A Christmas markets cruise, and how much market you actually get

The Christmas market is a German invention, or at least a German institution, with roots in the late Middle Ages. Dresden's Striezelmarkt is usually counted among the oldest, dating from the fifteenth century, and Nuremberg's is probably the most famous. The formula has hardly changed: wooden stalls in the main square, carved ornaments and gingerbread, sausages on the grill, mulled wine in a mug you can keep or return, and the whole thing lit up from about four in the afternoon, when the December dark comes down.

A short cruise is an appealing way to reach one. There is no airport, no hotel to find and no luggage to carry through the snow. You leave from Tilbury or Southampton, sail overnight and wake up on the Continent. What is worth understanding before booking is the arithmetic. A cruise of four or five nights spends a good part of its time at sea, getting there and back, and the market is one part of a short holiday rather than the whole of it. That is not a drawback if you know it in advance, and it suits people who like a sea day as much as a stall.

Hamburg, a city of many markets

Hamburg is the obvious destination: Germany's second city, its biggest port, and a place that takes Christmas seriously. Its best-known market fills the square in front of the city hall, the Rathaus, a nineteenth-century building grand enough to provide a backdrop. There are many others across the city, from the stalls along the Jungfernstieg beside the Binnenalster lake to smaller neighbourhood markets, so even a single day ashore gives you a choice.

Arriving by ship has a charm of its own, because Hamburg sits about a hundred kilometres up the Elbe from the North Sea. The approach up the river, past the container terminals and the riverside villages, is part of the trip, and the city centre is within reach of the cruise terminals.

Ambassador's Christmas Markets Cruise to Germany is the simplest version: four nights, from London Tilbury to Hamburg and back, in December. Fred. Olsen's Hamburg Christmas Markets and Honfleur, five nights from Southampton, adds a call at the Normandy port of Honfleur to the Hamburg visit.

Amsterdam, Rotterdam and the Dutch way of doing it

The Netherlands does Christmas a little differently. The big festival of the Dutch winter is Sinterklaas on 5 December, the eve of St Nicholas' Day, when children traditionally get their presents. Christmas markets are a more recent import and generally smaller than the German ones. Amsterdam has seasonal markets and an ice rink or two in the city. In winter its canals are lined with lights, and in recent years the city has held a light festival with installations along the water. Rotterdam, rebuilt after its centre was destroyed in 1940, offers modern architecture, a working port and seasonal events of its own. It is the place for anyone more interested in the city than the stalls.

Ambassador's Christmas Markets Cruise to Holland and France, five nights from Tilbury, calls at Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Honfleur. It is the better choice for anyone who would rather see three places than spend longer in one.

Honfleur, which is a different sort of December

Honfleur, which both five-night sailings include, is not a Christmas market town in the German sense. It is a small Normandy harbour with tall, narrow houses around the old dock, the Vieux Bassin, and a wooden church built by shipwrights. It was a favourite of the painters who led towards Impressionism; Eugène Boudin was born there. In December it is quiet, cold and very pretty, and it makes a gentle counterweight to a big city's crowds.

Making the most of it

A few things are worth knowing. The markets are open in the afternoons and evenings and are at their best after dark, so a call that runs into the evening makes a big difference; check the times on the itinerary. The North Sea in December can be lively, so pack something for seasickness if you are prone to it. And dress for standing about in the cold. A mulled wine warms the hands, but it does not do much for the feet.

The short version is this. If you want to spend several days moving from market to market, a train or a city break in Germany will give you more of them. If you want a few days away in December with a market, a sea voyage and no airport, a short cruise does that very well.