Christ­mas Mar­ket by the Lake of Constance

Con­stance turns into a hea­ven­ly Christ­mas town by the Lake Con­stance during the Advent sea­son. Several hund­red thousand visi­tors expe­ri­ence from the 29th of Novem­ber till two days befo­re Christ­mas Eve unf­or­gett­able, inspi­ring moments at the lar­gest and the most beau­ti­ful Christ­mas mar­ket in the Lake Con­stance regi­on. The nume­rous woo­den huts and stalls ador­ned with white lights and fir bran­ches curl from the Markt­stät­te, in the midd­le of the his­to­ric Old Town, to the lakesi­de and, sin­ce 1995, to the Con­stant Har­bour. Loca­ted only 150 Metres from the Christ­mas Mar­ket, the Gästehaus Centro is one of the first addres­ses in the pre-Christ­mas peri­od – sim­ply becau­se of its clo­se loca­ti­on to the market.

Arts & crafts and treats

The Christ­mas mar­ket by the lake in Con­stance has been a mee­ting place for locals and visi­tors sin­ce 1989. Glass­blo­wers, glass cut­ters, artist blacks­mit­hs and pot­ters show their han­di­c­raft skills. Visi­tors are plea­sed to find pie­ces of Christ­mas jewel­lery such as stars in all sizes and varia­ti­ons, angels, put­tos and uni­que, beau­ti­ful­ly deco­ra­ted Christ­mas bau­bles. Every year the local press detect whe­re to find the best Glüh­wein (mul­led wine) to fill the Christ­mas mar­ket cups.The Christ­mas mar­ket by the lake in Con­stance has also a lot to offer when it comes to the culi­na­ry art. Not only the smell of Brat­wurst and hot ches­t­nuts blow through the mar­ket streets. In the Christ­mas Won­der­land by the lake, the visi­tors pam­per their pala­te also with the cheese fon­due, Medi­ter­ra­ne­an, North-Afri­can and regio­nal spe­cial­ties such as shred­ded ox – and the hungry ones can order even snake.

Christ­mas on the lake

The fes­tively lit Christ­mas ship of the White Fleet at the har­bour is defi­ni­te­ly an attrac­tion. Visi­tors of the Christ­mas mar­ket like to make a side trip on board to warm up after a stroll around the stalls. The mul­led wine tower in the urban park is popu­lar amongst anyo­ne who likes to stay out­doors even at win­try tem­pe­ra­tures. On the plat­form, the­re is an unobst­ruc­ted view of the quiet and still lake below under the spar­k­ling stars or of the many fla­shing lights of the Christ­mas mar­ket at the har­bour and on the mar­ket site. More infor­ma­ti­on can be found here.

Very Mer­ry Christmas

The White Fleet offers tours along with fes­ti­ve music and a Christ­mas cof­fee or – din­ner on the win­try Lake Con­stance in the pre-Christ­mas peri­od. During the Advent sea­son, the gui­ded tours offer walks through the fes­tively deco­ra­ted Old Town. The tour gui­des show the way to the most beau­ti­ful „Christ­mas pic­tures und cots in Con­stance” or to „cha­pels and church­es of the Old Town”. A jour­ney through time is pro­vi­ded by the gui­ded tours with the night watch­men, a lans­que­n­et or with a noble knight.

Com­pact info

Christ­mas mar­ket by the lake in Con­stance from the 29th of Novem­ber till the 22nd of Decem­ber 2018, dai­ly from 11:00 till 20:00 (food- and Glüh­wein stalls are open till 21:30), Fri­days and Satur­days till 21:30. From Gästehaus Centro, you will be in the heart of the event wit­hin 2 wal­king minu­tes. Other image sources: Ramessos (Own Work) [Public domain], via Wiki­me­dia Commons