Take Your Holiday Spirit to Europe.
Brussels, Trier, and Strasbourg / 10—15 Travelers
“I love combining Europe’s grand holiday traditions with some of my favorite travel gems in Belgium, Germany, and France.”
—Tim Tendick
10 Days & 9 Nights
December 5—14, 2025 Sold Out
$5495 per person (double occupancy)
+$1200 single supplement
7 Days & 6 Nights
December 15—21, 2025 New!
$4195 per person (double occupancy)
+$900 single supplement
A $1000 deposit reserves each spot
Highlights
Antwerp Day Trip
Elegant Antwerp is my favorite Belgian city, lots of art, fashion, and probably the best pedestrian shopping street in the country.
Luxembourg Day Trip
Subtle Luxembourg manages to lurk right in the center of so many well publicized places yet stay off most people’s radar despite its wealth of history, unique culture, and stunning landscape. Let’s go see what they’ve been keeping to themselves.
Enjoy the Atmosphere
Wandering between the stalls, listening to the carols, kids laughing on the Ferris wheel and everyone smiling back, mug of mulled wine in gloved hands, in some beautiful old European neighborhood, it all feels like just the right way to celebrate the season.
Delicious Treats
Big beautiful pork knuckles, juicy bratwurst, and the indulgence of melting raclette cheese all call to me, so it’s a challenge to still have room when I browse the candied almonds, wide array of gingerbread cookies, and cinnamon sweetness of flaky pastry dough baumstreizel.
Unique gifts
Shopping is normally not my favorite thing, but I loved gathering treasures to put under the tree, and a couple ornaments demanded to come home with me.
Itinerary
Christmas Markets in 10 Days (2025)
Three nights each in Brussels, Trier, and Strasbourg + day trips
-
Tour starts in Brussels, Belgium and ends in Strasbourg, France.
Day 1. We’ll start our holiday adventure at our centrally located hotel with an introduction meeting to answer any questions and get to know our traveling companions. Then we’ll head out into Brussels, this quintessentially European capital city, to see where the market is and perhaps indulge in a quick appetizer bite before heading to dinner together. Sante!
Day 2. The general structure of the tour is to see the sights during the day then have the evening free for the market, and Brussels has a variety of great options for exactly that. Maybe you’ll ascend into the iconic Atomium, walk your way to a better understanding of Europe in the Parlamentarium, or check out the speedster vehicles at Autoworld. I’ll be perusing the market that night and you’re welcome to join me for a walk around. First mug of something tasty and toasty is on me!
Day 3. Europe’s cultural density is just amazing, and after a short morning drive we’ll have already crossed a border when we stop to check out one of western Germany’s best Christmas market towns and a local favorite of those in-the-know. After lunch we’ll say “auf wiedersehen” to Germany and hop down to one of Western Europe’s great secrets: Luxembourg City. Of course an orientation of this great capital, and a tasty dinner together. We have three nights in this bewitching locale and its Winterlights market, so check out the market right off the bat or pace yourself.
Day 4. Luxembourg is chock full of history and ready to take its place in our minds with a morning walking tour. Add to it in the afternoon with any of the city’s three excellent self-guided walks, find your own path, or come with me on a short ride to the American WWII cemetery, and see the grave of none other than General George S. Patton.
Day 5. The heart of Western Europe is a great place for a free day, and we’ll go over your options, including the beautiful city of Liege (3 hours by train), the adorable village of Clervaux (1 hour), or come with me to a castle ruin in the countryside (1.5 hour). Public transportation is free and easy in Luxembourg. If you’re a WWII buff, a day trip to Bastogne and the Battle of the Bulge is also an option, where you’ll feel the cold truth in the footsteps of those legendary days.
Day 6. We’ll say “merci” and “addi” to Luxembourg this morning and head for France, stopping along the way for an unusual experience of interwar Europe, as they recovered from the first world war and tried to avoid the second. After lunch, we’ll roll with style down to Strasbourg for a taste of the true Joyeux noël. Orientation walk together as we switch our mental language (they’ll still speak English, don’t worry) and a gallic dinner together. Bon appetit!
Day 7. Stay to explore beautiful Strasbourg as you please, or come with me to indulge in the thermal delights of Baden Baden. Exhilarated and refreshed by whatever you chose, I’ll see you in the market where you can help me choose between the Alsation sauerkraut called choucroute, delicately spiced pain d’epices, and a tall mug of mulled wine/cider. (Yes, we will decide that “all of the above” is the right answer and have zero regrets.)
Day 8. We popped into Germany along the way, but it’s time to bring it home and do it right. Endless great holiday options in the country, but I can’t resist beautiful and unexpected Wurzburg. For bonus, on the way there we’ll stop at stunning Heidelberg to tour its famous castle, and of course lively market. By now our evening orientation walk and dinner together may be your new favorite holiday tradition.
Day 9. People’s first reaction to Wurzburg is often “What is that marvelous palace-thing?” That is Marienberg Fortress, one of Germany’s best medieval castles, and we’ll check it out today. Free afternoon to visit the opulent Residenz palace, savor a hearty pork knuckle lunch with a foamy stein of beer, or practice packing for the trip home. We’ll have a last night dinner together and head to the market for a final exam of prost, danke schön, and Frohe Weinachten!
Day 10. Wurzburg is within easy reach of a number of forward destinations or flights home. Frankfurt’s vital airport is just a two and a half hour train ride, plus both Brussels and Berlin are about five hours away on the rails.
Tour itinerary subject to change.
Christmas Markets in 7 Days (2025 & 2026)
Two nights each in Brussels, Trier, and Strasbourg
-
Tour starts in Brussels, Belgium and ends in Strasbourg, France.
Day 1. We’ll start our holiday adventure at our centrally located hotel in Brussels with an introduction to answer your questions and meet our travel companions. Then we’ll head out for an orientation walk in this quintessential European city known for its tasty cuisine, and have dinner together. Sante! (Sleep in Brussels 2 nights)
Day 2. Brussels has lots to offer, or you can join me for a day trip to classy Antwerp, long known as home to the finer things in life, from diamonds to high fashion, baroque painters like Rubens, and photogenic city squares. I fell in love with this area when I lived here, so on the way back we can stop in my favorite hidden Belgian gem, where the gables are steeped in history but the sidewalks are uncluttered by tourism. Christmas market in the village!
Day 3. Tot ziens, Belgium! A short drive will take us into Germany, where we’ll stop at a favorite market for in-the-know locals. After free time to wander and grab lunch, we’ll take another hop south to beautiful Trier, where a nearly 500 year old hotel waits to welcome us. The markets are just around the corner, and we will stop for a gluhwein in front of the oldest cathedral in Germany on our way to dinner together. (Sleep in Trier 2 nights)
Day 4. Trier is one of my favorite German towns because it manages to feel like a village, yet has incredible sites to share. Hit the ground running and check out the incredible Roman baths, dating back to the days when Emperors lived here, or ponder more modern history in the house where Karl Marx was born. In the afternoon we’ll take a short drive across the border into arguably the best kept secret in Western Europe: Luxembourg. Ride the ferris wheel and look out over the valley whose fortresses shaped European history and earned the city its nickname as “The Gibraltar of the North.”
Day 5. We’ll say “auf Wiedersehn” to Germany, but you can keep the language if you like, as we head to the legendary Alsatian city of Strasbourg. We’ll stop along the way to walk in the footsteps of the Greatest Generation on the legendary and ill-fated Maginot Line, then it’s on to the city that deserves its title as The Capital of Christmas. Our locally-owned hotel is just a short walk from the storybook city center where one of the most famous markets in Europe awaits, or more accurately, 10 of them. I’ll show you my favorites on our way to dinner together. (Sleep in Strasbourg 2 nights)
Day 6. Alsace has been swapped back and forth between France and Germany over the centuries, and a walking tour this morning will give us a better appreciation of the stories it has to tell. Then it’s a free afternoon to check out the iconic cathedral, find your favorite pastry in the medieval streets of Petite France, or hop on the local train to nearby Baden Baden to soak in the famous hot springs. Just be back in time for our farewell dinner together.
Day 7. Strasbourg has easy rail connections back to Brussels, or onward to Paris, Amsterdam, or pretty much anywhere else you’d like to go. Bon voyage and joyeux Noël!
What’s Included
Included:
A small group experience of 10-15 people
Centrally located accommodations, including breakfasts
Three group dinners, drinks included
All sightseeing activity entrances and local guides
Transport by private bus between cities; train tickets to & from group stops
All tips
Pre-tour travel consultation with Tim
Not Included:
Airfare & airport transportation
Activities not included with the tour
Hotel extras and room service
Extra wine at group meals
Conditions:
Tour itinerary and what’s included details subject to change. Future substitutions will be approximately equal or better in value.
