Germany & Belgium › Belgium
Belgium, by train
Closer than you think, and the Belgian ones run into January: Antwerp is 1h15 from Amsterdam and 1h33 from Eindhoven, direct. Six markets, plus the one that is really a funfair in a tent.
Belgium
| Market | 2026 | Eindhoven | Amsterdam | Utrecht | Rotterdam | Fare from |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antwerp Winter in Antwerpen | 4 Dec – 3 Jan | 🚆 1:33 (1) | 🚆 1:15 | 🚆 1:38 (1) | 🚆 0:45 | €20 |
| Brussels Winterpret / Plaisirs d'Hiver | 27 Nov – 3 Jan | 🚆 2:24 (1) | 🚆 1:56 | 🚆 2:03 (1) | 🚆 1:10 | €25 |
| Bruges Wintergloed Brugge | 20 Nov – 3 Jan TBC | — | 🚆 2:45 (1) | — | 🚆 2:00 (1) | — |
| Ghent Gentse Winterfeesten | 4 Dec – 31 Dec TBC | — | 🚆 2:30 (1) | — | — | — |
| Hasselt Winterland Hasselt | 13 Nov – 3 Jan TBC | 🚗 ~1:00 | — | — | — | — |
| Liège Village de Noël de Liège | 27 Nov – 30 Dec TBC | 🚗 ~1:30 | — | — | — | — |
Antwerp 🇧🇪
The best cross-border option from the Randstad and Brabant: direct trains, runs into January, and the city is worth it on its own.
Open over New Year; longer hours at weekends. Grote Markt, Groenplaats, Steenplein.
Official site ↗Brussels 🇧🇪
Big, 2 km long, with the light show on the Grand-Place. More spectacle than cosiness; great for a weekend.
Official site ↗Bruges 🇧🇪
The prettiest setting in Belgium and a free light trail. Overnight it; a day trip from Eindhoven is 3+ hours each way.
Projected from the 2025/26 edition (21 Nov – 4 Jan); confirm before travelling.
Official site ↗Ghent 🇧🇪
Student city, lively evenings, less touristy than Bruges. Good for a group that wants bars after the market.
Projected from 2025 (4–31 Dec).
Official site ↗Hasselt 🇧🇪
An hour from Eindhoven by car and mostly covered; the rainy-day fallback for Brabant families.
Projected from 2025/26 (14 Nov – 4 Jan). Fairground-style with a big indoor tent.
Official site ↗Liège 🇧🇪
Combine with Maastricht and Valkenburg for a one-day three-country loop by car.
Projected from 2025. Belgium's oldest Christmas village.
Official site ↗Getting there
Train times above are NS International headline figures; (1) means one change. Trains from Eindhoven to Germany go via Venlo. Coach day trips win on "no driving, no parking"; trains win on flexibility and arriving in the centre.
| Option | Price | |
|---|---|---|
| Slangen Reizen "Dagje Kerstmarkt" (via Etos) | €37 pp | 13 destinations incl. Cologne, Düsseldorf, Aachen & Monschau, Antwerp, Bruges, Brussels, Ghent; pick-ups incl. Eindhoven, Utrecht, Amsterdam, Rotterdam; valid 21 Nov 2026 – 2 Jan 2027. |
| NS International | from €20 one way | ICE to Cologne/Düsseldorf from €20, EuroCity to Antwerp from €20, Brussels from €25, Aachen from €32. Book early. |
| 24h-Ticket NRW | €59.80 for up to 5 people | Unlimited regional trains in North Rhine-Westphalia for a day: Aachen–Cologne–Düsseldorf–Essen hopping once you are across the border. |
Rules of thumb
- Antwerp is the best cross-border trip from the Randstad and Brabant: direct EuroCity trains (Amsterdam 1h15, Rotterdam 45 min, Eindhoven 1h33), runs 4 Dec – 3 Jan.
- Bruges and Ghent are 2.5–3 h from Eindhoven each way — stay overnight. Hasselt is an hour by car from Eindhoven and mostly covered: the rainy-day option.
- Belgian markets stay open over Christmas and New Year, unlike most German ones. Antwerp and Brussels are the safe picks for 26–31 December.
Dates verified 25 Oct 2026 against official sites, NS International and ANWB. TBC = only the previous edition was published; the dates shown are projected.