London and Birmingham, the capital city of England obviously being London and Brum, the second city and an hour and a half between them both by train.
When it comes to Christmas the two cities really push the boat out when it comes to festive celebrations.
In this article we take a look at the jewell in each city’s crown of Xmas Cheer!
Birmingham Frankfurt Market
When: Thursday 4th November to Thursday 23rd December 2021. Open daily from 10am to 9pm.
The Frankfurt Christmas Market in Birmingham has completely taken over from any other Christmas celebration in the city after a gradual expansion over the last decade. Some loath it as it is so huge it takes over the entirity of the city centre, but others show their support by spending their pack packets on the many stalls strewn around the city core.
It is, actually, the largest authentic German Christmas market outside of Germany or Austria.
The stalls sprawl along New Street, Victoria Square, Chamberlain Square, St Philips Cathedral and Centenary Square.
Visitors can expect to find markets offering food and drink. Think pretzels, schnitzels, bratwursts, and roasted almonds, with gluhwein, weissbeer (wheat beer), and hot chocolate. There are handcrafted wooden decorations and Christmas decorations, craft stalls, toys, jewellery and a mixture of local businesses and those from Germany.
Highlights include a make-shift old fashioned boozer in St Philips graveyard and a huge ferris wheel and ice-rink in Centenary Square.
Grand Central train station is the main hub coming into Birmingham by train with many large car parks at the Bull Ring and Mailbox.
More info here: https://www.thebfcm.co.uk/birminghams-frankfurt-christmas-market/
London Winter Wonderland
When: 19 Nov 2021 – 3 Jan 2022
Most Londoners will know about the huge Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park, it takes place over six weeks from November to January and offers many attractions and activities for with more focus on theme park rides and activities rather than Birmingham’s more traditional German Market stalls.
One thing to be aware of, visitors now need to book your tickets in advance with three simple steps.
The park covers 350 acres, and is a tourist attraction all year round with famous landmarks such as the Serpentine Lake, Speakers’ Corner and Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain.
Winter Wonderland highlights include:
Ice Skating (largest outdoor ice rink in the heart of London), Magical Ice Kingdom (a mythical frost-covered world with over 500 tonnes of beautifully sculptured ice and snow), Zippos Christmas Circus (aerial and acrobatic magic), Ice Sculpting Workshops, Cirque Berserk, Bavarian Village, Eurocoaster (Winter Wonderland’s longest-standing rides – 370 metre long track), Ice Mountain roller coaster (ride through a mountain cavern, with northern lights and resident penguins and polar bears), Real Ice Slide, Santa Land and many bars and stalls with a bewildering array of theme park attractions.
The theme park has been going strong for 15 years and just gets better each time and a completely different experience to the Birmingham Frankfurt Markets. So.. why not check them both out this Christmas!
If you are travelling in from around the UK and don’t fancy the stress of driving and parking, you can Book tickets to London Victoria train station and it’s a short journey from there.
More info here: https://hydeparkwinterwonderland.com/