Christmas Markets of the Alsace

Last Updated on September 28, 2026

When most people think of Christmas markets of the Alsace (if, in fact, they’re thinking of them at all – maybe other people aren’t as obsessed with Christmas as Scott and I?!), they think of Strasbourg. It is, after all, the biggest city in the Alsace and therefore has the biggest market. 

But after the attacks in Paris in November, the city of Strasbourg announced that, in the interest of safety, they were cancelling all live events due to be held at the markets and tightening security. At one point, it almost seemed as if they were going to cancel the markets altogether. So because of this uncertainty, we decided to head to some of the Alsace’s smaller towns and cities instead. Here’s how we got on.

Riquewihr

The timbered buildings of Riquewihr make it a day-tripper’s dream, and that was exactly what we could see as we arrived in our car: lots of day trippers, many of whom had arrived by the coachload. On days when the Christmas market is running in Riquewihr (which is basically the whole of December) the old town centre is closed to car traffic, which is nice if you want to wander the streets, but not if you want to park your car, because car parks get over-full and you have to pay for on-street parking. D’oh.

The locals of Riquewihr go all-out when it comes to decorating their houses – there were nativity scenes, polar bears, stars and trees galore. In some ways, it was almost a pity to cover up such attractive buildings with decorations, but it definitely gave the whole town a Christmas-sy feel, and I imagine children in particular would love it.

The actual Christmas market in Riquewihr was pretty disappointing. Heading there after Liege, I was expecting to sample some delicious French delicacies and yet more vin chaud. But the market here is mainly focussed around crafts and gifts – great if you’re there to shop for things you don’t really need, but we weren’t. The only hot wine we could get our hands on was served in plastic cups (if it’s not served in a mug, it doesn’t count) and the only food was small pretzels and sauerkraut. We did manage to get our hands on a big hunk of Comte cheese (which we proceeded to carry around in our suitcase for the next few days, slicing off big hunks to eat as and when we desired – as you do), but we decided to throw in the towel when it came to finding dinner at the market and instead dined at one of the town’s restaurants.

The best thing I ate in Riquewihr was a mannele – a brioche bun in the shape of a man, sold around St Nicholas’ Day – which we snaffled up from the only bakery in town.

Overall, I was underwhelmed by the market in Riquewihr and was glad we only stayed there one night – however, if you are looking to do a spot of Christmas present shopping, or just planning to spend an afternoon there as part of a bigger itinerary, it’s definitely a charming town to see.

Eguisheim

We had originally planned to spend the night in Eguisheim, but after seeing how small Riquewihr was, we changed our plans and decided to stop for an hour or two en-route to Colmar instead. I am certainly glad that we did, because Eguisheim is even smaller (and quieter) than Riquewihr, although equally as pretty.

The Christmas market in Eguisheim is very small. There are probably only around twenty stalls, with a couple selling food and drink items, although most sell gifts and local crafts. The town centre is decked out with lots of Christmas trees and fairy lights, which made it look very picturesque and if you are looking for a meal, it did seem as though there were a couple of nice restaurants open for lunch.

Overall, I’d recommend a short visit to Eguisheim if you wanted to see the town centre itself, or enjoy a glass or two of local wine, but I wouldn’t make a special visit for the Christmas market alone.

Colmar

Our last stop in the Alsatian region of France was Colmar. We decided to stay in a hotel overlooking the water in the “Little Venice” area of the city, which was also located right behind the Children’s Market. It did look a little as if someone had spewed polar bears all over the front of the hotel (and, indeed, right underneath our window), but we were starting to realise that this is just par for the course in this region of France at Christmas time. You’ve just gotta go with the kitsch.

There were five different markets around the city, including an indoor arts and crafts market. We did find a slightly wider selection of food and drinks than at the previous two markets, understandably, but the main focus was still on gifts and trinkets. Our favourite market was located in front of the church at the Place des Dominicains, but we did find some good organic mulled wine and mini kugelhopf cakes (a circular brioche cake found in the Alsace that looks a lot like a bundt cake) at the market at Place Jeanne d’Arc.

Food ran the gamut from gingerbread (called pain d’epices) and pretzels to marinated meat and potatoes. We enjoyed some delicious quiche and pretzels from a bakery in town, but for dinner we turned to local restaurants as there wasn’t enough choice at the markets themselves.

We enjoyed the markets in Colmar much more than the first two destinations, but this was partly because it was a bigger town to wander around and had more choice of food and drink. However, it was still focused a little too much on shopping, and not so much on people gathering and having a good time (there were no real places to sit or stand and enjoy your food/drink). The markets also shut fairly early in the evening – around 7pm or so – which left us with no choice but to grab some dinner at a restaurant and then head back to the hotel.

 Overall, I was glad that I got to see these Christmas markets in the Alsace, and I would definitely return to see Strasbourg in the future, but I am unwavered in my loyalty to the beloved German and Austrian Christmas markets. Sorry, France.