Tag Archives: booths

Photographs: Europe, Photographs: France, Photographs: Travel

Marché de Noël, Paris

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Marché de Noël, Paris
“Marché de Noël, Paris” — Crowds at the Paris Christmas Market in the Tuileries Garden.

Last year’s late-fall and early-winter travel that took us to Germany, France, and Spain. We were in Paris for a few days about a week into December, and holiday festivities were in full swing. Stores had their decorations up, some streets had overhead holiday lights, and the Christmas markets were open. We briefly walked through this one at the Tuileries Garden near the Louvre.

Although the German markets seem to be the most famous — or at least the best-known in the United States — Christmas markets are all over Europe. Here it Paris it is the “Marché de Noël.” The basic idea is similar everywhere we went, from Germany to Spain. Vendor booths are set up in a public place, often a town square. They sell seasonal items, gifts, and local food and drinks. Mulled wine is the popular drink — vin chaud in France and gluhwein in Germany.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Night, Photographs: Spain, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Mercado de Navidad, Plaza Mayor

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Mercado de Navidad, Plaza Mayor, Madrid.
“Mercado de Navidad, Plaza Mayor” — Crowds at the Christmas market at Plaza Mayor, Madrid.

One of the great things about travel is that you get to enjoy being naive. No, really. When you go to new places, it is completely normal to not understand everything you see, every tradition, every experience, every norm. It happens in different ways, both major and minor. It happened on this late 2024 trip to parts of Germany, France, and Spain. We knew that we would visit German Christmas markets, but they we learned that Germany has no monopoly on these seasonal events, and they are popular everywhere.

The market in Madrid’s Plaza Mayor was one of the larger ones we encountered in that city. We intended to mostly avoid this tourist magnet, but we ended up there for several reasons after all. First, it seemed to us that we were seeing a lot of Spanish people there — not just international tourists. Second, it was quite impressive to see the place decked out in holiday lights.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” from Heyday Books, is available directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Europe, Photographs: Germany, Photographs: Travel

Munich Christmas Market

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“Munich Christmas Market” — The evening crowd at the Munich Christmas Market.

Among other things, we timed our late-2024 trip to Europe to coincide with the Christmas market season. We had heard about these events for years, and this was finally our opportunity to see some of them as we visited various cities. Our main targets were in Germany, but before we were done we also saw some in France and Spain. They are everywhere, and the basic theme is similar despite regional variations. (Gluhwein in Germany becomes vin chaud in France.)

Munich was the final Germany city we visited this time. We were not there primarily for the Christmas market — we planned to attend a concert, go out to dinner, and generally experience the place. But on the first afternoon our walking route took us right through this main market. It was crowded, to the point that it was hard to walk. Vendor stalls lined the street, selling all kinds of holiday items, from food and drink to Christmas ornaments and warm gloves and socks.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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