Strasbourg Christmas market dates and opening hours
Strasbourg runs its Christmas markets to a steady yearly pattern, so you can plan the trip long before the exact dates appear. The chalets open on the last Friday of November and trade every day until Christmas Eve, and the big tree on Place Kléber is lit the night before. This guide sets out that calendar square by square, then turns to the quieter days and to plans for a stay of one to three days, with the village markets that keep their own schedules.
The pattern every year
Strasbourg does not shuffle its market dates around. The season opens on the last Friday of November, from 2 pm on that first afternoon, and from then on the chalets trade every day until 24 December. The evening before the opening, the Great Christmas Tree on Place Kléber is switched on at an inauguration, so travelers who arrive on the Thursday see the lights before the first stall opens its shutters.
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| The evening before opening day | The Great Tree is lit at an inauguration on Place Kléber |
| Last Friday of November | The markets open, from 2 pm on this first day |
| Each day after that | Chalets open about 11:30 am to 9 pm |
| 24 December | Early close, at about 6 pm |
| 25 December | All markets closed |
| 26 December | A public holiday in Alsace; only a few sites carry on |
St Stephen's Day on 26 December is a holiday in Alsace even though most of France goes back to work. Expect shops and offices to stay shut. In some years the Advent village in Petite France reopens as an after-Christmas village, yet most chalets are gone by then. If the markets are the reason for the trip, plan to leave by the 24th.
Every market is free to enter. Security checks stand at the entrances to the Grande-Île, the island that holds the old town, for the whole market period. Travel light and allow a few extra minutes. Hours shift slightly from one year to the next, and the city publishes its final program and opening times shortly before the season begins, so check it once it is out.
About a dozen market squares
The markets are spread over about a dozen sites on the island, each with its own character. The main ones lie within easy walking distance of each other.
| Square | Known for |
|---|---|
| Place Broglie | The largest market, the original Christkindelsmärik held since 1570, known above all for crafts and gingerbread |
| Place Kléber | The Great Tree and its hourly light show, plus the charity chalets of the Village du Partage |
| Place du Château and Place de la Cathédrale | Chalets around the cathedral and a large decoration chalet by Käthe Wohlfahrt |
| Palais Rohan terrace and Place du Marché-aux-Poissons | A food market by the river, with white mulled wine made from Alsace wine |
| Place du Temple-Neuf | The Carré d'Or market, next to the most lavishly decorated facades in town |
| Petite France (Place Benjamin-Zix, Places Louise-Weiss and Suzanne-Lacore) | Meisenthal glass baubles and a market of small Alsace producers, plus the Advent village with the children's market beside it |
| Place Grimmeisen | The Marché OFF, a market with a social and solidarity purpose |
Smaller groups of chalets stand on squares such as Place Saint-Thomas and Place Gutenberg, and you pass them on any walk across the center. For the oldest square in detail, read the Christkindelsmärik on Place Broglie. The western end of the island gets its own page in Petite France and the cathedral, with a route that links the two.
The tree's timetable
The one fixed schedule inside the market day belongs to the tree on Place Kléber. Each hour from 4 pm until 9 pm it runs a show set to music, and two silent shows follow at 10 pm and 11 pm, after most chalets have closed. The sun sets at around 4:35 pm in December, so the 4 pm show still has a little daylight behind it, while the 5 pm show is the first in full darkness. The early evening shows draw the after-work crowd. The silent late ones are the calmest way to see the tree, as our page on Place Kléber explains.
Which days to pick
Around three million people visit the markets in a season, and they do not come evenly. Weekdays are calmer than weekends. Monday and Tuesday are usually the quietest. Late November and the first days of December are calmer than the run-up to Christmas. The worst crowding comes on mid-December weekends, when the lanes between Place Kléber and the cathedral can slow to a shuffle.
- Mornings. Trading starts at about 11:30 am, and the first two hours are the easiest time to browse and buy;
- Dusk. From about 4 pm the lights come on and the squares fill, which is the atmosphere most people travel for;
- Weekends by car. The park-and-ride lots are full by early afternoon. Arrive before lunch or come by train; getting to the markets covers both;
- Dinner. Restaurants and the small winstubs book up in December, so reserve a table before you arrive.
If you can only come at a weekend, do your shopping in the first hours after opening and keep the evening for walking between the lit squares, when stopping at a chalet counter means a long wait.
Village markets keep their own calendars
Outside the city, each Alsace town sets its own dates, and they differ from Strasbourg's more than visitors expect. Some open only at weekends, and several run past Christmas.
| Town | Usual pattern |
|---|---|
| Colmar | Opens a little earlier than Strasbourg and runs to about 29 December |
| Kaysersberg | Advent weekends only, Friday to Sunday |
| Ribeauvillé | A medieval Christmas market on two December weekends |
| Riquewihr | Daily from the last Friday of November until shortly before Christmas |
| Eguisheim | To 30 December, closed 24 to 26 December |
| Obernai | To 31 December, closed on Christmas Day |
So a weekday visit to Kaysersberg finds no market at all, while Colmar still has stalls open between Christmas and New Year. Christmas markets in Alsace near Strasbourg covers each village with its train or bus.
Colmar's markets without the timetables
Ophorus drives a group of eight at most from 17 Place de la Cathédrale at 9 am to Colmar for a guided walk and free time at the markets, then on to a second village picked by the date, from ~$168. You do not choose that village, and meals are extra.
Plans for one to three days
One day
Arrive by late morning and go straight to the cathedral for the astronomical clock, whose figures move at 12:30 pm. Walk west to Petite France while it is still light, then turn back toward Place Broglie as the lamps come on and finish at Place Kléber for a light show. If you prefer company, Discover Strasbourg's two-hour markets walk, from ~$39, covers much the same ground with a mulled wine on the way.
Two days
Split the island across both days. Keep Petite France and the cathedral for one, the squares around Place Broglie for the other. Fill the second afternoon with Do Eat Better's Christmas market tastings at 3 pm, from ~$62, or with a long lunch in a winstub. What to eat at the markets lists the dishes to look for.
Three days
Give the third day to the countryside. A train reaches Colmar in about 30 minutes, or a guided day covers the villages for you. Winter day trips from Strasbourg compares the options, the Black Forest included. With any of them you are back in time for an evening in the city. Pack for gray, damp days with highs around 41 °F (5 °C) using our December weather guide, and if children are coming, read Strasbourg at Christmas with kids before you choose a day.