmarkt is around the cathedral, the Katschhof and the town hall, and in 2026 it runs from 20 November to 23 December, usually 11:00 to 21:00. It’s one of the ones that opens before Totensonntag, but on that Sunday (22 November) it only opens from 18:00. Buy some Aachener Printen, the local spiced gingerbread, to take home. It’s what the town is known for.

Münster (about 55 minutes from Essen, about 1.5 hours from Düsseldorf). The RE2 runs direct and hourly from Düsseldorf via Duisburg, Essen and Gelsenkirchen to Münster. Münster is a good pick because there isn’t just one market, there are six in the old town, all within walking distance of each other. They run from 23 November 2026, most until 23 December (the Lichtermarkt at St. Lamberti and the Giebelhüüskesmarkt close on the 22nd). Hours are 11:00 to 20:00 Sunday to Thursday and until 21:00 on Fridays and Saturdays. The Kiepenkerl market is small and has Westphalian food, and the X-MS market sells only local and regional stuff.

From Berlin

Potsdam (about 25 to 35 minutes). The RE1 gets you from Berlin Hbf to Potsdam Hbf in under half an hour, or you can take the S7. The Potsdamer Weihnachtszauber (it used to be called Blauer Lichterglanz) runs from Luisenplatz through the Brandenburger Straße to Bassinplatz, about 250 stalls with an ice rink and a Ferris wheel. In 2026 it’s on from 23 November to 27 December, 11:00 to 21:00 most days and until 22:00 on Fridays and Saturdays. It’s closed on 24 December and open 11:00 to 18:00 on the 25th and 26th. Entry is free.

Lübbenau in the Spreewald (about 1 hour). This is a different kind of trip. The RE20 runs direct from Berlin Hbf to Lübbenau, and from the station it’s about a 10 minute walk to the Großer Spreewaldhafen. The Spreewaldweihnacht is two markets linked by a punt ride on the canals, one at the harbor and one at the open-air museum in Lehde. It only runs on two weekends: 28 and 29 November and 5 and 6 December 2026, 11:00 to 18:00. You need a ticket bought in advance, and they sell out. If your time slot is gone, the organizers say leftover tickets go on sale on 1 November.

Practical tips

Go on a weekday evening or early on a weekend. Saturday afternoons and evenings are the busiest time at almost every market, and the regional trains are full too. If you can only go on a weekend, get there before lunch.

Know how the Pfand works. Hot drinks come in a mug, and you pay a deposit (Pfand) on top of the drink price. Last year it was usually somewhere between 2 and 5 euros depending on the city. Bring the mug back to any stall from the same market and you get the deposit back, or keep it as a souvenir. A lot of markets have a new mug design every year.

Bring cash. More stalls take cards than a few years ago, but plenty of smaller ones still don’t, and paying cash is faster when it’s busy. Have some coins and small notes so you’re not stuck at the front of a line.

There’s more than Glühwein. If you don’t drink or you’re bringing kids, look for Kinderpunsch (a fruit punch made for kids), hot chocolate, or alcohol-free Glühwein, which a lot of the bigger markets have.

Check the last train before you settle in. Regional trains thin out in the evening, especially on smaller lines, and some only run hourly. Before you get your second mug, look up the last direct connection home in DB Navigator so you’re not stuck waiting on a cold platform for an hour. If you’re crossing a border, make sure that train stays on a section where the ticket is valid.

Check before you go. Opening times and special events change, and some markets close early on the last day. The dates above are the ones published for 2026 at the time of writing, but a quick look at the market’s website the week before never hurts.

We enjoy doing things like this because it doesn’t take much planning. You pick a town, check the train, and go. If you’ve got a Deutschland-Ticket in your phone already, December is a good month to get your money’s worth out of it.

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