Could this be Europe’s most enchanting winter destination for families?

Words: Mike MacEacheran

Few places in Europe bring as great a sense of joy at Christmas as Germany’s Black Forest. In wintry light, its twinkling timber towns take on the appearance of glittering snow globes, and everywhere there’s a delightful commitment to Yuletide traditions and hearty seasonal food. This, after all, is what the Germans do best.

Festive thrills

The hassle-free gateway to all this good stuff is EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg, less than one hour from the region’s white-ruffled hills and laden pines. The road north from the airport passes the town of Rust, and this is the home of Europa-Park Resort, a theme park regularly awarded the world’s best and one that has whittled every Christmas tradition down to perfection. Even locals can’t get enough of the place.

You’ll come to ride some of the world’s fastest and steepest coasters through 17 themed European lands, but you should also factor in plenty of more seasonal thrills, such as a spin on the ‘Bellevue’ 55m-high Ferris wheel or stocking-filler shopping on its avenue of Christmas markets. With 3,500 snow-covered fir trees, gingerbread cottages and décor spruced up to the eyeballs, it’s like finding yourself in a real-life advent calendar.

The rides are the main lure, of course, from a bobsled run in snow-layered Switzerland to a wooden coaster in Iceland that’s so fast the rest of the park will whizz by in an aurora-like blur of light. Little ones will love the sugar-plum-fairy characters of Arthur – The Ride, while even kids as young as four can strap in for a train, winged horse or pirate boat jaunt through Austria, Greece or the Netherlands. The festive mood gathers pace with other attractions – including a 4D cinema, winter revue circus and ice-skating show – but perhaps the most thrilling of all is France’s Silver Star, the park’s tallest, longest and fastest roller-coaster at 79mph. Good luck making Christmas at home feel any better than this.

With everything so close and effortlessly easy, you’ll want to stay at one of the resort’s six themed hotels. Book the Spanish Castillo or Italian-themed Colosseo and you’ll get lightning-quick theme park access and free parking for your gift-wrapped winter escape. Book an extra night and you’ll have time for Rulantica, the park’s equally magical thrill-a-minute waterpark.

A wintry wonderland

Such is the hype about Christmas in Germany that it would be a pity to miss the advent markets in nearby Freiburg – it’s the setting for fairy tales writ large. The pedestrian Old Town is jam-packed with Yuletide traditions, from the half-timber stalls surrounding the Minster cathedral to the chocolate cuckoo clocks sold at Confiserie Rafael Mutter. Once a city of mediaeval guilds, Freiburg leans heavily into this nostalgia, particularly in the narrow lanes cut with toy-town canals and arcaded squares wreathed with lights. For a seasonal splurge, try Michelin-starred Zur Wolfshöhle on Konviktstrasse, the Old Town’s most handsome street.

The name Black Forest conjures the idea of hidden places, as in the stories of Red Riding Hood and Hansel and Gretel. But if the woodlands and stone and timber houses look the part, it remains an innocent world where people don’t lock their doors. The outdoor pursuits are all modern, too. Families of all ages and abilities can snowshoe through the smoke-grey landscape from the funicular up Schlossberg hill or try tobogganing, cross-country or downhill skiing on pine-scented trails amid rippling peaks, from Feldberg Mountain or the village of Todtmoos, both to the southeast.

Here Christmas markets are a national obsession, and with more than 200 to choose from across the Black Forest, you’ll be able to finally pick a gift for even the fussiest member of your family. While Freiburg's market may steal the spotlight with its fairy-lit stalls and cobbled charm, don’t miss the dazzling scene in Karlsruhe – where the fair spills out beneath the grand palace, complete with twinkling lights, an ice rink and a festive buzz that’s pure storybook magic.

And if you need to hunker down to wait out the wintry weather, then there are always those cosy-as-Christmas German traditions – Glühwein, cinnamon biscuits and steins of foaming Helles beer. Because, after all, it’s Christmas, and everyone deserves to feel like an excitable, wide-eyed child at least once a year.

Plan your winter adventure to Europa-Park and the Black Forest with direct British Airways flights to EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg.

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