Craving a unique look into Europe’s food traditions? Just visit its Christmas markets
Rachel Schnalzer
11 December 2024
You can learn a lot about a region by visiting its Christmas markets. At markets held in many European countries, age-old holiday traditions play out in real time, as visitors browse booth after booth of hand-crafted gifts made with skills that have been passed down generation after generation.
And let’s not forget about the food.
Seasonal treats, from turrón in Spain to saffron buns in Sweden, offer travellers a unique opportunity to taste Europe’s vast culinary heritage.
This is one of the reasons why two colleagues and I decided to go on an Interrail trip to Christmas markets in Germany, France and the Netherlands. In total, we visited four destinations in three distinct areas of Europe – Saxony, Alsace and Limburg – and tried as many regional holiday specialties as possible along the way.
Here's a rundown of the sweet and savoury treats and snacks we tried during our Interrail trip.
Dresden's 590-year-old Striezelmarkt offers travellers a front-row seat to Saxony's centuries-old food traditions.
Visitors to Dresden can watch bakers create Stollen at outdoor kitchens in the Striezelmarkt.
We found Quarkbällchen at a stand in Dresden's Augustusmarkt, across the Elbe from the Old Town.
Dresden, Germany
Stollen
Market: Striezelmarkt
In 2024, Dresden's Striezelmarket is celebrating its 590th anniversary. But Stollen, the most essential sweet to try at Dresden’s markets, is even older, with roots dating back to the 1300s. At the Striezelmarkt’s Showroom Bakery, we watched bakers create this beloved, buttery bread, dotted with raisins, candied orange and lemon peel, right before our eyes.
Gefüllte Spitzen
Market: Weihnachtsmarkt an der Frauenkirche
Lebkuchen, a type of spiced biscuit, is another essential Christmas treat to try at the Dresden markets. We opted for Gefüllte Spitzen, a type of lebkuchen covered in dark chocolate, as we wandered around the markets near the Frauenkirche.
Quarkbällchen
Market: Weihnachtsmarkt an der Frauenkirche
We sustained our sugar rush with a serving of Quarckbällchen, warm spheres of dough with cinnamon on the outside and quark – a type of mild cheese – on the inside. Quarckbällchen are a cosy snack ideal for an afternoon spent outdoors at a Christmas market.
Handbrot met Kaas
Market: Augustusmarkt
Love bread? Love cheese? Then you’ll love Handbrot met kaas. As we crossed the Elbe River and began exploring the Augustusmarkt, we switched from sweet to savoury with a stop at a booth selling the bread-based snack filled with melted cheese.
Strasbourg, France
Tarte flambée
Market: Chrìstkìndelsmärik
A classic Alsatian dish, these mouth-watering flatbreads are made to order fresh at Strasbourg’s Christmas markets. After choosing this savoury snack, covered in crème fraîche, onions and bacon, it was brought to us already cut in pieces, making it perfect for sharing with friends.
Baguette flambée
Market: Chrìstkìndelsmärik
Eager to keep all that cheesy goodness to yourself? Opt for a baguette flambée instead, topped with crème fraîche, onions, bacon and other toppings. Vegetarians, worry not – there are usually non-meat varieties available at the markets.
Käsespätzle
Market: Chrìstkìndelsmärik
True cheese-lovers will rejoice at the sight of Käsespätzle, served piping hot in bowls at the market. The egg noodles covered in cheese, onions and other toppings are a hearty snack that kept us going during a long day spent at the markets.
Bretzel
Market: Les Irréductibles Petits Producteurs d'Alsace
Though many travellers associate bretzels with Germany, sweet and savoury bretzels can be found across Strasbourg’s Christmas markets as well. We opted for a large bretzel, big enough to share and dusted with sugar.
Crêpe
Market: Place Benjamin Zix
Though crêpes originated nearly 1,000 kilometres away in Brittany, we couldn't resist savouring one or two during our time in Strasbourg. Slathered with chocolate and other toppings, we think you’ll like them as much as we did.
Bredele
Market: Place Benjamin Zix
Instagram-famous foods may come and go, but some specialties stand the test of time. That’s the case with bredele, a traditional Alsatian butter biscuit baked during the Christmas season in Strasbourg. We picked up a bag of biscuits and snacked on them during our train journey from Alsace to Limburg.
Shayna and Paulo, two members of Eurail's creative team, share a laugh over a crêpe with Nutella at Place Benjamin Zix in Strasbourg.
Recipes for bredele are passed down through families in Alsace, making each cookie a small testament to the region's culture and history.
Paulo and Rachel, two members of Eurail's creative team, try erwtensoep at Maastricht's Christmas market.
According to the Dutch Review, the first recipe for oliebollen appears in a 1667 cookbook.
Valkenburg and Maastricht, the Netherlands
Waffles
Market: Fluweelengrot
Valkenburg is not your typical Christmas destination. The majority of the town’s Christmas markets are underground, held in a series of caves filled with shops, illuminated Christmas trees and food stands. One of the most common treats in the cave? Waffles, doused in powdered sugar.
Apple strudel
Market: Fluweelengrot
What goes well with sugar? Well, more sugar, of course. To accompany our waffle, we ordered an apple strudel and a mug of Chocomel while sitting in a cosy corner of the Fluweelengrot.
Erwtensoep
Market: Kerstmarkt Gemeentegrot
After a several hours spent underground at Valkenburg’s Christmas markets, we warmed up with a few bowls of erwtensoep, a traditional split pea soup. Often served on New Year’s Day in the Netherlands, erwtensoep is a fortifying addition to a day spent exploring the Christmas caves.
Mushrooms with garlic sauce
Market: Magical Maastricht Vrijthof
We kicked off our visit to the Magical Maastricht Vrijthof (the last Christmas market of our Interrail trip) with a generous helping of sauteed mushrooms covered in onions and garlic sauce. Also found in Christmas markets across Germany, this dish is sometimes called “Weihnachtsmarkt Champignons,” translating to “Christmas market mushrooms.”
Poffertjes
Market: Magical Maastricht Vrijthof
What’s better than pancakes? The answer: a helping of fluffy mini pancakes, called poffertjes, perfectly sized for snacking as you explore a Christmas market. A sweet often found at Dutch Christmas markets, poffertjes typically come with sugar and butter.
Oliebollen
Market: Magical Maastricht Vrijthof
No one knows with absolute certainty how oliebollen became a beloved holiday treat in the Netherlands. However, these warm, fried spheres of dough have a long history, even appearing in a painting made in the 1650s by Dutch artist Albert Cuyp.
As our time at Maastricht’s Christmas market winded down, we ordered three oliebollen as a final snack. After only one bite, I looked at my travel companions and knew we had all found our collective favourite holiday treat. The best news of all? We had just enough time to order an extra bag of oliebollen as a snack for our train ride home.
Meet the writer
Rachel Schnalzer (pictured right) is a senior writer at Eurail, based in Utrecht, the Netherlands. This winter, she travelled to Saxony, Alsace and Limburg with Shayna and Paulo, two of her colleagues (also pictured), to discover the ultimate European Christmas market itinerary.
Favourite Christmas market moment
"I really loved stepping into the Showroom Bakery at Dresden's Striezelmarkt. I can perfectly recall the sugary scent of the Stollen, baking over the wood-fired oven, and it was lovely getting the chance to meet the bakers who bring Dresden's culinary traditions to life."
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