This past December, my wife and I decided to embark on a trip to the infamous Christmas markets in western Europe. Our itinerary was to go from Cologne, Germany, to Belgium then to Paris, France. With each destination having its own unique attractions, we were eager to begin our journey.
One thing that I was very appreciative of in Europe was the Eurail Pass. The Eurail Pass is a train pass where tourists are given full days of unlimited train travel. We selected the 4-day package, which can be increased depending on your trip duration. Although a little user unfriendly, the mobile app offers quick access and flexibility to train routes between destinations that you can add and take away as you like. This can provide quick alternatives if trains get delayed between connections. If this does lead to late changes, keep in mind the pass measures “days” from midnight to midnight. So, if a connecting stop were to go into the next day, that trip would count as two days. The app can allow you to filter details like connection time to help avoid quick connections that could lead to missing your train.
We had a lot of great experiences in each city! The Cologne Cathedral’s gothic architecture and grandness was breathtaking while the various Christmas markets were very unique from each city. I would recommend acquiring some cash for the Christmas markets, since some of the stands do not have card readers. The Louvre in Paris was very fun to explore and see all of the artwork. We did our obligatory viewing of the Mona Lisa as well as admired many of the art pieces in the museum. Belgium food also lived up to its reputation of “having the quality of French food and the quantity of German food”. If you’re thinking of checking out what Christmas in Europe has to offer, I would be more than happy to answer any questions!