Le Marché de Noël de Strasbourg

During the Christmas period, you can find the entitled Christmas markets (marchés de Noël) in every French city. You can find Christmas decorations, handicrafts, mulled wine and traditional sweets, etc. It's worth going to look around more than it is to buy things; to see the decorations and to appreciate the Christmas atmosphere.

France's most famous Christmas market is the one in Strasbourg. This eastern French city is also known as the Christmas capital. It already gives you an idea of how impressive its Christmas market must be, in order to have gained that nickname. In fact, there isn't just one market in the city but... eleven in total!

Christmas, Christmas, white Christmas (it wasn't snowing but I remember that it was cold indeed :O).

I had heard about this famous Christmas market the first time I came to France but I was left wanting to go. :( So this year I was more than decided that I would visit it and so, I went. :D

The fact that I saw the iStudent association (an Erasmus organisation for the Erasmus here in Lyon) was going to do a trip to Strasbourg and Colmar in order to visit the Christmas markets specifically, encouraged me to go on this trip. When I saw it, I thought perhaps I could go with them... But on seeing the price... Forget it! It cost around €200 and... you know how long there were saying for? Just the weekend: They arrived on the Friday night, stayed there all of Saturday and came back on Sunday... The trip included transport and accommodation but on checking the prices of train tickets, I realised it would convene me more to visit the two cities independently. I could also stay longer and make the most of my visit.

So, my itinerary was the following: Lyon-Strasbourg, Strasbourg-Colmar and Colmar-Lyon. And how much did the train tickets cost? The journey from Lyon-Strasbourg came to me at exactly... guess! €29! The train from Strasbourg to Colmar only cost €6. 30 and the Colmar-Lyon train came to me at €26. I spend €61. 30 in total.

It ended up being cheaper for me to travel by train because I have the Carte 12-27, which is a card that allows you to get discounts of at least 25% on all trains operated by the SNCF (sometimes, you can even get more of a discount; )). The SNCF is France's national railway company. This card costs €50 and is valid for a whole year. I really recommend it a lot! Buying tickets in advance, it can end up being even cheaper for you to travel by train than by covoiturage (shared car), as well as travelling more comfortably and getting there faster.; )

For example, with covoiturage, the journey from Lyon to Strasbourg is at €30 and takes around 5 hours. :S Whereas it only takes 3 hours by train and you travel more comfortably.; ) So now you know arriving in France, to buy your carte jeune 12-27! Of course, there is a super promotion at the minute: There is a €15 discount until the 29th June which means you only pay €35 instead of the usual €50. They also send you two coupons - each one for €17. 50, (to use between July and August) with which your card is refunded... 100%! If you're coming to France before or if you're here now, you can benefit from this excellent promotion.; )

Well then, continuing with the trip, given that I had my tickets... and accommodation? :o Well fortunately, I have friends in each of those cities, so I could stay with them and save on this expense :)

I took the train at 6am to get to Strasbourg. :o So as you can already see, not getting up early, but SUPER early. :( But come on, when it's travelling we're talking about, it's worth it :). (Oh, what's more, just as I left Lyon that early morning... it snowed! So it was even more ad hoc for the period and Christmas atmosphere :)) I arrived at Strasbourg at 9. 30am and my friend came to collect me from the station. The first thing I did was eat a bit and... sleep! I had to charge my batteries for the marché de Noël. :D It's a shame that my friend had exams when I came because I could barely spend any time with her but her reception was extra. :)

So I was anxious to see the famous Christmas market and it didn't disappoint me. :) Once it's starting to get dark, it's better to go walking through its posts, so that you can appreciate the city's illuminations and decorations.

Around 300 merchants set up their chalets in eleven different points in the city. In this way, Strasbourg changes, as I said before, into the European Christmas capital. It's ordinary too since with those figures, its market is the oldest in Europe and one of the biggest in the continent. What's more, there is a guest country; in honour of which, there are shows and concerts. Last year it was Belgium.

A little bit of historical information: Strasbourg's first Christmas market was called 'Christkindelsmärik', which means 'Baby Jesus's market' and it was carried out in 1570. (To give you an idea, they started to build Mexico City's cathedral that year - in other worlds, we in Mexico, were in the colonial era).

Traditional Alsatian architecture. This part of the city is called la Petite France.

So the region of Alsace (where Strasbourg and Colmar are) belonged to Germany for a while. France and Germany fought over this territory for several centuries but the Gauls won it in the end. However even today, you can appreciate the German influence in Alsace. This is from in the food (one of the typical dishes is choucroute, which is cabbage with potatoes and traditional sausages from the region... I tried it and I didn't like it. Well however, I can say that I tried it :p) to the signs: many of the signs in the city are in French and German. In the train station, the announcements on loudspeaker are in both languages, which was something that surprised me.

In short, if I tell you a bit more about the region, it's so you can have a better idea of the atmosphere dominating here, which makes the visit at Christmas time even more extraordinary. Strasbourg is really taken seriously for being the Christmas capital because you can really notice a difference between the decoration and atmosphere, for example, during the same period in Lyon and so on. I'm not saying the Christmas period isn't beautiful here in Lyon but it's something else in Alsace and it's worth going to experience it.

Handpainted biscuits: The impressive result of extremely detailed work. They're so beautiful, I don't think I could eat them... Well, maybe I could hahaha.

All in all, I stayed in Strasbourg for two days. As it's a small city, you can visit all of its different markets and main points on foot (apart from the European Parliament - that yes, is somewhat far to get to on foot xD but personally, I'm more interested in seeing and enjoying the traditional aspects of the city, rather than seeing a much more modern building).

The dates for this years market are already definite: It starts on the 27th of November and finishes on the 31st December. Two of the main markets and their locations are the following:

You will find the Christkindelsmärik in la Place Broglie (remember that I said before it's what the first Christmas market at the beginning in Strasbourg was called?; )). To me, this seems to be the biggest one in the city.

The marché de Noël de la Cathédrale (The cathedral's Christmas market) in the square of the same name, Cathédrale. It's particularly beautiful because it's just opposite this impressive gothic-style religious precinct.

Obviously, there are other markets such as those in la Place du Corbeau and in la Place de la Gare which are smaller but aren't any less beautiful in being so. The Place de la Gare's market is located just opposite the train station.

There is also a biiiiiiiiiig Christmas tree put up in la Place Kléber. It's effectively a really big and really pretty tree, with many lights and wreaths. Every year, the illumination of this great tree marks the commencement of Strasbourg's beautiful Christmas market. I remember I saw a video of the moment in which that tree was lit up during the unveiling of the market, a short while before I came. It must be very beautiful to witness that moment live.

La Place Kleber's great Christmas tree. This square is named this specifically in honour of a scientist born in the same city. There is also a tram stop called this.

What specifically is there at Strasbourg's Christmas markets? As I said at the beginning, you can find handicrafts and traditional food from the region here, as well as Christmas decorations.

Christmas decorations

Traditional Alsatian pottery. I remember the ceramic of the town. :) If you observe well enough, you will notice drawings of storks on these potteries: This bird is one of the region's symbols.

The Alsatian stork again.

To eat; if you like little biscuits... my god! You will be in paradise! :o There is a whole variety of biscuits; so many that I didn't known which one to buy. My favourites were the étoiles de cannelle (cinnamon stars). They are snacks made as their name suggests: in the shape of a star and based on a paste with cinnamon... Delicious! I regret not having bought more. :( I thought to my self, 'I'll find more étoiles de cannelle in Lyon and I'll buy a whole packet for myself'... oh yeah... Well when I got back here in Lyon, THEY DON'T HAVE étoiles de cannelle, because they are traditional of Alsace specifically. :'( There was a stand that sold them (it was a stand of typical Alsatian things, obviously) but they were more expensive and the bag was tinier. :( So I think I have to go back to stock up with delicious cinnamon stars hahaha. :p

The biscuits at the bottom with the white frosting are the cinnamon stars... Really delicious! And the ones at the top are rose flavoured hearts... also very delicious! Ah because of course, I tried them too. :D How could you have thought otherwise?

You can find other food stalls in the market. So I tried the famous choucroute but as I said, I didn't like it. It has a sour taste and I wondered if they had even given me something spoilt hahaha. :( But I asked a woman and she told me that it takes several hours of preparation to make a true choucroute and that it's not very advisable to buy it in the stands because they're more concerned about profit than quality... So all in all, if we take her advice, you'll have to make friends with someone from there, in order for them to invite you to try homemade choucroute. :p How great. Perhaps it was just me who didn't the taste, or it was that those of the stand weren't the best. Maybe you will have more luck. :)

Spaetzle (a pasta) is also something typical of the region. It has a specific form and I liked it. However I didn't try them at the Christmas market but otherwise, with my friend.

Another thing I recommend you to try during the Christmas market is the really famous (and delicious! ) mulled wine. This traditionally French recipe consists of heating wine and adding spices. It was originally made in Germany but due to its success, it's now possible to find it in the whole of France. It's a good way of fighting off the cold too!; ) If it works, eh. :p Ah of course, this year most of the stands sold mulled wine in non-disposable plastic cups and you paid an extra euro for the cup (I don't know if it's always like this). You can keep it if you like as a souvenir of your visit or if you bring it back, they give you the extra euro you paid back. It's a good idea to avoid waste and it contributes to caring for the environment. :)

Ah and other thing I noticed during the Christmas market: They organise a competition every year to reward the most beautifully decorated chalet. This incites the exhibitors to go to a great effort in the decoration of their stalls and contributes to maintaining this tradition.

There is also a small city near to Strasbourg which is also famous for its Christmas market, as well as for its architectural style. It's called Colmar. Well, I will tell you about this small town on another occasion. It's also worth visiting.

Now you know, Alsace's Christmas market is one of the destinations that should be on your travel list during Christmas. As I already said, it's somewhat characteristic of France and very famous. You can get to know another side of this beautiful country and this side of France is certainly beautiful. Don't hesitate. Go to Strasbourg's Christmas market!

Strasbourg is not a massively well-known city, touristically speaking, and I honestly don't understand why, as it is home to many unforgettable places and experiences. If you want to visit Strasbourg in its prime, it's best to go there in either the spring or summertime because it is an absolute delight with all the flowers blooming across the city and the tolerable climate allows you to enjoy your time there a bit more. However, I do recommend, if you can go at Christmas, that you do it and that you go on the day of the inauguration of the Christmas festivities. Really don't think twice about going: it's an experience that you will never ever forget.

I had been told that Strasbourg was the Christmas capital of Europe, and that the city was absolutely beautiful at this time of year, but I honestly didn't go into it with very high expectations. However, it was what actually surprised me the most during my entire Erasmus exchange, and I am lucky enough to be going back again this year!

The inauguration of the Christmas festivities in the Alsace region takes place at the end of November. This year, in particular, it takes place on Friday, November 28 (I arrive on the 29th, but never mind). When I lived there last year, this festive period lasted until December 31st.

The inauguration was a magical experience, and I am going to tell you why. We first walked through the city centre and saw lots of little wooden houses spread out over several sites. There were lots of people walking around, and I honestly think that it was one of the coldest days that I had experienced in Strasbourg. We headed towards Place Kerber, as it was there where the Christmassy activities were taking place and where the huge Christmas tree was sat (called the "Grand Sapin"), which, in that moment, had its lights switched off. They brought the huge tree to the Place Kerber the day prior, so it is undecorated in the square for about a month, but every time that you see it, you still get all the Christmas vibes.

When we arrived in the square, it was packed full of people. There was a huge stage where several people performed; for the most part, it was Christmas-related music, not just traditional carols. Some songs were very moving, but I don't remember what they are called. We were told that they were going to light the tree at around 6pm or so, but the time came and went, and I was getting increasingly colder and I thought about just going home, but it was a good job that I didn't!

At 7pm or so, the light show started on the Aubette building. I had never seen anything like it in my life. They were toying with the building's relief, the lights and the music. The show started with a train arriving at the stop, "Strasbourg", that bore the name, "Le pays des merveilles" ("the country of wonders"), and from there, several segments took place. My favourite part of the show was when a dancer, like one of a music box, came out along with several puppets bearing French flags and playing music (this was when "All you Need is Love" was playing).

The light show lasted for around 10 minutes and, when it ended, some huge, white dolls appeared that made their way towards the Christmas tree with music playing in the background, before switching the huge tree's lights on. When I saw it, I left out an "ahhh", but so did the rest of the spectators in the square before we all began to clap in appreciation. After, the dolls walked around the city centre, and I was just left in complete shock: I never imagined having this experience, and it's one that you definitely need to have for yourselves, so that you can feel this same level of excitement.

The light show was repeated every 30 minutes during the afternoons throughout the following week, and I ended up going to watch it another three times with a croissant to keep me company, hahaha. You can see a video of the show on YouTube.

And it doesn't end here. When we were walking through the city, we were even more surprised to discover that practically the entire city was decorated for the Christmas period (which is something that I have never seen in Spain). The city centre looked like Santa's grotto: all of the buildings, streets, shops and restaurants had Christmassy decorations, lights, hanging bears, etc.

The delicatessen was decorated with little pigs, and an entire building was full of hanging Christmas teddy bears... Absolutely spectacular! Now I understand why Strasbourg is the so-called European Christmas capital...

There, it is very typical to drink mulled wine [vin chaud, in French] at the little market stalls. You can also find other handicrafts, figurines, turrón, little bags with typical Alsatian biscuits, fruit preserves, teddy bears, pretzels, etc. All of the stalls are really in keeping with the Christmas decor.

I think that the most important Christmas markets there are those in Place Broglie and Place de la Cathédrale.

The street that runs alongside Place Broglie had thousands of colour-changing lights hung up on the buildings. I wouldn't know whether to say that I liked them or not because they weren't very Christmassy, but they were nice all the same.

As far as I am aware, both flights and hotels are quite expensive at that time of year, but if you book them far enough in advance, you will end up saving quite a bit of money.

I will be back again to tell you all about my experience at Christmas next year!