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CHRISTMAS

11 Christmas markets to visit in France this winter

After France cancelled most Christmas markets last year because of the health situation, they are back this winter, with health restrictions in place alongside the pain d’épices, oysters and vin chaud. Here's our pick of some of the best.  

Published: 4 November 2021 12:46 CET
Updated: 5 November 2021 08:59 CET
Christmas market in France
Eastern France specialises in great Christmas markets. Photo: Ludovic Marin/AFP

Strasbourg

The oldest and most famous market in France is back after it was cancelled last year. 

Every year the Christkindelsmärik in Strasbourg gathers around 2 million visitors who come from all across the world to visit the 300 wonderfully decorated wooden chalets. 

Let yourself be taken away by the typical smells of pain d’épices, marrons chauds and vin chaud (gingerbread, roasted chestnuts and mulled wine) and the traditional Alsatian decorations. 

There are also many different shows, musical concerts and artistic performances. 

A health pass won’t be required for entry but wearing a mask will be mandatory. Unlike previous years where visitors were able to enjoy a traditional pretzel or a vin chaud in front of the chalets, eating and drinking will only be possible at the “food corners” set up for the occasion. There will also be heightened security in place after the 2018 market was the subject of a terror attack.

Dates: November 26th until December 26th. 

Find out more here.

Colmar

If you’re looking for a traditional Alsatian Christmas market, Colmar is the go-to.  

With 6 markets and 186 tiny Alsatian houses, the festive event will honour the region’s specialties with offerings such as Foies gras, choucroutes and pains d’épice. French chefs will also host culinary shows and winemakers from Colmar will showcase their products.

A children’s market in Petite Venise will include a giant letter box for posting a wish-list to Santa and a 800 square metre ice rink will be set up. 

The whole city will be illuminated with 25 kilometres of Christmas lights. 

A health pass won’t be required apart from to access the “gourmand market”. 

Dates: from November 26th until December 29th.

Find out more here. 

People ice skate in front of a Christmas tree during the Christmas market in Strasbourg in 2019. Photo by FREDERICK FLORIN / AFP

Eguisheim

South of Colmar, this medieval city with colourful Alsatian houses around the castle is a must-see in the region. Its authentic and traditional Christmas market is an opportunity to discover the local gastronomic products and enjoy a glass of vin chaud with the villagers. 

If you stumble upon the Veilleur de Nuit with his accordionist, he’ll invite you to join him for a tour of the picturesque and illuminated streets and tell you all about the village history and its Christmas traditions. 

Dates: from November 26th until December 23th.

Find out more here. 

Kaysersberg

Situated 12km away from Colmar, Kaysersberg is one of the most beautiful villages of Alsace. The Christmas market is located in the historical centre, next to the ruins of the castle, which are illuminated for the occasion. 

The wooden bungalows sell typical decorations and local arts and crafts. There will also be plenty of Alsatians specialties and products from the Kaysersberg valley such as honey, charcuterie or eau de vie. 

Dates: open on November 26th to 28th, December 3rd to 5th, 10th to 12th and 17th to 21th.

Find out more here. 

Mulhouse

The particularity of Mulhouse’s Christmas market is that it happens in a setting made of Christmas fabric. In fact, thousands of metres of Christmas cloth decorate the frontages, monuments and pedestrian streets in the city’s historical centre. 

A tour on the Ferris wheel will give you a chance to get a wonderful view of the Christmas market and of its wooden bungalows. 

It’ll also be an opportunity to try Alsatian sweets such as the Berawecka – a spongy cake with pears, plums, figs and kirsch – or the Pebkucha – a cake with honey and spices – and get handcrafted products such as wooden toys or Christmas decorations. 

Dates: from November 24th until December 27th.

Find out more here. 

Customers try roasted chestnuts is Strasbourg. Photo by Bryan R. Smith / AFP

Reims 

In addition to its traditional gastronomic and handmade products, the Christmas market of Reims will offer several musical performances with a jazz group playing on Wednesday and Friday afternoons and various groups playing every Saturday and Sunday afternoons. 

A light and sound show on the façade of the ancient Cathedral will also revisit the history of French royalty on Saturdays (December 11th and 18th) and Sundays (December 12th and 19th) at 7:30pm. 

A Ferris wheel, a night torchlight walk and other fun activities for children are also on the programme. 

Dates: from November 26th until December 29th.

Find out more here. 

Montbéliard

Montbéliard, a city in eastern France at the border with Switzerland, calls its market “the Lights of Christmas”. During the advent period, its picturesque city centre is illuminated with 115,000 lights. 

The market gathers 160 craftsmen who sell authentic and traditional products. The good fairy of the Pays de Montbéliard Aunt Airie keeps local traditions going by telling her story to the children. 

Children will also be able to attend the Petits Lutins workshops where they’ll make the essential accessories for a successful Christmas before enjoying a hot chocolate.  

Dates: from November 27th until December 28th.

Find out more about the festive event here. 

Amiens

For more than 20 years, Amiens has been offering a flamboyant Christmas market which competes with the famous Alsatian markets. 

There you’ll find local and gastronomic products as well as Christmas decorations, but what makes this market so magical are its animations, its enchanting shop windows and its mountain village with a sledge run in the middle of a pine forest. 

Don’t miss the bewildering lights and sound night show on the Notre-Dame cathedral.

Dates: from November 26th until December 30th.

Find out more here. 

Lille

Lille’s enchanting Christmas market is coming back this year after it was cancelled in 2020 due to the health situation. 

About 90 stalls will offer traditional goodies such as pain d’épices, vin chaud and tartiflette. But there will also be plenty of gift ideas as well as the possibility to buy tree ornaments and nativity figures. 

Children will also be able to attend workshops where they’ll learn how to make a Christmas ornament or get festive make-up. 

Don’t miss a chance to enjoy a ride on the Ferris wheel and enjoy fantastic views over Lille’s Flemish-Renaissance architecture, illuminated with Christmas fairy lights. 

Dates: from November 19th until December 29th.

Find out more here. 

Arras

Every year, the city gets into the Christmas spirit with its red carpet and its forest of green, white and red pines. 

With its 140 stalls, the market offers a selection of handmade jewellery, wooden toys or ceramic decorations.  You’ll also find Christmas decorations with ornaments but also typical candles and music boxes. 

Enjoy local food specialties and don’t miss a ride on the Ferris wheel or a spin around the ice rink. 

Dates: from December 3rd to January 2nd.

Find out more here.

Lyon

On a slightly different note, Lyon’s Fête des Lumières (lights festival) is a magnificent event which has made the reputation of the city. 

Over four days at the beginning of December, the Fête des Lumières invites more than 3 million visitors from across the world to enjoy enchanting walks in a setting of 46 lights and sound creations. 

There’s also a more traditional Christmas market with 90 illuminated chalets which offer local products and arts and crafts. Lyon is known as the foodie capital of France, so enjoy superior food at the market including tartiflette, aligot à la truffe (mashed potatoes with truffle and melted cheese) oysters and escargots (snails).

Dates: Fête des Lumières is from December 8th to 11th, and the Christmas market from November 27th until December 24th.

Find out more about the festival of lights here and about the Christmas market here. 

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TRAVEL NEWS

German train strike wave to end following new labour agreement

Germany's Deutsche Bahn rail operator and the GDL train drivers' union have reached a deal in a wage dispute that has caused months of crippling strikes in the country, the union said.

Published: 26 March 2024 09:55 CET
German train strike wave to end following new labour agreement

“The German Train Drivers’ Union (GDL) and Deutsche Bahn have reached a wage agreement,” GDL said in a statement.

Further details will be announced in a press conference on Tuesday, the union said. A spokesman for Deutsche Bahn also confirmed that an agreement had been reached.

Train drivers have walked out six times since November, causing disruption for huge numbers of passengers.

The strikes have often lasted for several days and have also caused disruption to freight traffic, with the most recent walkout in mid-March.

In late January, rail traffic was paralysed for five days on the national network in one of the longest strikes in Deutsche Bahn’s history.

READ ALSO: Why are German train drivers launching more strike action?

Europe’s largest economy has faced industrial action for months as workers and management across multiple sectors wrestle over terms amid high inflation and weak business activity.

The strikes have exacerbated an already gloomy economic picture, with the German economy shrinking 0.3 percent across the whole of last year.

What we know about the new offer so far

Through the new agreement, there will be optional reduction of a work week to 36 hours at the start of 2027, 35.5 hours from 2028 and then 35 hours from 2029. For the last three stages, employees must notify their employer themselves if they wish to take advantage of the reduction steps.

However, they can also opt to work the same or more hours – up to 40 hours per week are possible in under the new “optional model”.

“One thing is clear: if you work more, you get more money,” said Deutsche Bahn spokesperson Martin Seiler. Accordingly, employees will receive 2.7 percent more pay for each additional or unchanged working hour.

According to Deutsche Bahn, other parts of the agreement included a pay increase of €420 per month in two stages, a tax and duty-free inflation adjustment bonus of €2,850 and a term of 26 months.

Growing pressure

Last year’s walkouts cost Deutsche Bahn some €200 million, according to estimates by the operator, which overall recorded a net loss for 2023 of €2.35 billion.

Germany has historically been among the countries in Europe where workers went on strike the least.

But since the end of 2022, the country has seen growing labour unrest, while real wages have fallen by four percent since the start of the war in Ukraine.

German airline Lufthansa is also locked in wage disputes with ground staff and cabin crew.

Several strikes have severely disrupted the group’s business in recent weeks and will weigh on first-quarter results, according to the group’s management.

Airport security staff have also staged several walkouts since January.

Some politicians have called for Germany to put in place rules to restrict critical infrastructure like rail transport from industrial action.

But Chancellor Olaf Scholz has rejected the calls, arguing that “the right to strike is written in the constitution… and that is a democratic right for which unions and workers have fought”.

The strikes have piled growing pressure on the coalition government between Scholz’s Social Democrats, the Greens and the pro-business FDP, which has scored dismally in recent opinion polls.

The far-right AfD has been enjoying a boost in popularity amid the unrest with elections in three key former East German states due to take place later this year.

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