"Marienplatz – the town square in the center of Munich – is filled each Christmas season with over 140 stands, an almost 100 foot high Christmas tree, and a slew of shoppers. Most of the stands offer handcrafted items like nutcrackers, candles and hand painted Christmas ornaments. My first time there, I also got a kick out of the items I’d never seen before like the Rauchermännchen, which are traditional small wooden figures that smoke incense out of their pipes. It’s certainly worth braving the winter chill to browse the stands, especially if you haven’t seen traditional Christkindlmarkt items before. If you are looking for food and drink though, I highly recommend the Mittelaltermarkt on Wittelsbacher Platz. It’s just north of Marienplatz and offers traditional things like Flammkuchen (which is kinda like pizza) – Glühwein (hot mulled wine), Feuerzangenbowle (wine, rum, spices and a flaming sugar cube), and a great atmosphere that’s not as crowded as Marienplatz. Actually there are numerous Christmas markets in Munich, each of which has its own flair (like the market in Schwabing that’s run by artists). I made of interactive maps of the Munich (and Cologne) markets that you can also download for free on: www.audiotravel.com /christmas."

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