Visiting the Christmas Markets of Alsace

Last December (2024) I visited the Alsace region of France for the Christmas Markets. Today I want to share some tips for those considering visiting any Christmas Market, specifically those in this quaint and beautiful corner of France.

Why Alsace?

I chose to go to Alsace because I only had a few days and it was easy to get there. Another reason, though, was because I had been to the region before and just loved the little villages as well as the beautiful city of Strasbourg. There is a rich (and sometimes fraught) history there, resulting in an interesting mix of French and German cultures that I find so beautiful.

Alsace borders with Germany, a country renowned for its Christmas markets, so my thought was that, if I had time, I’d hop over the border to Germany one day. 

How to Get There

I arrived in Paris on a nonstop flight from Chicago, then took a TGV train from Charles de Gaulle airport to Strasbourg. The train from the airport was easy to find and took about two hours. (I’m all about having as few connections as possible, especially when jet lag is involved.)

Once in Strasbourg, I rented a car and drove about an hour south to Colmar, a beautiful city with that French/German flair. 

Note: You really do need to rent a car to get to some of these markets as the towns are very small and don’t have a lot of public transportation options. Can it be done without a car? Yes, but you’ll need to research very carefully to find train and bus schedules. Since I drove, I also researched ahead of time to find the best parking lots for each Christmas market. 

My Plan

I gave myself five days/four nights, which really isn’t a lot of time to do Christmas markets. I left on a Monday night, arrived on Tuesday, and flew home again on Saturday. Yes, it was a whirlwind, but I was alone and considered this “research” for my job, so I knew I could move fast.

I spent two nights in Colmar and two nights in Strasbourg. As I said, I rented a car, but only for my time in Colmar. Once in Strasbourg, I didn’t need a car as I would spend one full day in Strasbourg and a second day using the train. 

Where I Stayed

In Colmar I stayed at the lovely la Maison des Tetes. Honestly, it was hard to leave this beautiful five-star property. The hotel is located in the center of town, just a short walk from many of the Christmas markets. My room was large, the bed was super comfortable, and breakfast each day was absolutely incredible. I dream of going back someday.

In Strasbourg, I stayed at the Sofitel Grand Isle, another five-star hotel, located in the center of the city. I’d say this hotel was fine, but nothing special. My room was much smaller and gave more of a  “conference hotel” vibe than the hotel in Colmar. Truthfully, I’d probably look for something a little more “boutique” for my next stay in Strasbourg. 

My Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival

As I said, I arrived on a Tuesday, and made my way, eventually, to Colmar. Once I settled into my hotel, took a very brief nap, and had dinner, I wandered through the nearby Christmas markets, loving every bit of the atmosphere. 

Colmar is a city of around 67,000 people, but feels more like a village. The center of the city, where I stayed, is dotted with different Christmas markets, each with a unique focus such as handcrafts or games for kids. I especially loved the old carousel in one part of the town.

A canal runs throughout Colmar, and visitors can take a boat ride to see the lights of the city from the water. Very charming.

I absolutely loved Colmar, and their Christmas markets did not disappoint. 

Day 2: Alsacian Villages

Ribeauvillé, Riquewihr, Kaysersberg, Eguisheim, and Mulhouse were all on my list for this day. I know, it seems audacious for me to try to cover that much ground, and it was. Read on.

Ribeauvillé was first. I had heard about this Christmas market many times, and wanted to see it for myself. Unfortunately, I had arrived too early and hardly anything was open. I could see, however, that later in the day or in the evening, this would be one of the most charming markets around. Even so, I enjoyed seeing the village for myself and would definitely recommend coming here after noon.

Next, I drove a short distance to Riquewihr, a village I had visited twice before, but not during Christmas markets. I absolutely love this town–it truly is like something straight out of Beauty and the Beast. (In fact, all of these villages probably inspired the folks at Disney.) And coming here at Christmas was an absolute dream to me. The markets here are so authentic and offer truly beautiful things that you might not see elsewhere; many handmade items as well. I probably had Christmas market overload just from being here because the rest of my day was a little bit of a disappointment.

Once I pulled myself away from Riquewihr, I drove to Kaysersberg, which is supposed to have a very nice market, which, sadly, is only open on the weekends (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday). Since this was a Wednesday, there was nothing going on, so I took a quick look from the car and kept driving. I’d definitely like to come back sometime and check it out because the town looked charming.

Eugesheim was next. There is a large wine shop/tasting room in town, so I stopped and took a look around there. Eugesheim is another charming town with a smaller market, but well-attended. There is convenient parking near the town center as well. 

My plan was to visit the town of Mulhouse next. Mulhouse is known for its fabrics, and apparently the town hall is draped dramatically with Christmas fabric, which I wanted to see. But by now, it was mid-afternoon, I had already been to four other towns, and I was getting tired. And Mulhouse was a much bigger city than I had anticipated. After driving around for a long time, looking for parking and the Christmas market to no avail, I gave up and drove back to Colmar. Mulhouse was a bust.

I spent the evening walking around Colmar, simply soaking up the festive atmosphere.

Day 3: Strasbourg

The next morning I took one last walk through Colmar, before heading back to Strasbourg. I returned my rental car and took a taxi to my hotel, which was very close to the city center. I checked in, then spent the rest of the day walking around Strasbourg, enjoying its many Christmas markets.

I definitely recommend spending at least one full day, if not two, in Strasbourg. This is such a beautiful city with charming streets and alleyways, its gorgeous cathedral and astronomical clock, and many fantastic restaurants. Even at other times of the year, Strasbourg is one of my favorite cities in Europe–it’s just so charming.

At one point I stopped at Hotel le Bouclier d’Or to rest my feet. On my way inside, I noticed an outdoor terrace with heaters, and a food cart where they sold mulled wine and snacks. It wasn’t open yet when I was there, but I’d imagine it would be a festive spot to enjoy the evening. 

Strasbourg has several different Christmas markets scattered throughout the city. Some are huge, like the one outside the cathedral, and some are much smaller. One focuses only on locally made foods, and another on handcrafts. As I said, you could easily spend one or two full days just wandering the Christmas markets, sampling the food, and enjoying live music. 

Day 4: Christmas Markets by Train

Somewhere along the line in all of my research, I had heard that Freiburg, Germany, had a nice Christmas market, so on this day I hopped on a train and headed there first. Again, I was early (most markets don’t open until 10 or 11, but even then they are fairly quiet), so not much going on. I did stumble upon a couple of sweet markets, but nothing special here.

My next stop wasn’t for the Christmas market (although they did have one), but more of a personal pilgrimage. My grandfather, Otto Yag, emigrated to the United States around 1919, from Karlsrhue, Germany. Karlsruhe wasn’t too far from Strasbourg and Freiburg, so I decided to try to find the place where Otto’s sister lived. (There is much more to my family history, but too long to get into now.) I was actually able to find her apartment and the school that my mother’s cousin attended. This was absolutely thrilling for me, and I was glad to have done that.

Unfortunately, as I was making my way back into the city center, I took the wrong tram and then had to correct my mistake. Very frustrating for someone like me who is supposed to be good at directions! I finally found the correct station, which was close to the Christmas market, and took a little time to look around. Honestly, there’s not much in Karlsrhue, and I can’t recommend their Christmas market, but I’m sure it’s lots of fun for the people who live there. Still, I was very glad to have seen the town my grandfather came from.

My original plan was to then travel to Heidelberg, which is a beautiful town and is only a couple of hours from Strasbourg. I’ve been to the Christmas market in Heidelberg before, and it is amazing. So festive with great food and live music. I HIGHLY recommend spending a day in Heidelberg at Christmas if you can make that happen. However, as I was planning this trip, I did not purchase my train tickets in advance–HUGE mistake–and there were no seats from Heidelberg to Strasbourg available on the day and time I wanted to travel. Argh!!! So I couldn’t go to Heidelberg on this trip. Next time I’ll plan better.

Note: If you want to travel to Christmas markets by train, make sure to purchase your tickets before you leave home. I’d even do it a month in advance. Things get BUSY in December.

So back to Strasbourg I went. Which really wasn’t bad! I enjoyed one final evening of strolling through the Christmas markets and people watching. That night, as I was heading back to my hotel, I heard music coming from the church next door, so I poked my head inside to see what was going on. I ended up sitting for a while, listening to some fabulous acapella singers. Just gorgeous!

Final Thoughts

This was definitely an experimental trip. I went solo and I moved fast because I wanted to see as much as I could in order to make recommendations. In the future, I would probably not try to do as much each day so that I could just slow down and enjoy the atmosphere. I would also allow myself to sleep in a little and start a little later since nothing much gets going until around noon. I would skip Frieburg and Karlsrhue, but I would probably try to take a full day to go to Heidelberg. 

I should also mention that this was not a “foodie” trip. I took very few photos of the food I ate and do not really remember where I ate each day. Further, I have to note that the Christmas markets are not great for people with celiac disease or food allergies. It was a challenge to find gluten free food each day. 

All-in-all, if you just want a taste of Christmas markets, this was a great way to do it. Fly into Paris and head to Alsace for a festive few days of fun and celebration. I can’t wait to go back someday!