Every year, I fall for the same trap: dreaming of snowy rooftops, twinkling lights, and mulled wine in a charming European square… only to get sticker shock when I check December flights. Sound familiar?
The good news is, with smart timing and the right strategies, you can score roundtrip flights for $350-450 – sometimes even less. I’ve tracked Christmas market flight deals for years, and the patterns are predictable once you know what to look for. The key is understanding when to book, where to fly, and how to use tools like Going Premium to catch those flash sales that make European Christmas markets accessible to anyone.
Here’s everything you need to know about scoring cheap flights to Europe’s most magical Christmas destinations.
- My Pro Tip: If you’re serious about finding cheap flights to Europe’s Christmas markets, Going Premium is a game-changer. They send mistake fares and flash sales straight to your inbox. I’ve personally found deals to Europe for under $450 quite frequently from East Coast airports. One good deal easily pays for the membership. Use code JON25 to save 25% on your membership.
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Best Time to Travel for Christmas Market Flight Deals
Here’s something I learned the hard way after paying $2,000 roundtrip to Vienna six years ago: timing is everything when it comes to Christmas market flights. I thought booking in mid-December would save me money since I was avoiding the “peak” Christmas week. Wrong move.
The Magic Window: Late November to Early December
Many European Christmas markets open around November 15th and run through early January, but there’s a definite sweet spot for both flight prices and the actual experience. If you can swing it, I recommend planning your trip for the last week of November through the first week of December. You’ll catch that fresh, opening-weekend energy without the December crowds, plus flight prices haven’t hit their holiday peak yet. In my experience, booking that return flight before December 12 will save you at least 60%, sometimes much higher. For instance, last year, I found a $330 roundtrip fare to Frankfurt with a return flight on December 12. If you booked it for just 3 days later, it shot up over $800+.
Besides the obvious price advantage, early December gives you the same cozy winter experience without shoulder-to-shoulder crowds. You can actually get a good photo at Prague’s famous Christmas tree, and you won’t be waiting 20 minutes for mulled wine.
The best Christmas market deals often coincide with Black Friday weekend, both for flights and accommodations. I’ve noticed European hotels also drop prices during this “pre-peak” period, making it a double win for your budget.
Where to Fly for Best Access & Prices
Europe’s got no shortage of dreamy Christmas markets, but not every city is equally easy (or affordable) to reach. If you’re aiming to score a deal and land close to the action, your best bet is to fly into a major hub that doubles as a gateway to multiple markets.
These cities tend to see more flight competition, and they’re all within a short train ride of other holiday hotspots. Whether you’re looking to settle into one market town or hop between a few, starting your trip in one of these hubs can save you serious cash – and hours in transit.
Let’s take a look at some of the best launch points.
🎄 Prague, Czechia
- ✈️ Best airport: Václav Havel Airport Prague (PRG)
- 💡 Nearby Christmas markets: Old Town Square, Wenceslas Square, Náměstí Míru, plus easy rail access to Dresden and Brno
- 🔎 Insider tip: Your dollar stretches furthest here among major European Christmas destinations.
Prague feels made for Christmas, with cobblestone lanes lit with fairy lights and the smell of roasted chestnuts drifting through Gothic arches. The Old Town Square steals the show, but some of the best moments happen in the smaller markets, like the one outside Church of St. Ludmila in Vinohrady.
If you’re flying from the U.S., flights to Prague tend to be cheaper than Western Europe, especially in early December. I recently spotted a $392 roundtrip deal from Boston through Going – a solid reminder that with the right timing, flying into this fairytale city doesn’t have to feel out of reach.
✈️ Pro Tip: I recommend staying in the Lesser Town (Malá Strana) for easy walks to both the castle market and Old Town. Plus, you’ll wake up to those postcard-perfect cobblestone streets.
🎄 Budapest, Hungary
- ✈️ Best airport: Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport (BUD)
- 💡 Nearby markets: Vörösmarty Square, St. Stephen’s Basilica, Óbuda’s Advent Fair
- 🔎 Insider tip: Don’t miss the thermal bath pop-up events. Yes, you can sip mulled wine in a hot spring!
Budapest’s Christmas markets pack serious wow factor. The St. Stephen’s Basilica market features nightly laser projections that transform the entire facade into a giant Christmas light show. It’s like nothing you’ll see at any other European market.
Vörösmarty Square gives you the traditional Hungarian experience with lángos (fried flatbread), chimney cake, and the famous Gerbeaud Coffee House transformed into a giant advent calendar. The whole square smells like cinnamon and roasted chestnuts, and your dollar goes surprisingly far here.
✈️ My #1 Tip for Cheap Flights:
If you’re not using Going, you’re probably overpaying for flights. I’ve scored roundtrips to Europe for under $300 - and I never would’ve found them on Google Flights.
Their free version is great, but Premium is where the real magic happens. I recommend doing the 14-day free trial. And right now, you can get 25% off Premium or Elite with my code: JON25.
Seriously, it’s the best travel decision I’ve ever made (in 8+ years).
What makes Budapest extra smart as a base is the Vienna connection. A 3-hour train ride gets you to some of Europe’s most famous Christmas markets, essentially giving you two countries’ worth of markets for one trip.
✈️ Pro Tip: I recently spotted a $395 roundtrip fare from NYC to Budapest via Going (56% off the usual $900+ rate). Budapest consistently offers some of the best value for Christmas market flights, especially when you factor in how much cheaper everything is once you arrive compared to Western Europe.
🎄 Vienna, Austria
- ✈️ Best airport: Vienna International Airport (VIE)
- 💡 Nearby markets: Rathausplatz (City Hall), Spittelberg, Schönbrunn Palace
- 🔎 Insider tip: The hot punch (“Punsch” or “Glühwein”) served in ceramic souvenir mugs is worth trying at least once. It’s like Christmas in a cup!
Vienna’s Christmas market scene is pure storybook. You’ll find twinkling lights, classical music spilling out of old churches, and stalls selling everything from hand-blown ornaments to piping hot käsekrainer sausages.
The market at City Hall is the crown jewel, but smaller gems like the one at Schönbrunn Palace offer a regal backdrop with way fewer crowds. Plus, Vienna’s metro makes it super easy to bounce between markets, even in the cold.
Getting there doesn’t have to break your holiday budget either. I recently spotted a $449 roundtrip fare from NYC to Vienna through Going Premium, which regularly surfaces discounts on both domestic and international routes – even during peak seasons. Premium members get access to mistake fares, holiday deals, and alerts across all cabin classes, making it one of the easiest ways to spot cheap flights to Europe’s Christmas markets.
✈️ Pro Tip: Book your Vienna Christmas market accommodation early. The best guesthouses near the city center fill up by September for December dates.
🎄 Brussels, Belgium
- ✈️ Best airport: Brussels Airport (BRU)
- 💡 Nearby markets: Winter Wonders (Brussels), Bruges, Ghent, Leuven
- 🔎 Insider tip: Hop a quick train to Bruges. The canals, cobblestones, and market square look like they were plucked straight out of a holiday card.
Brussels doesn’t always top the list of Christmas market destinations, but that’s exactly why it’s worth considering. Its Winter Wonders market is one of Europe’s largest, stretching across the city center with a skating rink, light shows, and cozy wooden chalets serving up everything from hot waffles to tartiflette.
It also happens to be a perfect launchpad for holiday market-hopping by train. Bruges is just over an hour away and looks like a snow-dusted postcard come to life. Ghent and Leuven are even closer, offering smaller, more intimate markets in beautifully preserved old towns.
✈️ Pro Tip: Brussels is one of the best-value hubs if you’re hoping to visit multiple Christmas markets in one trip. I recently spotted a $401 roundtrip fare from Boston through Going – an easy entry point for hopping between holiday hotspots by train.
🎄 Munich, Germany
- ✈️ Best airport: Munich International Airport (MUC)
- 💡 Nearby markets: Marienplatz, Munich Residenz, Tollwood Festival, plus easy day trips to Salzburg and Nuremberg
- 🔎 Insider tip: Bavaria popularized the iced gingerbread hearts you see at markets everywhere. Those oversized lebkuchen with icing messages are the real deal here!
If you’re going to do just one Christmas market city, make it Munich. The city basically invented the cozy, snow-globe holiday aesthetic, with centuries-old traditions, a backdrop of the Alps, and an entire calendar of Advent events that go well beyond just market stalls.
The main draw is the Marienplatz market, set beneath the towering New Town Hall. It’s big, festive, and definitely worth seeing. But I always recommend making time for the smaller, more atmospheric ones too. The eco-conscious Tollwood Festival has a creative edge, and the medieval market at Wittelsbacherplatz feels like stepping back in time.
Munich works brilliantly as your Christmas market headquarters. You’re an hour from Innsbruck’s Alpine markets, 90 minutes from Salzburg’s Mozart-themed stalls, and perfectly positioned for day trips into the Bavarian countryside. Here, smaller villages host intimate markets that feel untouched by tourism.
✈️ Pro Tip: Flights here tend to be a little pricier than nearby hubs, but I’ve seen roundtrip fares from Boston drop as low as $550 on Going, which is a solid value when you consider just how much is packed into this one city.
Strategies for Scoring the Lowest Fares
Where in the U.S. You’ll Find the Cheapest Flights to Europe
Not all departure cities are created equal when it comes to flying to Europe – especially during the holiday season. In general, major East Coast hubs like New York (JFK/EWR), Boston (BOS), and Washington D.C. (IAD) tend to see the lowest base fares thanks to competition and flight volume. You’ll also find solid deals out of Chicago (ORD) and Miami (MIA).
If you’re based in the South, Midwest, or West Coast, don’t panic. You can often find sub-$500 flights by piecing together a domestic leg to one of these cheaper hubs. I’ve done this myself: booked a low-cost flight to New York, then grabbed a Going alert from there to Europe for hundreds less than flying direct from home.
Be Flexible, Save Big
If there’s one thing that consistently brings prices down, it’s flexibility. The more wiggle room you have on dates, routes, and airports, the more likely you are to snag a deal.
Start with departure days. Midweek flights (especially Tuesdays and Wednesdays) are usually cheaper than weekends. If you’re flying with someone, try searching for one ticket at a time. Airlines sometimes bump up prices when you search for two or more seats together.
Also worth trying: open-jaw flights. That means flying into one city and out of another – say, landing in Vienna and flying home from Prague. You won’t always save money, but when it works, it really works (and you get more variety in your trip).
And finally, don’t wait too long. For December flights to Europe, your best shot at low fares is booking by early fall – September at the latest. The closer you get to the holidays, the faster those cheap seats disappear.
Think Beyond Major Hubs
If nonstop flights to your target city are expensive, look at nearby gateways with strong train connections. For example, flying into Vienna and taking a Railjet train to Prague (about 4 hours) can be much cheaper than flying direct to Prague. From Brussels, you can reach Amsterdam in about 1.5–2 hours by train. Or consider Zurich, which puts you within 1–2 hours of German-border markets like Konstanz and Freiburg. Paris is another smart entry point, just 1 hour 20 minutes from Brussels by high-speed train, while Amsterdam connects easily to Cologne and western Germany in under 3 hours.
European train networks are incredibly efficient, and many routes offer scenic countryside views that become part of your holiday experience.
✈️ Pro Tip: Book train tickets in advance online for the best prices. Many European rail systems offer significant discounts for early bookings, sometimes cutting your ground transport costs in half.
Sign Up for Going Premium
When it comes to high-demand seasons like December, timing is everything – and that’s where Going Premium really shines. Premium members get access to international and domestic economy-class deals, including mistake fares, peak holiday pricing drops, and alerts that often come days before those same fares hit public booking engines.
I’ve seen Going Premium alerts for flights like NYC to Vienna for $449, Boston to Prague for $392, and New York to Budapest for under $400, all during the sweet spot for Christmas markets.
If you’re serious about making a Christmas market trip happen without blowing your gift budget before you even land, Going Premium is one of the smartest tools to have in your corner.
Want Christmas market deals sent straight to your inbox?
Use my code JON25 to save 25% on Going Premium, a membership site that finds international flight deals (including holiday and mistake fares) up to 90% off. It’s one of the easiest ways to land Europe Christmas market flights without paying festive-season prices.
