Nuremberg Christmas Market Food Tour: Christmas City Culinary Tour

Included and Paid on Top

The guide, culinary stops with food and drinks, and gratuities are included. Sausage, Lebkuchen and hot wine are named as the tastings, and hot wine with other drinks at the stops counts as included.

Gratuities are included, so tips are covered.

Anything extra you buy at the stalls, plus transport to the meeting point, comes out of your own pocket. Extra Glühwein beyond the stops is not stated as included.

Dates That Matter

The whole route works from 27 November to 23 December. After 23 December the Sister Cities market, where the tour ends, is closed, and the main market shuts at 14:00 on 24 December. The Children's Christmas alone keeps going to 30 December.

The tour runs rain or shine, and the market can close early in severe weather by loudspeaker announcement.

Money at the Stalls

Cash and cards are both accepted at the stalls. The Christkindlesmarkt-Taler, a $5.57 (€5) voucher, is accepted at Hauptmarkt stalls, the Market of the Sister Cities, the Kinderweihnacht and Original Regional. Glühwein stands use one reusable mug system with a deposit, and the deposit amount is not published.

For getting there, the VGN single ticket for Nuremberg costs $4.34 (€3.90) and a day ticket solo $11.80 (€10.60), while a group day ticket for one to six people, with at most two adults, is $17.25 (€15.50).

What to Bring and Who Can Join

Bring comfortable shoes and warm clothing. Luggage or large bags are not allowed. No minimum age or difficulty rating is published for this tour.

The tour is listed as wheelchair accessible. No hotel pickup is offered, so make your own way to the meeting point you select.

Route and Stops

Two starting location options exist and the meeting point may vary by option, so check availability when booking. From the start the group walks to the Fleischbrücke for a short 5 minute introduction, then reaches the Hauptmarkt for a 30 minute stop with tastings.

The route continues to Hans-Sachs-Platz, home of the Children's Christmas, for 20 minutes with food and regional tastings. It returns to the Hauptmarkt for another 25 minutes, then makes a 20 minute stop at an unnamed location, and finishes with 20 minutes at St. Sebaldus Church.

The tour runs through the Children's Christmas Market, the International Christmas Market, and ends at the Market of the Partner Cities, between St. Sebald Church and the Town Hall. Itineraries are subject to change. The end point is that partner cities market by the church, not the start point.

Free Time at the Market

There is no separate free-time slot at the stalls. The two Hauptmarkt visits together give 55 minutes of guided time with tastings. If you want to browse on your own, stay after the tour ends.

The Christkindlesmarkt runs 27 November to 24 December, daily 10:00-21:00, and closes at 14:00 on 24 December. The Market of the Sister Cities, where the tour ends, runs 27 November to 23 December, so a late tour near the end of the season finishes at a market that has already closed. Plan your booking date around that.

Nuremberg Rostbratwurst

A genuine Nuremberg Rostbratwurst is 7 to 9 cm long and weighs 20 to 25 g, and the recipe of pork, salt, pepper and marjoram has been protected as an EU geographic indication since 2003. At the stalls the classic order is three in a bun, called Drei im Weggla. In the sit-down Bratwurstküchen you get 6, 8, 10 or 12 sausages on a pewter plate, with sauerkraut or potato salad.

The market's sausage stalls have changed location every year since the 1990s, so do not count on last year's map.

Lebkuchen and Hot Wine

Nuremberg Lebkuchen has carried EU protection since 1996 and must be made in the city. The premium Elisenlebkuchen must contain at least 25 percent nuts and at most 10 percent flour. Some Elisenlebkuchen are sold in vegan versions at the market.

Nürnberger Glühwein has been EU protected since the early 1990s, and blueberry Glühwein is the insider tip. Twenty Glühwein vendors share one reusable mug design that changes each year, so the same mug works at every hot-drink stand. Return it to reclaim the deposit, or keep it as a souvenir.

Hauptmarkt and the Children's Christmas

The Hauptmarkt hosts the Christkindlesmarkt itself, 27 November to 24 December, daily 10:00-21:00 and 10:00-14:00 on 24 December, with around 170 to 180 wooden stalls. The Frauenkirche and the Schöner Brunnen frame the square. By the Sebalduskirche sit the four Original Regional stalls with Franconian goods, trading until 23 December.

The stop on Hans-Sachs-Platz is the Children's Christmas, the Kinderweihnacht, which runs 27 November to 30 December with a carousel, steam train and craft workshops. It is a family stop rather than a food destination, so the tastings there focus on regional treats.

The Market of the Sister Cities

The tour ends at the Market of the Partner Cities on Rathausplatz, between St. Sebald Church and the Town Hall. It is a separate market run by the city's Office for International Relations, open 27 November to 23 December. Nuremberg has 14 twin cities, and the proceeds go to charities in the twin towns. Last season it had 23 stalls with goods from partner cities including Skopje and Santiago de Cuba.

What the tour skips is the Winterdorf on Jakobsplatz, which runs longer, 13 November to 9 January, with a Ferris wheel. If you want the castle and its gingerbread tasting added to your day, book the Castle Tour with Lebkuchen Tasting separately.

What Is Meat and What Is Not

Of the three named tastings, the sausage is the only meat item. Lebkuchen and hot wine are not meat. Beyond that, it is not stated whether the guide can arrange vegetarian or vegan alternatives at the six stops, so email the operator through the booking page before you pay.

Treat the sausage stop as fixed unless you get written confirmation otherwise.

Vegan Finds at the Market Itself

The market states that some Elisenlebkuchen are available in vegan versions at the stalls. The city also publishes six themed routes for exploring the market, one of them dedicated to vegan food and gifts. If the tour cannot adapt, you can follow that vegan route on your own before or after the walk.

Advent Weekends

The city expects very high visitor numbers on Advent weekends and advises leaving the car at a Park+Ride and taking public transport, with the U1 running doubled on those days. The 24 December trading ends at 14:00, which changes the feel entirely.

Where the Tour Ends

The Market of the Sister Cities on Rathausplatz is where the tour ends. Last season it had 23 stalls with goods from partner cities, and it runs to 23 December.

Sit-down Bratwurst Kitchens

If the tastings leave you hungry, the sit-down Bratwurstküchen serve the sausages in portions of 6, 8, 10 or 12 on a pewter plate. Toilets sit in the Rathaus for $0.56 (€0.50), entered from Rathausplatz, with a fee-based toilet wagon on Obstmarkt behind the Frauenkirche.