Place Kléber and the Great Christmas Tree
Place Kléber is where most visitors first stop and stare. The biggest square in the old town holds the Great Christmas Tree, the Grand Sapin, which rises about 30 m (about 100 feet) above the crowd and lights up to music every evening. This guide gives the show times and the spots with a clear view, then visits the charity chalets beside the tree and the decorated streets that lead away from it.
The square and its tree
Place Kléber is the largest square on the Grande-Île, and in December it gives most of its space to one fir. The Grand Sapin stands about 30 m (about 100 feet) tall and comes from a sustainably managed forest. It is switched on at an inauguration the evening before the markets open, which falls on the Thursday before the last Friday of November, and it stays lit through the season.
Alsace has a long claim on the custom. A record from 1521 kept in Sélestat, about 20 minutes away by train, is often cited as the first written mention of a Christmas tree, and Christmas markets in Alsace near Strasbourg covers the town's own market. In Strasbourg the tree is the centerpiece of the city's "Capitale de Noël" decorations, and the square around it works as the meeting point for the whole season.
Light show times
The tree runs a light show every hour through the evening. The early ones come with music; the last two are silent.
| Time | Show | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| 4 pm | With music | The last of the daylight, since the sun sets around 4:35 pm |
| 5 pm and 6 pm | With music | The first shows in full darkness, with the after-work crowd arriving |
| 7 pm and 8 pm | With music | Still crowded, above all at weekends |
| 9 pm | With music | As the chalets close, the square starts to empty |
| 10 pm and 11 pm | No music | The calmest view of the tree, with room to step back |
Details can shift from one year to the next, so look at the city's official program when it comes out, shortly before opening. The general market calendar, from the opening Friday to the early close on 24 December, is in Strasbourg Christmas market dates and opening hours.
Where to stand
A tree of about 30 m does not fit in a phone screen from close up, so resist the pull toward its base. Standing back toward the edge of the square shows the whole height and the lights running up it, and you are out of the thickest part of the crowd. Arrive a few minutes before the hour and pick your spot. Then stay put, since moving through the square during a show is slow work.
- For photos. The edges give you the full tree with the square's lit facades around it;
- With children. Small ones see more from a pair of shoulders than from a stroller at ground level; Strasbourg at Christmas with kids has more on timing;
- In the cold. Standing still for a show is when the damp chill gets through, with evenings around freezing. Bring a hat and gloves, and read what to wear in December.
The Village du Partage
Next to the tree stands the Village du Partage, a set of charity chalets run by local associations. Among them is a soup stand that makes a warming stop between shows, and a bowl costs a few euros. It is easy to walk past on the way to the bigger markets, but buying something here is a simple way to support the associations behind it.
Star arches and gold teddy bears
The decorations do not stop at the edge of the square. Over the streets around it hang star-shaped light arches reading "Strasbourg Capitale de Noël", the city's Christmas slogan since 1992, with gold teddy bears perched on them. Rue des Hallebardes and the streets around Place du Temple-Neuf, a few minutes east, carry the most elaborate facade decorations in town, with chandeliers hung above the lanes. This corner is known as the Carré d'Or, and Place du Temple-Neuf holds its own small market. Elsewhere in the center, whole facades covered with teddy bears and gift boxes stop people in their tracks.
These streets are narrow and they fill quickly after work, so walk them in the late morning if you want to look up without being jostled, then come back after dark for the lights.
The meeting point of the season
Place Kléber works as a meeting point because everything leads to it. The Homme de Fer tram stop, the main hub of the network, sits right next to the square, so trams from the station and the park-and-ride lots drop you a short walk from the tree. Bags are checked at every way onto the Grande-Île while the markets run, and buses do not call at some stops on the island. Getting to the markets explains the routes in.
The square is also where Discover Strasbourg's Christmas markets walk, from ~$39, finishes. The two-hour tour starts by the Barrage Vauban in Petite France and ends here under the tree, so you can stay on for the next show.
Walk the markets and end at the tree
Discover Strasbourg's guides, such as Pierre and Arno, take ten guests at most from the Barrage Vauban through Petite France and the cathedral markets to Place Broglie for a mulled wine or hot juice, and on to Place Kléber, from ~$39. It scores lower on Viator, from fewer reviews, and one guest's map app sent them to the wrong start, so look for Place du Quai Blanc.
From the tree to the rest of the markets
The original market, the Christkindelsmärik on Place Broglie, lies a few minutes away, and our page on Place Broglie covers what its chalets sell. The cathedral and the canals of Petite France are a longer walk south and west, with a route laid out in Petite France to the cathedral through the lit lanes. Our guide to bredele and vin chaud tells you what to try first between squares.