Petite France to the cathedral through the lit lanes
The west tip of the old town and its cathedral quarter make the most photographed walk in Strasbourg at Christmas. Petite France has the canals and half-timbered houses, and the cathedral has the spire and the clock, with market squares strung between them. This guide covers both ends and the food market by the river, then lays out a route you can walk on your own.
The old quarter at the island's tip
Petite France sits at the western point of the Grande-Île, the island in the Ill that holds the old town and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. This was the working end of the medieval city. Millers and tanners needed the water here, and fishermen lived alongside them. What they left is a maze of half-timbered houses leaning over canals and locks. In December the chalets fill its small squares, and after dark the lit houses shine back from the water.
Barrage Vauban and the covered bridges
Start at the Barrage Vauban, a 17th-century dam across the river. Its roof terrace is free to visit and looks straight over the Ponts Couverts, the three bridges guarded by medieval towers. Behind them rise the old roofs and the cathedral spire. It is the classic view of Petite France, and it works in daylight or after dark.
The bridges themselves lead you into the quarter. Cross them slowly, since the towers are best seen from the bridges between them, and then follow the water into the lanes. Discover Strasbourg's Christmas markets walk, from ~$39, starts at the foot of the dam and climbs onto it for the view before heading into the markets.
The markets of Petite France
Two market areas share the quarter, and they feel quite different from the big squares in the center.
- Place Benjamin-Zix. A cluster of chalets in the heart of the old houses, including a stall with glass baubles from Meisenthal. The baubles are fragile, so ask for them to be wrapped well;
- Places Louise-Weiss and Suzanne-Lacore. Home to the Irréductibles Petits Producteurs Alsaciens, a market of small Alsace producers (cheese, beer, honey, jams, flour). The same squares hold the Advent village and the children's Christmas market.
The producers' market is the place to buy food to take home, and the Moulin de Hurtigheim stall on Place Louise-Weiss sells bredele, as our guide to Alsatian Christmas food describes. Families should head for the children's market and the Advent village, both covered in Strasbourg at Christmas with kids. In some years the Advent village stays open after Christmas as an after-Christmas village, one of the few sites that does.
Along the lit quays
From Petite France the river curves east around the island toward the cathedral quarter. Along the quays the city strings its Christmas illuminations, and Quai des Bateliers is one of the stretches that glows after dark. Walking the water is calmer than cutting through the central lanes, and the lights double in the river. The Batorama boats also run a Christmas storytelling trip on the river.
The cathedral quarter
Notre-Dame de Strasbourg is built of pink sandstone from the Vosges, and its single spire, 142 m (466 feet) high, made it the tallest building in the world for over two centuries. Entry is free. At Christmas a nativity scene is set up inside, and at 12:30 pm the figures of the astronomical clock come to life as the apostles file past. Arrive early for the clock, since the space in front of it fills fast.
Outside, chalets ring the cathedral on Place de la Cathédrale and spill onto Place du Château beside it. Here Käthe Wohlfahrt runs a big decoration chalet, the place for ornaments in quantity. With the floodlit facade above the stalls, this is the market most people picture when they think of Strasbourg at Christmas. It is also among the most crowded, so come in the morning or after the first evening rush.
The cathedral with a licensed guide
My Cathédrale's 90-minute tour, in English or French with guides approved by the French State, covers the outside and the inside, from the Pillar of Angels and the clock to the nave pulpit and the medieval stained glass, from ~$29. Entry is free anyway, so it buys no queue-jump. Services can close the cathedral and cancel the tour, and sleeveless tops and short skirts are not allowed.
The tour meets in front of the Musée de l'Œuvre Notre-Dame at 3 Place du Château, a few steps from the cathedral door, and takes up to 30 people.
Palais Rohan and the food market
Just south of the cathedral, the terrace of the Palais Rohan and Place du Marché-aux-Poissons host the food market by the river. This is where to try white mulled wine made with Alsace wine, a local specialty that you also find on Place Saint-Étienne. Food stalls line the terrace, so it makes a good place to eat standing up before walking on. A cup costs a few euros on top of the mug deposit, refunded when the mug goes back.
A self-guided route
The walk from the Barrage Vauban to the Palais Rohan is roughly a mile (about 1.5 km), but with stops it fills two to three hours. Start in Petite France in the last daylight, around 3 pm. You then reach the cathedral as its facade lights up.
- Climb onto the Barrage Vauban terrace for the view over the towers
- Cross the Ponts Couverts into Petite France
- Browse Places Louise-Weiss and Suzanne-Lacore, then Place Benjamin-Zix
- Follow the lanes east past Place Saint-Thomas to Place Gutenberg
- Walk up to the cathedral and around Place de la Cathédrale and Place du Château
- Finish on the Palais Rohan terrace and the river quays with a white mulled wine
For the clock, start at the cathedral before 12:30 pm and walk the route backward, ending in Petite France at dusk. Place Broglie and the tree on Place Kléber are a short walk north of the cathedral; see the Christkindelsmärik on Place Broglie and Place Kléber and the Great Christmas Tree. Opening hours change a little each year, and the city publishes its final program shortly before the season. Before you set out, check the official times against our page on market dates and opening hours. Cobbles turn slick in the damp, so read our December weather guide for shoes with grip.