European Christmas markets by train from Britain

Train or plane from the UK?

For a London start, Eurostar via Brussels keeps you in city centres and sells the onward SNCB connection together. Its typical 3-hour-20-minute London–Bruges figure excludes your journey to St Pancras, the required pre-departure arrival time and the walk to your hotel.

Brussels Airlines’ own route pages offer London Heathrow, Edinburgh, Manchester and Birmingham to Brussels, with November and December 2026 dates in its booking calendars. Compare the exact flight and connection before you choose. SNCB publishes 1 hour 25 minutes between Brussels Airport and Bruges on direct services. Verify your dated flight and train before paying; airport time can make the shortest flight a longer day.

Whole-journey planning estimates: allow roughly 5½–7 hours from a London home to a central Bruges hotel by rail, assuming 1 hour to St Pancras, 75–90 minutes before departure, the advertised 3 hours 20 minutes by train and 20–40 minutes on arrival. A flight itinerary might need 6½–8½ hours with 1 hour UK airport access, 2 hours before flying, about 1½ hours airborne, and 2–4 hours for arrivals, train waiting, the airport–Bruges rail leg and hotel arrival. These are editorial assumptions, not promises.

By rail: Köln Hauptbahnhof puts you beside the Cathedral. From London, take Eurostar to Brussels Midi/Zuid, then an ICE or Eurostar service to Cologne. SNCB International quotes around 5 hours 11 minutes for a connecting journey; allow a comfortable connection and check your actual date.

By air: Cologne Bonn Airport confirms London Stansted with Ryanair, with an indicative flight time of about 1 hour 25 minutes. This is route confirmation, not a promise that every market date has a flight. Choose your actual travel dates before booking a hotel.

In town: Public transport to Dom/Hauptbahnhof is the simplest approach. The walk links below are map-route estimates; crowds, stops and security arrangements can add time.

Airport transfer: Cologne Bonn Airport confirms its railway station beside both terminals and round-the-clock S-Bahn and regional connections. Use the VRS planner for the actual train to Köln Hauptbahnhof; a fixed 2026 airport-to-centre journey time was not confirmed in the airport’s own guide.

Whole-journey planning estimate: allow roughly 7–8 hours from a central London starting point to a central Cologne hotel by rail. This is an editorial allowance: about 30 minutes to St Pancras, 60–90 minutes for station formalities, the quoted 5h11 connecting journey and 15–30 minutes at the Cologne end. It excludes disruption and is not a timetable promise.

More UK starting points: the airport’s current destination list also includes Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Leeds Bradford, London Gatwick, London Heathrow, Manchester and Newcastle. These are published route options, not confirmation of service on every Christmas-market date. Heathrow is listed with British Airways, Edinburgh with Eurowings, and Manchester with Ryanair and Jet2.com; select your exact dates before committing.

If you fly: an editorial central-London-to-central-hotel allowance is about 6–7 hours: 60–90 minutes to the UK airport, two hours before departure, the airport’s indicative 1h25 flight, 45–60 minutes for arrival formalities and an allowance of 30–60 minutes for the onward rail connection and final walk. The transfer allowance is a planning assumption, not a confirmed train duration. Check your booked flight and VRS connection.

By rail from London: Take Eurostar to Paris Gare du Nord, transfer to Gare de l’Est and continue by TGV to Strasbourg. SNCF Connect’s checked timetable shows examples around 5–6 hours station to station via Paris; connections and journey times vary. Leave a comfortable cross-Paris margin, especially with luggage.

By air: A direct London Gatwick route appears in Strasbourg Airport’s summer 2026 schedule only up to 29 October. A Christmas-season direct UK flight has not been confirmed here, so avoid building your weekend around that summer service.

Airport transfer: If a suitable flight is available, the airport’s linked Entzheim-Aéroport station has trains to Strasbourg taking 8 minutes, up to five per hour. Allow time for the covered footbridge, waiting and your final city walk.

Whole-journey planning estimate: allow around 7–8½ hours from a central London starting point to a central Strasbourg hotel by rail. This editorial allowance adds about 30 minutes to St Pancras, 60–90 minutes for Eurostar formalities and 15–30 minutes at the Strasbourg end to the checked 5–6-hour connecting examples. The Paris transfer is included in those examples, but choose a comfortable connection with luggage. Actual dates may be longer.

Getting here from the UK

Colmar has no direct UK scheduled flight to plan around. EuroAirport lists winter links with London, Bristol, Edinburgh and Manchester. Choose a dated UK service to EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse, then the French-sector bus to Saint-Louis station and onward train to Colmar. Strasbourg Airport is another gateway if a suitable dated flight or connection is available; continue by rail through Strasbourg. Check the airline calendar before choosing either airport.

For rail, take Eurostar from London to Paris, allow a cross-city transfer from Gare du Nord to Gare de l’Est, and continue towards Colmar with SNCF, directly or via Strasbourg according to your train. Editorial whole-journey allowance: roughly 8–10 hours from a London home by rail, allowing station access, Eurostar arrival guidance, Paris transfer and the onward train. SNCF’s through journey planner offers dated options; avoid treating a shortest journey as a guaranteed connection.

Getting here from the UK

BER’s published destination list includes direct London flights, as well as several UK regional airports. Choose a dated airline service rather than assuming every route operates daily. Rail is an alternative using Eurostar to Brussels and onward German trains, with enough time for changes; book each dated connection before committing.

Whole-journey planning: Direct London–Berlin flights; allow roughly 6–8 hours door to door as an editorial planning estimate. Substitute your own airport access, check-in allowance, arrival formalities and dated transfer.

Getting here from the UK

A practical UK route is to fly to Berlin and continue by train to Dresden. Deutsche Bahn publishes direct Berlin Hauptbahnhof–Dresden Hauptbahnhof connections; plan the airport-to-station section separately and check your actual December train. You can also build a rail journey via Eurostar to Brussels and onward German connections, allowing generous interchange time.

Whole-journey planning: Fly to Berlin and take an onward train; budget a full travel day and check the dated connections. Substitute your own airport access, check-in allowance, arrival formalities and dated transfer.