It's hard not to be impressed by a snow-covered Heidelberg, the old town basking in a warm, romantic glow beneath the ancient 'Schloss' (castle) in the early evening.

There was certainly plenty of it at the three German towns we visited for their Christmas markets and Heidelberg probably had the most.

With their gothic-style buildings, Freiburg, Heidelberg and Wiesbaden each oozed atmosphere and, huddling around a wooden hut in the middle of any of the towns' annual Christmas markets, it's much easier to forget the chill with a warm glass of the German favourite, Gluhwein.

We travelled from Heathrow to Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg, with a flight time of just over two hours.

From there, it's an hour's drive into the south western city of Freiburg and its cobbled streets and famous, at least in Germany, Middle Age open stone gutters, called Bachle, which run throughout the centre.

germany factfile

dertour (0207 290 1111 www.dertour.co.uk) offers this two night/three centre christmas market holiday priced from £439 per person based on a two people sharing.

price includes return flights between gatwick and basel, plus rail transfers between freiburg, heidelberg and wiesbaden and one night's accommodation in the central hotel in freiburg and the hip hotel in heidelberg on b&b basis.

There's plenty on offer in the way of food, too. The Christmas markets stock all the usual quick-fix German fare of bratwurst sausages and the like, while we had a table booked at Germany's oldest guesthouse, Zum Roten Bären, serving beautiful Germanic, substantial, filling dishes of game and autumnal vegetables.

In Heidelberg, which we travelled to by a typically efficient Deutsche Bahn train, the 800-year-old castle is probably the main attraction.

There's not an awful lot to do while there but milling around and seeing the various buildings that make up this enormous and impressive property are attraction enough.

We stayed at the quirky HIP Hotel, where each room is decorated to reflect a different country – one of our group stayed in a beach hut with sand outside his bedroom door – although the warm, cosy bar, beautifully panelled in wood, is my favourite part of the hotel.

Another train, another town and a quick tour of Wiesbaden and its own Christmas Market reveals much of the same character as the previous two cities, with the stalls set out in the shadow of yet another impressive cathedral.

Here, the vast Ducal Palace and the neo-Gothic Marktkirche offer fascinating historic attractions to the discerning traveller.

These days most countries, including our own, host Christmas markets offering the usual continental snacks and gifts you get across the Channel.

But for such an easy trip, and plenty to do when you get there, why not try somewhere with, dare I say it, some real Germanic character.