German Christmas Markets: Münster

Münster is a 1,200-year-old city in Westphalia, near Germany's border with the Netherlands. Thanks in part to its university (the third-largest in Germany), Münster has a lively Altstadt with shops, cafés, restaurants, and taverns--along with enough two-wheeling commuters to make it the bicycle capital of Germany.

During the Advent season, Münster's Christmas markets attract vistors from as far away as Amsterdam. Except for a few booths near the railroad station, all of the Weihnachstmärkte are within a five-minute walk of each other in the city center, near the Lambertikirche with its three "Anabaptist cages" and the Gothic-style Rathaus (where the Treaty of Westphalia was signed to end the Thirty Years War).

Unlike Christmas markets in some German cities, Münster's are integrated into the downtown cityscape. This makes it easy to have a sausage at a food booth, go inside a department store to warm up, then do some shopping at gift stalls before walking a couple of blocks to another Christmas market for a mug of steaming Glühwein, a grilled-ham sandwich, a cone of Dutch-style frites, or a sack of hot sugar-coated almonds.

The Münster tourist office publishes a German-language Wilkommen im Advent leaflet that shows the market's locations on a map. You don't really need a map, though--just head for the town center and follow the crowds (or your nose).

• Tip: Visit Münster Information in the city center for information on Advent concerts and other Christmas events.