Best Christmas Markets in France
Visiting a Christmas market in France is a magical experience. Twinkling lights wind around tree branches shimmering in shades of gold and silver, and bells ring out from Gothic-style churches as carolers sing joyful hymns.
In city squares, wooden chalets manned by artisans sell everything from hand-carved toys to candles and glassware, while purveyors of delicious food serve melt-in-the-mouth biscuits, roasted chestnuts and warming cups of vin chaud (mulled wine) or chocolat chaud (hot chocolate) to passers-by.
French Xmas Markets are easy to reach from many regions in Europe by road, air or rail, so if you fancy spending time between late November to early January being immersed in festive frivolities with a French flair, we’ve rounded up the very best French Christmas markets (marchés de Noël) to inspire your travels.
STRASBOURG
Strasbourg hosts one of the oldest and most beautiful Christmas markets in Europe, dating back to the 1570s. The market infuses a unique blend of French, German and Swiss traditions, thanks to its border location in the Alsace region (now called Grand Est).
The heart of Strasbourg Christmas market is Place Kléber. The main square, overlooked by grand gabled houses, boasts a 30-metre-tall Christmas tree adorned with sparkling lights and festive decorations.
On Place Broglie, near Strasbourg’s Opera House, the Christkindelsmarik, encompasses age-old traditions with nativity scenes, and on Place du Chateau, half-timbered houses near Notre Dame Cathedral are decorated with bears and festive wreaths curating a picture-postcard scene.
Food connoisseurs can head for Place du Marche-des-Poissons to sample typical Alsatian bredele cakes or Place des Meuniers where small local producers sell truffles, cookies and cheeses.
If travelling to Strasbourg’s Christmas markets with children, take in a workshop at the Advent Village in Petite France, pop into the gingerbread bakery or enjoy a boat ride or sightseeing train tour to explore different festive locations in the city.
Strasbourg Christmas Market Dates: 24 November – 24 December 2023. Official Site.
NANTES
Although western France isn’t well-known for its traditional Christmas markets, the one held in Nantes each year shines brightly on the festive calendar for many.
Nantes offers four weeks of festive fun, and there are two markets held in the city simultaneously from the end of November until Christmas Eve.
During the Nantes Christmas Market, city streets around Place du Commerce and Place Royale are punctuated with over 100 wooden chalets selling products ranging from handmade decorations to jewellery, wooden toys and leather items, making it the perfect place to browse for gifts and souvenirs.
Read more about the Nantes Christmas Markets here.
Christmas tunes are played every evening, as carousel horses bob up and down, and adults can sample food and drink items from Loire Valley producers while kids visit Santa’s weekend house.
The second market in Nantes showcases artisan wares from around 70 local businesses, with stalls focusing on different themes each week from fashion to culture and gastronomy.
Nantes Christmas Market Dates: 23 November – 30 December 2023. Official Site.
BORDEAUX
Bordeaux transforms into a winter wonderland every December as city streets are adorned with fairy lights and holly berries, and shop fronts are sprinkled with snowflakes and miniature Père Noëls.
Head for Allees de Tourny, the first of three city markets – a space where 150 pavilions sell hand-blown glass, potteries, artisan perfumes and linens. Events, light shows and workshops are held for children and there’s always an opportunity to meet Santa Claus as he walks past the stalls ringing his bell. Sample some of the region’s finest wines or get fully into the festive spirit at a candlelight concert.
Read also: Best Day Trips from Bordeaux
Environmentally conscious shoppers can head for Darwin Xmas Market on the right bank of the Garonne River. Here, stalls sell everything from organic chocolate and skincare products to accessories and artwork by local creators.
Alternatively, experience a festive market with a difference on the city’s flagship IBOAT. Once a ferry connecting Bordeaux to offshore islands, the wooden boat becomes a floating market which is open during the first weekend in December.
Bordeaux Christmas Market Dates: 24 November – 25 December 2023. Official Site.
PARIS
The French Capital, Paris, is often regarded as the best place to spend Christmas in France and every year over 20 festive markets spring up in neighbourhoods around the city.
A popular choice for family fun is ‘La Magie de Noël’ stationed at Tuileries Gardens near the Champs Élysées and Louvre Museum. It attracts over 13 million visitors a year with fairground rides, ice rinks, champagne bars and artisan stalls.
Undoubtedly, one of the prettiest and most romantic Parisian Christmas markets is held opposite Notre Dame Cathedral on the riverbank at Quai de Montebello in the Latin Quarter. Sip a glass of mulled wine and nibble on roasted chestnuts as live music plays with the famous cathedral as your backdrop.
For the best views of Paris, walk along the cobbled streets of Montmartre beneath Sacré-Cœur Basilica. A large Christmas tree stands here, and stalls feature wares from local designers, while kiosks serve sautéed mushrooms and cheesy raclette.
The best festive light show, (except for the Eiffel Tower of course) is held at Hôtel de Ville. The neo-Renaissance structure is illuminated in icy shades of blue with falling snowflakes, plus, if you’re travelling to Paris with kids, there’s an enchanted forest, Santa visits, a climbing wall, and a luge in the square for hours of family entertainment!
La Magie de Noel dates: 18 November 23 – 7 January 2024
Notre Dame Cathedral Christmas Market dates: 8 – 25 December 2023
Hotel de Ville Christmas Market dates: 1 – 30th December 2023
COLMAR
Colmar is magical at any time of year, but at Christmas, the fairy tale ambience elevates to another level. The Alsatian medieval town is peppered with cobbled streets, decadent storefronts, hidden museums and wine cellars.
The city’s canals are lined with half-timber houses decked in Christmas decorations and ornaments, and on winter evenings, choirs sing hymns on boats festooned with twinkling lights.
Winter scenes and Advent calendars are projected in lights onto houses and pop-up chalets across six French Christmas villages cater to all with one-of-a-kind gifts, arts and crafts, jewellery and food.
Visit Place de Dominicains, admiring its 14th-century church and stained-glass window, before browsing 60 wooden stalls, or pop inside Koifhus market to warm up and admire artisan crafts indoors.
In Place de la Cathédrale and Place Jeanne d’Arc, the finest Alsatian cuisine is on offer at the gourmet market. Iced gingerbread hearts hang from silk ribbons and vendors serve truffle risotto, soups, warming stews and spice-infused drinks to shoppers. For a sweet treat, try Alsace’s most famous bell-shaped cake, the Kugelhopf, dipped in sugar and laced with nuts.
If travelling with children, the pretty canal-side district of Petite Venise has a kid’s area with an open-air theatre, Christmas decoration contests, events and an illuminated ice rink.
Colmar Christmas Market dates: Late November – 31 December 2023. Official Site.
LYON
Winter in Lyon often sees the city lightly dusted in snow, which sets the scene beautifully for the popular Christmas markets. Around 140 canopied wooden chalets huddle the streets, primarily centred around Place Carnot (conveniently located right next to Lyon’s main bus terminal).
An excellent place to sample the city’s famed foodie scene, you’ll find local Lyonnaise delicacies aplenty to keep you warm and satiated. Wander the stalls as you’re serenaded by choirs singing Christmas carols, and browse the beautiful stalls filled with artisan crafts, glistening ornaments, and hand-knitted winter wear.
Read also: Lyon in Winter / Best Day Trips from Lyon
But markets aside, perhaps the most important event on the Christmas calendar is the Festival of Lights (Fête des Lumières). The tradition dates back to 1852 when the locals would burn candles on their windowsills to celebrate the inauguration of the Virgin Mary statue at the Basilica of Fourvière.
These days, artists from around the globe travel to Lyon to showcase their works in the form of light installations, projections, and performances. The spectacle, which lasts around 4 days, transforms the city into a contemporary canvas and draws in millions of visitors each year in early December to witness its beauty.
Lyon Christmas Market dates: 23 November – 24 December 2023
REIMS
Less than an hour by TGV train from Paris, the city of Reims is a magical place to visit during the festive season. City streets and trees are draped with luminous fairy lights as nativity scenes tell stories of Christmas from days of old.
As Reims is the gateway to Champagne country, swap mulled wine for a glass of bubbly while browsing almost 140 stalls, at the third-largest Christmas market in France.
There are gourmet food emporiums, a Children’s Kingdom and on weekends in December, after dark, ‘Regalia’ a spectacular rainbow light and sound show, is projected onto the Gothic façade of 13th century Reims Cathedral.
Take a ride on the giant Ferris wheel at Place du Forum to gain incredible views of the old town, enjoy over 80 fairground rides or follow 4000 square metres of beautiful decorations and illuminated characters on the trail of Santa Claus’ Circus.
Fancy venturing out of Reims into the surrounding Champagne countryside? In December, over 40 towns and villages display a selection of Christmas crib scenes complete with historic carved figurines during a festival known as the ‘World Nativity Scene Route’.
Reims Christmas Market dates: 24 November – 24 December 2023. Official site.
MONTBÉLIARD
Spend the Christmas season in France visiting a festive market with a distinctly German flavour. The charming Franche-Comté town of Montbéliard hosts a Christmas Festival of Lights each year along with a craft fair, children’s village, exhibitions, concerts and parades.
Over 160 stalls selling silk accessories, ceramics, candles, art and millinery dot the town square outside 17th-century Temple Saint Martin, and in the evenings after sundown, there’s live Christmas music, dancing and festive choral singing from Les Enfants de la Lumière, a 150-strong group of children wearing candle crowns.
Montbéliard’s Christmas market caters to little ones too. In addition to Père Noël, the magical fairy known locally as Aunt Airie wanders the streets with a donkey handing out sweets and gifts to lucky children.
Young adventurers can also participate in Little Elves workshops with Advent crowns, Christmas biscuit making and sleigh rides, while adults enjoy mouth-watering cheeses, sausage and sweet treats at gourmet food stalls.
Montbéliard Christmas Market dates: 25 November – 24 December 2023. Official Site.
METZ
The city of Metz borders Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany, making it a great stop-off point for a Christmas market fix. It’s known to be one of the best Christmas markets in France with stalls and street entertainers haggling for your attention across the city’s main squares.
The heart of festivities is Place de la République, where a giant Christmas tree takes centre stage surrounded by nativity figurines, in various scenes, an ice rink and a toboggan run. Traditional wooden chalets at the Metz Christmas Market specialise in heirloom decorations, painted baubles and gifts made by local artisans, while Place de la Comédie is infused with stalls brimming with food and drink delicacies.
Visitors can stock up on trinkets and gourmet treats at the market hall or marvel at hand-crafted gifts inside the Christmas pyramid while sipping warm hot chocolate.
The highlight of Metz Christmas is the annual Sentiers des Lanternes on Place Boufflers. The trail features over a million lights, and mini stages displaying colourful light sculptures of Santa, elves, donkeys and gingerbread houses. It’s a Christmas wonderland not to be missed, especially if travelling with children.
Metz Christmas Market dates: 24 November – 30 December 2023.
LILLE & ROUBAIX
Combine a visit to these two very different markets just 20 minutes apart while travelling through northern France.
Lille is one of the country’s most popular festive venues, with dozens of chalets selling local arts, crafts and foods. When combined with ornate architecture, cobbled streets and a distinctly Flemish vibe, the city is a joy to discover in winter.
Food lovers with a sweet tooth can sample handmade macarons and babelutte caramels and for savoury enthusiasts, there are local cheeses to try. Take a thrilling ride on the Ferris wheel for the best views over the city, before heading to the snow village for more fun and festivities.
The second location is just a short drive or train journey north to the former textile town of Roubaix. This town is unique in the sense that it hosts France’s first and only sustainable Christmas market.
Championing zero waste for three years, the Roubaix Christmas market attracts eco-conscious shoppers from all over France, not to mention, that it’s one of the only markets open until the first week in January!
The small market showcases handmade products and those crafted from recycled materials, allowing you to purchase gifts with a clear conscience. In addition, there are festive animations and a traditional ice skating rink to enjoy!
Lille Christmas Market dates: 22 November – 31 December 2023
EVIAN
With a completely unique, natural, non-consumerist take on Christmas, the picturesque town of Evian famed for its spring water makes our list.
There are no traditional wooden chalets or market stalls in Evian at Christmas, instead, 650 sculptures, figurines and mythical creatures dot the city streets as part of a festival called ‘Les Flottins’.
These sculptures are unusual in the sense that they are all crafted from driftwood gathered from the shores of Lake Geneva. Wander the city at night and the creative sculptures illuminate with twinkling torchlights and fireworks.
This extraordinary cultural event is a great place for those on a Christmas budget, and dreamers who prefer to imagine and listen to stories and poetry readings rather than shop.
There are myriad workshops to enjoy, fire ceremonies, and music kiosks inside trees, and families can follow a mysterious quest to the four corners of the village searching for clues leading to hidden treasures.
While you’re in Evian, why not pop down the road, and experience the magic of Geneva in the wintertime too?
The best places in France for Christmas markets are awash with twinkling lights and scented with spice come December, and the experience is not to be missed. Remember this is a list of the biggest and most beautiful, but there are also many smaller atmospheric markets in different regions to visit in France during Christmas time, so wherever you decide to stay, there’s sure to be a fun festive market nearby!
