Mariarosa

Hello! We have 2 nights in late December and are trying to decide between Salzburg and Verona. We would be traveling with our teen children from Val Gardena via train and traveling to Munich via train after the 2 nights. We will have spent a full week in the Dolomites, so these 2 nights would be less about the outdoors and scenery and more about clothes/shoes shopping, fun, maybe visit a Christmas market and soak up Christmas atmosphere before heading back home.

We have never been to Salzburg and what seems interesting to us is the pretty Christmas market that would still be in full swing while we are there and the pedestrian area. Anyone here that has been to the Salzburg Christmas market can say whether it is worthwhile to visit after having been to the Munich one? We could do a Sound of Music tour, which would be super hokey for the teens, but hokey can be fun. Salzburg has the advantage of being closer to our final destination - Munich.

My husband and I have visited Verona, but not in a REALLY long time and what seems interesting is the combination of different historical periods - Roman and Medieval. It would also be the most different from the places we have visited in this trip (purely Italian instead of Germanic). The Christmas market would only run through 6pm on our arrival day and I have not seen much information about it. Clothes and shoe shopping would be better because it is a larger town and it is Italy! The only downside is that it is a long train ride back to Munich - about 5.5 hours. We only have 1 night in Munich before we fly out the following morning, so if there is one of the famous Italian strikes, we would have to Plan B very quickly.

So, which one would work better for what we are looking to do on those 2 days? What may be a not-to-be missed activity/sight with the teens?

Travel_Nerd

Honestly, Salzburg makes more sense. It is closer to Munich. 5.5 hours to me seems too far to travel given your plan to return to Munich. Did I read that right?

I did not have a "germanic" impression of Salzburg and felt more of a Austria-Hungary feel to me in terms of the city's vibe and architecture. In addition to Xmas markets, Salzburg has a atmospheric Old Town and a castle with amazing views (though might be only snow) of the city snd surrounding area.

But if shopping truly is your focus, then sure, go to Verona.

Edited: not sure what teens might find interesting. In my experience, of traveling with one, he'd hate everything in both cities because it is not sports, so hopefully others will chime in. You know your kids best...! As far as Sound of Music tour - I am not a fan of the musical so I did not attend any. But i did visit Mirabell Gardens which was a filming location, but i was not there in winter.

BarbAnn

Two years ago my husband visited the Christmas Markets in Salzburg and Munich. We have travelled all over the world and it was our second time in Salzburg. The visit to the Christmas Markets was one of our most favorite trips. The markets where fantastic and so festive. Shop0s were all decked out. I bought a leather wallet at one of the shops in Salzburg. We took the local bus to Wolfgangsee to visit the Christmas Markets in Strobel, St. Wolfgang and St. Gilgen. They were connected by a lake shuttle cruise that provided beautiful views of the towns and surrounding mountains as the cruise went from town to town. So worth it in my opinion. We loved the Christmas markets so much, that we booked a trip to Switzerland for their Christmas markets. We leave in two weeks.

Melnq8

Salzburg

Mariarosa

Thank you, this is helpful. It sounds like it is different enough from the Dolomites that it will be worth it and the castle does look cool. My son will also hate everything in these cities, but hopefully he'll be amenable to it since we will have just spent a week skiing and there is no futbol/soccer happening those days to make him feel he's missing on something.

This sounds absolutely delightful. I think my daughter and I would very much like the Christmas markets. I did not realize I could take a bus to Wolfgangsee and then take a shuttle cruise between the towns. Will have to research further.

Sounds pretty unanimous! And it really makes more sense logistically.

Peter_S_Aus

Montague vs Capulet, Verona vs Salzburg.

I’d give it to Juliet Capulet and fair Verona.

annw

I so much prefer Verona, but with your time and other travel, I'd likely stick with Salzburg, unless the family is really into train travel as part of the experience. (I love the train ride from Munich to Verona).