Christmas markets

Held on Südermarkt, Germany's largest market square, where Santa Claus drops by every Sunday to greet the children.

The North Sea harbour town's market on the market square is home to northern Germany's largest Advent wreath.

The market is traditionally opened by Santa Claus, who arrives by ship and continues by horse-drawn carriage to the historic market square.

Known as 'Little Amsterdam' for its canals, the town is an ideal base for visiting the nearby Christmas markets in Husum, Heide and Schleswig.

A traditional market of glittering stalls with lavishly decorated roofs, stretching from the square in front of Neues Schloss across Karlsplatz and Schillerplatz.

The most famous of the city's many markets is the one in front of the cathedral with over 150 wooden huts, while angels dressed in white roam the Neumarkt market.

Of the markets held across the city, the most classic is in the Altstadt near the town hall and the Market Church, with almost 130 stalls.

With roots going back to the 15th century, Leipzig's Christmas markets turn the historic eastern German city into a true Christmas paradise.

More than 150 stalls fill the squares around Brunswick Cathedral at this market with a tradition of over 500 years.

On Münsterplatz in front of Ulm Minster, home to the world's tallest church spire, more than 130 decorated stalls welcome visitors.

Dating back to the mid-16th century, the world-famous Christkindlesmarkt with almost 200 wooden stalls is the epitome of a German Christmas market.