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The Christmas market in my hometown is much bigger and better than London’s Winter Wonderland
WHILE the UK is home to some amazing festive attractions, my hometown has one of the best Christmas markets in the country.
Everyone knows that Christmas markets are a popular wintertime activity, but many people make a beeline for one in the English capital without scoping out other parts of the country.
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While London's Winter Wonderland has its perks, The Frankfurt Christmas Market in Birmingham is quite simply both bigger and better.
The Birmingham Christmas is thought to be the largest authentic German Christmas market outside of Germany.
During November and December, Christmas-themed stalls, rides, and other attractions stretch across the city for more than one kilometre.
The market has been a firm staple in Birmingham's city centre since 2001, with wooden stalls, fairground rides, and performance stages, pinching up on some of the city's busiest shopping streets.
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I've been going to the market for nearly two decades, and I can confirm that it's one of the best in the country.
As a young girl, my siblings and I enjoyed riding on the twinkling merry-go-round, sliding down the colorful helter skelter, and begging our parents for sweets at our favourite market stall.
The grub was another tantalising draw, with typical German dishes like pretzels, schnitzels, bratwursts, and roasted almonds, all vying for our pocket money.
And, as a student in the city, my friends and I often indulged in a weissbier (wheat beer), or two, at one of the traditional German beer halls.
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A quick flash through the last 20 years of my jaunts to the Christmas market proves one thing: it has a little something for everyone.
Now, in its 22nd year, the Birmingham Christmas market runs from just outside the Bullring Shopping Centre all the way up to Victoria Square.
Key attractions include the string of open-air wooden market stalls that sell traditional homemade gifts from Frankfurt.
Other vendors serve up tasty treats like pretzels, schnitzels, bratwursts, and burgers, while drinks, like mulled wine and beer, can be purchased at one of the beer halls.
As well as the market stalls, musicians from Germany and Birmingham perform live, for free, on a stage in Victoria Square.
Evening performances will run on weekdays, while weekend sets will take place around lunchtime.
Meanwhile, in Cathedral Square, stallholders from Birmingham will also be selling their own handmade gifts too.
This year, the Christmas market will be open from November 2, 2023, until December 24.
While it's free to enter the Birmingham Christmas market, visitors will need to pay to go on any rides, and for any food, drink, and gifts purchased.
Other festive attractions include the Big Wheel and the Ice Skating Rink, both of which are set in Birmingham's Centenary Square.
Direct trains operate to Birmingham from London, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Bristol, Liverpool and Manchester.
There's also a range of accommodation options available including hotels, B&Bs, and Airbnbs.
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Meanwhile, this travel writer thinks their hometown has the best Christmas attraction in the country.
Here are the best Christmas markets to visit in the UK this winter.
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