In December 2023, we took our first big road trip from Amsterdam with our three kids under the age of five. We visited Zurich, Colmar, and Luxembourg and took day trips from those cities. We had previously done a one day trip to Cologne, Germany from Amsterdam (a three hour drive), and it had been ROUGH. We incorporated many of our lessons learned into this trip, and although there were absolutely high effort moments, there were many manageable and very happy core memories made. Switzerland ended up being our 4.5 year old son’s 30th country!
I have compiled our favorite parts of each city. Keep in mind that these are specific to December, so much of our itinerary involved Christmas Markets! (For more information on visiting European Christmas Markets with young kids, visit this post here)
Zurich in December with Young Kids
Where to stay:
For city trips, we have realised the importance of staying walking distance to the main sites and good food options is critical for us. Especially after the almost 9 hour drive from Amsterdam, we wanted to limited our car time when in our destination. We stayed at the Marriott Zurich Hotel and were happy with our experience. The room and facility were nice, and it was a convenient 15 minute walk to the city center, where the Christmas Markets were located. Check out this Get Your Guide Zurich Christmas Market tour to get inspiration on the order to walk to get to all the markets you would like.
We especially appreciated the city information that the hotel provided us so that we could easily determine the best route to take to visit the six different Christmas markets, as well as other popular restaurants and attractions.
Where to eat:
We primarily browsed around and munched on Christmas Market food and snacks, but we really enjoyed the food at the three restaurants listed below!
Name | Type of Food |
Mediterranean (Shwarma) | |
Hot Chocolate | |
Thai Frosch (Lucerne) | Thai |
What to do:
We spent three full days in Zurich, in addition to two travel days in and out of the city. Our itinerary was as follows:
Day 1: Arrive in Zurich late night
Day 2: Browse Zurich Old Town and Christmas Markets
Day 3: Day trip to Lucerne, primarily to the Museum of Transport
Day 4: Day trip to Lauterbrunnen and dinner in Interlaken
Day 5: Depart Zurich for Strasbourg
See below for the details of our itinerary.
Day | Activity | Notes |
1 | Arrive to Zurich (from Amsterdam) | This was an 8 hour and 45 minute drive |
2 | Browse Zurich Old Town and Christmas Markets | With such little kids, we loved staying at a hotel near the city, so it was easy to walk out and push the stroller around Old Town Zurich. Either sign up for a walking tour or look at the map that they follow to make sure you see all the sites you would like to visit! We especially loved that there is a Christmas Market inside of the train station, so we were able to enjoy and feed the kids inside of a venue without worrying about the cold. The festive lights and scattered markets kept the kids engaged as we walked around the city. It was enough walking that I was glad we had our large stroller that all the kids could ride on. |
3 | Day trip to Lucerne, primarily to the Museum of Transport | We drove almost an hour to Lucerne from Zurich. We had lunch at a great Thai restaurant, and then spent the rest of the day at the Museum of Transport. The kids could have spent more time there! They had different sections for 1) Cars 2) Planetarium and 3) Chocolate Factory. The car section involved a large display of automotive vehicles and related interactive activities. They even had an outdoor area with child-size diggers/excavators that kids can ride when the weather is nice. They also had a large display plane that excited the kids. We also visited the chocolate factory portion and rode in a ride that takes you around the experience of making chocolate. At the end you get free Lindt chocolates – what could be better? I initially also wanted to go to the Lindt Chocolate Factory in Zurich, but visiting this chocolate section of the Museum of Transport got the job done. |
4 | Day trip to Lauterbrunnen and dinner in Interlaken | We drove to Interlaken (almost 2 hours) and took the train to Lauterbrunnen. In retrospect, we would have considered driving directly to Lauterbrunnen (despite windy roads and our kids motion sickness), due to the time management challenges that the train and walking added to our day. In the end, we were able to enjoy lunch, dessert, and a few viewpoints in the city. It felt like a high effort, high reward day. The kids got tired and cranky at points, but when we reached the final views, they were satisfied (and with the cake they got as a prize for walking). Our biggest take-away from the trip is that if you have young kids of walking age, it would be best to research the best viewpoints and/or restaurants that you would like to go to and head straight there. Accomplishing anything else is an extra bonus, but shouldn’t be expected. |
5 | Depart Zurich (to Strasbourg) | On our last day, we initially wanted to go sledding. However there was no snow for us to do so, so we decided to stop at another car museum on the way to our drive to Strasbourg (which is a 2 hour and 20 minute drive). It is called the Musee National de l’Automobile, and it was a nice museum that you need an hour maximum at with young kids. |
Colmar in December with Young Kids
Where to stay:
I have always wanted to visit Strasbourg and Colmar. Both are charming cities, although we thoroughly enjoyed the charm of Colmar more. We try to stay at Marriott Bonvoy properties and the best option was the Residence Inn in Strasbourg. Although the hotel itself was clean, nice, and a reasonable price, I wish we had stayed closer to Colmar.
Where to eat:
Similar to our experience in Zurich, as we browsed Colmar, primarily, we munched on snacks. For a proper meal and recharge, we selected highly rated but family-friendly restaurants to eat and loved both our choices!
**Sahmeran also had exceptional customer service, had children’s menus, and accommodated our family and other families with young children very well! When possible, make a reservation in advance.
What to do:
We had about three days in the region, including our transit time. Our itinerary was as follows:
Day 1: Drive from Zurich to Strasbourg and stop at the Musee National de l’Automobile in transit.
Day 2: Explore Colmar Christmas Market and visit the city of Riquewihr
Day 3: Explore Strasbourg Christmas Market and Depart for Luxembourg
For more details on our itinerary, see my notes below:
Luxembourg in December with Young Kids
Where to stay:
We arrived into Luxembourg late night, and simply needed a place to sleep before our one day of exploring the city. The Melia Luxembourg hotel was a good choice for us because we are familiar with the brand, and there were nice views of Luxembourg from the city. It was a bit further from the city center than what we normally prefer, but driving wise it was fine. They provided us a cot for no extra cost.
Where to eat:
Considering Luxembourg is considered a smaller country, we thoroughly enjoyed each meal we had! Listed below are the places we went to and liked!
Name | Type of Food |
Indian (our kids loved the Butter Chicken) | |
American style food (kids menus available) | |
Coffee (I loved the vanilla chai) |
What to do:
We spent a few hours roaming around the city center and the Christmas Markets within the city. We moved slowly, and enjoyed the views of the architecture and the rides at the specific markets. I suggest inputting ‘best viewpoints’ into your Google Maps as you roam around the city to find spots that feel doable to with your little ones. Overall, it was one of our more relaxing days of the trip!
All in all, this was definitely a high effort trip! It came with challenges like taking lots of potty and diaper changing breaks, factoring in meal and snack times, motion sickness, and the moods of our toddlers. But it was worth it. We got to see beautiful places, eat yummy items, and make special memories during this unique phase of life of little ones – and I wouldn’t trade the memories for anything! For more tips on taking little kids to winter markets around Europe and all the essentials to take with you, visit my blog post here.
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