Franconia Christmas Markets Road Trip: 344 km from Nuremberg in 4 Days

Franconia, the northern part of Bavaria, has four old-town Christmas markets close enough to link in one short drive. This loop starts in Nuremberg and takes four days and about 344 km. The days are planned around the evenings, when the markets are lit: the first night in Bamberg, the second inside the walls of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, the third in Dinkelsbühl, and the last back in Nuremberg at the Christkindlesmarkt. Most of the driving is on motorways, so each day leaves time to walk the old towns in daylight before the market lights come on.

This is a December trip. The four markets overlap from 27 November to 22 December 2026, so plan the drive inside that window. The dates and hours below come from each market’s official page for 2026:

• Nuremberg Christkindlesmarkt: 27 November to 24 December 2026, daily 10:00–21:00. On the opening day, 27 November, it stays open until 22:00, and on 24 December it closes at 14:00.
• Bamberg Christmas market: 24 November to 23 December 2026. Monday to Thursday 9:30–20:00, Friday and Saturday 9:30–21:00, Sunday 11:00–20:00. Admission is free.
• Rothenburg Reiterlesmarkt: 20 November to 23 December 2026. Sunday to Thursday 11:00–19:00, Friday and Saturday 11:00–20:00. Closed on Totensonntag, 22 November 2026.
• Dinkelsbühl Christmas market: 23 November to 22 December 2026. Monday to Friday 13:00–20:00, Saturday and Sunday 11:00–20:00.

Outside December the same loop still works as a drive through Franconia’s old towns, without the markets.

Germany drives on the right. There is no car toll and no vignette on this route. Pick up the car at Nuremberg Airport (NUE), about 7 km north of the old town, or in the city.

Winter tyres: Germany has no fixed date for them. The rule is tied to the road: when there is black ice, packed snow, slush, ice or frost on the road, you may only drive if all wheels have tyres that meet the winter requirements (§ 2 (3a) of the road traffic regulations, StVO). In practice that means winter or all-season tyres with the Alpine (3PMSF) symbol. Ask for them when you book the car in December. Our winter driving rules page has the details for Germany and its neighbours.

Low-emission zones: The Bavarian state portal lists green low-emission zones (Umweltzonen) in Munich, Augsburg and Regensburg. None of the four towns on this route is on that list.

Day 1 — Nuremberg to Bamberg (59 km)

From Nuremberg Airport it is 59 km to Bamberg, almost all of it north on the A73, under an hour without traffic. From Nuremberg’s main station it is about 62 km.

Bamberg is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, listed in 1993 as the “Town of Bamberg”. UNESCO describes it as a link to the Slav peoples from the 10th century onwards, and a town whose architecture influenced northern Germany and Hungary from the 12th century. The best-known building is the Old Town Hall (Altes Rathaus), which stands in the middle of the river Regnitz. According to the legend, the bishop would not give the citizens land for a town hall, so they drove piles into the river and built it on an artificial island. Look for the painted facade, where the fake architecture makes the wall look three-dimensional, and for the leg of a cherub that sticks out of the painting as a real sculpture. The inside is closed to visitors for now.

A few minutes’ walk away is the Schlenkerla, the historic tavern of Bamberg’s smoked beer (Rauchbier). The brewery says it still dries its malt over an open fire, which gives the beer its taste of smoke. The house at Dominikanerstraße 6 is first recorded in 1405.

The Bamberg Christmas market fills the Maximiliansplatz (Maxplatz), the Grüner Markt and the Obstmarkt, all in the pedestrian zone. On Fridays and Saturdays it is open until 21:00, on the other days until 20:00.

Parking: the city’s bus company runs two park-and-ride sites near the motorway, Heinrichsdamm (800 spaces) and Kronacher Straße (392 spaces), both open 24 hours. A P+R Solo ticket, parking plus a bus ticket for one person, costs €1.50, and P+R Plus, for up to five people, costs €4. On Sundays the P+R buses do not serve these car parks, so on a Sunday park in town or at your hotel. The upper deck at Heinrichsdamm can be closed in frost, snow and ice.

Sleep in Bamberg.

Day 2 — Bamberg to Rothenburg (138 km)

This is the longest drive of the trip, about 1 hour 35 minutes: west on the A3, south on the A7 and off at the Rothenburg exit. Leave after a morning walk in Bamberg so that you reach Rothenburg in the early afternoon. The Reiterlesmarkt closes at 19:00 from Sunday to Thursday, so the evening here is shorter than in the other towns.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a walled town above the Tauber valley. Its town wall is about 4 km long and has 42 towers, and large parts of the walkway on top are open around the clock. The full round, the Rothenburger Turmweg, takes about two and a half hours and passes the well-known Plönlein on its way to the Spital quarter, and the Burggarten, the castle garden, is a good place to rest on the way.

The Reiterlesmarkt spreads over the Marktplatz, the Grüner Markt, the Kirchplatz and the inner courtyard of the town hall. It is named after the Reiterle, a rider from Franconian folklore who was imagined flying through the sky in the dark time of the year. In 2026 the market opens on 20 November at 17:00, and there is a second opening with the Reiterle on 27 November at 17:00. Every year the market has its own designed mug; the 2026 motif is a watercolour of the lit market square by Alfons Berse.

After the market, the night watchman tour starts on the Marktplatz in front of the town hall: in English daily at 20:00 (€9) and in German at 21:30 (€8). Pay in cash; no booking is needed. There are no tours from 24 to 26 December or on 31 December.

Parking: the town recommends driving into the old town only if you know it. Use one of the large car parks outside the walls, P1 to P5. Cars pay €1.30 an hour from 9:00 to 18:00, a day ticket costs €8, and parking is free from 18:00 to 9:00. In the core of the old town there is a night driving ban from 19:00 to 6:00, but hotels can be reached by car at any time.

Sleep in Rothenburg.

Day 3 — Rothenburg to Dinkelsbühl (49 km)

A short day: 49 km, most of it south on the A7, about 40 minutes. Spend the morning in Rothenburg while the streets are quiet, and drive to Dinkelsbühl after lunch.

Dinkelsbühl is another walled old town. Its Christmas market is held in the courtyard of the Spitalhof, the old hospital. On weekdays it opens at 13:00, at weekends at 11:00, and it closes at 20:00 every day. The 2026 motto is “Ihr Kinderlein kommet”, after the Christmas carol by Christoph von Schmid. In the same building there is a craft market in the concert hall, and from Friday to Sunday food from Dinkelsbühl’s partner towns, Guérande in France, Schäßburg (Sighișoara) in Romania and Edenkoben in the Palatinate, in the vaulted hall (Kunstgewölbe).

After dark, the town’s night watchman walk starts at 21:00 at the Münster St. Georg, the big church in the middle of town. It is free, takes about an hour, and you do not need to book. The town lists each date in its event calendar, so check that it runs on your evening.

Parking: there are five free car parks outside the old town, P1 Schwedenwiese, P2 Stadtmühle, P3 Alte Promenade, P4 Bleiche and P5 Larrieder Straße, each about 10 minutes on foot from the centre. Inside the walls parking is paid from 9:00 to 19:00 (Sundays from 12:00) and limited to two hours.

Sleep in Dinkelsbühl.

Day 4 — Dinkelsbühl to Nuremberg (98 km)

Drive back east to Nuremberg, 98 km and about 1 hour 15 minutes, most of it on the A6. The Christkindlesmarkt is open from 10:00, so you can be in the old town by lunch and stay until it closes at 21:00.

The Nuremberg Christkindlesmarkt is on the Hauptmarkt, the main square of the old town. Its official site traces its roots back to 1530; it was first mentioned by name in 1678. Alongside the main market are the Kinderweihnacht, a Christmas market for children, and the Markt der Partnerstädte, with stalls from Nuremberg’s partner cities. In 2026 the market opens on 27 November at 17:30 with the prologue spoken by the Nuremberg Christkind; the opening is also shown live on Bavarian TV.

Eat what the market is known for: Nuremberg sausages grilled over an open fire, three of them in a bread roll (“Drei im Weggla”), and Nuremberg Lebkuchen, the gingerbread baked on thin wafers. Mulled wine comes in market mugs, and on the Fleischbrücke, the bridge over the Pegnitz next to the Hauptmarkt, there is a big Feuerzangenbowle, mulled wine poured over a burning sugar loaf.

Parking: the market’s site says there are enough car parks in the old town, and recommends the signposted park-and-ride sites on Advent weekends, with public transport into the centre.

Sleep in Nuremberg, or drop the car the same evening. The airport is about 7 km from the Hauptmarkt.

Costs

Use the cost calculator to price fuel and nights for your dates. There are no car tolls on the route. Budget for accommodation, fuel for about 344 km, car rental with winter tyres, parking (Rothenburg’s large car parks cost up to €8 a day, Bamberg P+R €1.50 per person), the night watchman tours (Rothenburg €9 in English, Dinkelsbühl free), and of course food and drink at the markets. Bamberg’s market states free admission. Book hotels early for December, and if you can, plan the Nuremberg evening on a weekday: the market itself recommends park-and-ride on Advent weekends.

This trip is also in the free Roadcut trip planner: change the number of days and where you sleep each night, pick your vehicle to see the fuel cost, check the weather on the road, and open each day in Google Maps, Apple Maps or Waze.