School Christmas Markets trips

Christmas markets school trips abroad

Every year, many cities throughout France, Germany and Belgium host traditional Christmas markets.

These Christmas markets present a wonderful opportunity for your students to experience local traditions and practise their language skills in a fun, relaxed setting. Your students will relish the opportunity to experience the unique atmosphere of the Christmas markets.

We run school trips to some of the best Christmas markets in Europe, where your students will not only enjoy some unforgettable speaking and listening practice, but where they’ll also have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the local culture.

In France, our most popular destinations are Lille and Strasbourg, while in Germany there are a wide range of choices, from the rich history of Aachen to the variety offered by Cologne.

And, as well as visiting the Christmas markets, we can also include some carefully chosen activities to help you encourage your students to keep using their language skills to discover more about the local culture.

The great thing about Christmas market school trips is that they’re short but sweet. You won’t need staff and students to take too much time away from school, but the benefits for the students will be invaluable.

For a day trip to the Christmas markets, we would recommend Lille or Aachen. For longer trips of 2-4 days, you might like to consider Amiens and Arras, Strasbourg, Cologne or Berlin.

Why arrange a Christmas markets school trip?

A festive treat!

A Christmas markets school trip makes for a great end-of-term treat for both staff and students.

Christmas is a really wonderful time to discover another culture, as every country has its own festive traditions. The Christmas market is a tradition shared by France, Germany and Belgium, which offers visitors the opportunity to explore the delicious treats available at this time of year, as well as some of the traditional gifts and decorations.

As well as being packed full of educational value, your Christmas markets school trip is an excellent opportunity for students and staff to relax and develop their relationships through shared experiences, leading to a better learning environment once you get back in the classroom after the holidays!

Great for their speaking skills!

Christmas market school trips are undoubtedly a great festive treat for students and staff. But they are, primarily, an opportunity to get students speaking French or German with native speakers.

You could set them shopping tasks to encourage them to strike up conversations with the friendly stallholders. You could even ask them to interview a few locals about how they celebrate Christmas - something which you could develop into a larger lesson or project once you get back to school.

As well as visiting the Christmas markets themselves, we can also arrange a number of other visits and activities in each of our destinations, from visits to chocolatiers and other food producers to museums where students can learn more about 20th century history.

Whatever you choose to do on your Christmas markets school trip, your students will have plenty of opportunity to practise their language skills and develop their intercultural understanding. They’ll feel more confident once you’re back in the classroom and they may even develop a lifelong passion for the country, its culture and its language!

Enjoy the trip as much as your students

Originally founded by former teachers, and with many former teachers still among us, we understand the value of Christmas school trips and how to make them successful.

Your trip will be completely tailor made, to ensure that it meets your specific requirements and learning objectives. And we’ll be on hand throughout the process to answer any questions you have.

In fact, we’ll be with you every step of the way, from now until you return home at the end of your trip. While abroad, you’ll be able to reach us with just one phone call, at any time of the day or night. And, with this comprehensive level of support while you’re away, you’ll be able to relax and enjoy experiencing the Christmas markets as much as your students.