Strasbourg at Christmas with kids
Children take to Strasbourg in December faster than most adults do. The markets are free, and after dark the big tree on Place Kléber puts on a light show every hour. This guide covers the corners where families do well and the hours when small legs survive the crowds, then the tours that accept children.
Where children fit in
About a dozen market sites are spread across the Grande-Île, and they are not equally kind to small legs. The cathedral squares and Place Broglie draw the thickest crowds, where a child mostly sees coats from below. The easiest family corners lie at the two ends of the old town, the Great Tree on Place Kléber and the children's market in Petite France. Plan around those two, and treat the lanes between them as a walk with snacks along the way.
The children's market in Petite France
On Place Louise-Weiss and Place Suzanne-Lacore, at the western tip of the island, Strasbourg sets up its children's Christmas market beside the Advent village. The space feels more open than the cathedral squares, and the pace is slower. The same squares host the market of the Irréductibles Petits Producteurs Alsaciens, where local producers sell cheese and honey alongside jams and flour. The Moulin de Hurtigheim stall there sells bredele by the bag, which keeps the parents happy too.
A few steps away, the chalets on Place Benjamin-Zix include glass baubles from Meisenthal. They make a lovely souvenir and a tense moment with a toddler. In some years the Advent village stays open after 24 December as an after-Christmas village. Our guide to Petite France and the lit lanes covers the free terrace on the Barrage Vauban, where children can look out over the towers of the Ponts Couverts.
The Great Tree and its light show
Place Kléber, the largest square in the city, holds the Grand Sapin, a fir of about 30 m (about 100 feet) from a sustainably managed forest. Its lights change in time with music on the hour through the evening, and our Place Kléber guide has the full timetable. For a small child the 5 pm or 6 pm show suits best, since it is already dark and you can still be at dinner early.
Around the tree, the Village du Partage gathers charity chalets run by local associations, among them a soup stand, a good stop for a child who has eaten only sugar. Agree on a meeting spot by the tree before the show, since it is the one landmark everybody knows. Place Kléber and the Great Christmas Tree explains where to stand for a clear view.
Teddy bears and a clock, plus a nativity scene
Half the fun is spotting things on the way. Star-shaped light arches reading "Strasbourg Capitale de Noël" hang over several streets, each with gold teddy bears, and some shop fronts go much further. Dozens of bears and gift boxes climb the facade among the garlands. Rue des Hallebardes and the streets around it, near Place du Temple-Neuf, carry the most elaborate decorations, and children treat them as a treasure hunt.
Entry to the cathedral costs nothing, and the astronomical clock inside puts on its parade of apostles at 12:30 pm. Arrive a little early so the children can see over the crowd. At Christmas a nativity scene is set up inside as well. Older children who want the stories behind the stone can join My Cathédrale's 90-minute guided tour, from ~$29, led by guides approved by the French State. Its catch is that the cathedral can close for services, which cancels the tour. Sleeveless tops and short skirts are not allowed either. The city's Christmas program also lists a Batorama boat with Christmas storytelling; check its days there.
Manala for Saint Nicholas, and other sweet treats
Alsace keeps the German-influenced custom of Saint Nicholas Day, and on 6 December bakeries sell the manala, a sweet brioche shaped like a little man. If your trip covers that date, make it breakfast. For the rest of the season the treats are bredele, the small Christmas biscuits that Alsatian families bake (cinnamon stars and spritz as well as butter and anise biscuits), and gingerbread, sold here as pain d'épices. Mireille Oster's gingerbread stall on Place Broglie is the classic stop, and our guide to the Christkindelsmärik has more on that square.
Alcohol-free hot apple juice is common at the markets, so nobody has to watch the adults drink vin chaud. Drinks come in reusable mugs with a deposit that you get back when you return the mug, and a child who wants to keep one as a souvenir simply costs you the deposit. Snacks cost a few euros each. Alsatian Christmas food from bredele to vin chaud lists what to look for.
Which tours take children
Most families need no tour at all. A guide helps when you would rather someone else handled the route, and the age rules differ from one tour to the next.
| Tour | From | Length | Children |
|---|---|---|---|
| Do Eat Better, Christmas market food tour | ~$62 | 2 h | Under 10 at a discount; hot wine 18+ with an alcohol-free alternative |
| Do Eat Better, traditional food tour | ~$90 | 3.5 h | Under 10 at a discount; the one glass of wine is 18+ |
| Discover Strasbourg, markets walk | ~$39 | 2 h | Mulled wine or hot juice included; no age rule in our notes |
| Ophorus, Colmar markets day | ~$168 | 7 h | No children under 4; at least 2 adults per booking |
| Tour.Alsace, wine-route villages | ~$143 | About 10.5 h | No children under 4 |
Two hours of tastings for the family
Do Eat Better's Christmas market walk leaves Place d'Austerlitz at 3 pm and goes from a mini kugelhopf to a heart-shaped bretzel gratiné and gingerbread in 2 hours, from ~$62, with a lower price for children under 10 and an alcohol-free drink in place of the hot wine. It is a new listing with no reviews yet, and it serves tastings rather than a meal.
The traditional food tour, from ~$90, is a full meal over 3.5 hours, with 10–15 minutes of walking between stops, and it is not suited to reduced mobility, so think twice with a stroller. The day trips set firmer limits. Ophorus's Colmar day, from ~$168, takes no children under 4 and needs at least two adults, and the Tour.Alsace villages day also turns away under-4s.
When to go and how to get around
Families do best on weekdays in late November and early December (Mondays and Tuesdays most of all). Mid-December weekends are the most crowded. Sunset comes at about 4:35 pm, so arriving around 4 pm for a tree show at 5 or 6 pm gives children the lights without a late night. Book an early dinner ahead, because restaurants fill up in December.
For the whole market period, every entrance to the Grande-Île has a security check. In packed lanes a narrow stroller or a child carrier copes better than a wide buggy. Drivers can use the park-and-ride lots, which include a tram ticket; getting to the markets explains them. Small children feel the cold first, and what to wear in December covers layers and boots.
The markets usually run from the last Friday of November to 24 December, about 11:30 am to 9 pm, closing at about 6 pm on 24 December and staying shut on 25 December. Confirm your days against the city's official program, which comes out shortly before the season, and see Strasbourg Christmas market dates and opening hours for the usual pattern.
A day at Europa-Park
When the children have had enough of chalets, Europa-Park waits across the Rhine in Rust, Germany, about an hour away by car. The official Europa-Park entrance ticket, from ~$75, is sold on GetYourGuide. Its catch is that tickets are dated and non-refundable, and the park keeps its own winter opening days, so check them on the ticket page before you pick a date. Closer by, Colmar has a children's market in Petite Venise, about 30 minutes away by regional train. Christmas markets in Alsace covers Colmar, and winter day trips from Strasbourg weighs the longer outings.