In 27 days we visited 24 Christmas markets throughout France, Germany, Netherlands, and Belgium. You would think that after so many markets we would have started to get tired of them, but in fact each market was different and had it’s own special feature or feel to it.
We obviously have a few that we really liked, and others that maybe aren’t worth a second visit.
We also found that each market had a different feel during the day compared to at night. When we were travelling through a town and not staying for the night we tried to arrive so that we could be there for daylight and a bit of night. Since it gets dark around 5pm during winter, it wasn’t too difficult to manage in most cases.
Another feature of the markets were their locations. The town square and buildings surrounding the market really added to the feel of the market. Most markets were in the town’s old square so it usually had a pretty magical feel to it, but some towns were much better than others.
As a way to remember the Christmas markets we visited, we kept a cup from each market. What started as a one off souvenir from our first market, turned into a collection of 24 cups!
As we visited each market we were surprised to find that every market we went to had a reusable cup system. The cost and style varied from market to market, but the general idea was the same. When you ordered a drink from a market stall they took a deposit for a reusable cup. You could either keep the cup and lose your deposit, or you could return the cup and get your deposit back. Most markets in France had a plastic cup and the deposit was 1 Euro. In Germany the cups were glass or porcelain, with a higher deposit amount. Some markets only had one style of cup (which made it easy as we didn’t have to pick a cup to keep), while others had several. By chance, we ended up collecting a cup from each market!
Alsace France Region
The Alsace region in France was one of our favorite areas. The Christmas markets were amazing, but the towns themselves were just as magical. The small towns nestled amongst the vineyards added to the beauty of the old medieval towns.
If you are visiting the area for Christmas (or any time really), I would highly recommend staying in the area for several days so that you have time to visit each of the gorgeous villages.
We stayed just outside of Colmar and it was an easy drive to each of the villages.
Colmar, France
One of our favorite markets. It’s a good size, but still felt small. The town is absolutely beautiful and there are lots of things to see and do throughout the town (even if it wasn’t Christmas time).
The highlight of the Christmas market was the Christmas carols along the canal. A group of school students travel down the canal by boat singing Christmas carols, with Saint Nicholas in the last boat. It was a beautiful addition to a wonderful Christmas market.
There is also a chocolate museum, full of chocolate facts and chocolate displays – plus lots of free chocolate samples!
The town is great to wonder around as well. On one side of the town is “Little Venice” full of canals, which provided a lovely walk.
Eguisheim, France
Eguisheim is another charming village in Alsace. The buildings were beautifully decorated and the Christmas decorations added to the magic of the village.
The town is small, therefore the market is small, but these Alsace villages aren’t fully about the number of market stalls. It’s more about the Christmas feel of the place – the old buildings with Christmas decorations – and the market stalls are just a bonus that adds to the Christmas spirit.
Kaysersberg, France
Another beautiful Alsace village (they all really were stunning!). This town was a bit bigger than some of the other nearby villages. There’s a castle on the hill looking over the village, and there’s a small canal that goes through the village (all adding to the magic).
The Christmas market included a ‘Stories and Legends’ display that contained different scenes from well-known fairy tales, such as Snow White and the Sevan Dwarfs and Little Red Riding Hood.
There was also a glass blowing workshop where you could watch glass blowing in process. It was pretty incredible to see how they created glass ornaments and other glass decorations. All of the items created in the workshop were for sale in the store next door.
Neuf-Brisach, France
The Neuf-Brisach Christmas Market a very different Christmas market to most of the other ones we visited. We hadn’t heard of this one, but the host at our accommodation suggested it.
The market was themed around the 1700s. There was straw on the ground throughout the market, workers were dressed in period outfits, and there were several stalls giving demonstrations on craftwork from that period.
There was a room for bread making, blacksmiths, open fire cooking, and lace work. Each stall had someone demonstrating the craft. We stood and watched the blacksmith for a long time as he created a small horsehead out of an iron rod.
Everything at this market was old and traditional. It was so different to the other markets in the area and we were so glad we found out about it.
Riquewihr, France
Riquewihr is my favorite village in Alsace. I loved walking around the old town and viewing the old buildings. Everywhere we looked was just stunning – the old medieval style throughout the village was incredible. We could have spent hours, days, months just soaking up the atmosphere of the old village. The Christmas decorations on the front of the buildings were beautiful and enhanced the beauty of the whole village.
Again, the market itself was small, but the Christmas atmosphere was in the air and made the how town magical.
Selestat, France
We included this market because it was supposed to have a Christmas tree theme. The town of Selestat’s claim to fame is the first written mention of a tree. When we arrived, most of the stalls were shutting down (it was 11am). We weren’t sure if the market was only on for half a day, or if they were closing for lunch, either way there wasn’t much to see. Most of the stalls looked like normal street market stalls, and only a small section looked like it was part of the Christmas market.
The market was very small, but the town had some great decorations on some of the buildings, and the town itself was nice.
There wasn’t much of a tree theme, considering that’s what the town is known for. Luckily the market wasn’t out of our way, so it wasn’t a total waste of time.
Strasbourg, France
Strasbourg is a larger town in the Alsace area within France. The buildings along the streets are old, and everywhere was decorated for Christmas. This was our first full-out Christmas town – and it was stunning.
The Strasbourg Christmas Market was one of my favorite Christmas markets. There were multiple squares around town setup with market stalls and the streets throughout town were decorated including different themed light hanging over the streets. As you walked between the markets the buildings were fully decorated for Christmas, so the whole town has a Christmas feel to it. Just perfect!
Each market has a different theme, as well as a different styled Christmas tree. One of the markets as an “alternative Christmas market”. They had different styled huts, used recycled materials for decorations, and had a florescent colored light beam tree.
Along the main streets of town there were different Christmas lights overhead. One street was decorated with chandeliers, another one was large presents, another with stars, and one with angels.
The real highlight here was the decorations throughout the town. Everywhere you looked it felt like Christmas. The buildings throughout town, the lights down the streets, the rooftops of the stalls – everything was full on Christmas.
Turckheim, France
The Turckheim Christmas Market was a smaller market in the area. However, they have a great advent calendar to open each night in December – the “calendar” was three painted house fronts. Each night school children walk down the stairs next to the Town Hall, across the square to the advent calendar where a window is opened to display a special Christmas scene.
The town also offers a Night Watchman walking tour that takes you around the town. Unfortunately, the tour is only available on certain nights and the night we visited was not one of them. The town was super cute, so I’m sure the tour would have been a fun way to see the town.
European Christmas Markets
For a complete list of all the Christmas markets we have visited see our European Christmas Market post.