Hey folks,
So, we're staying near Beaune this christmas and would like to visit Strasbourg for the christmas market for a day. Having been to strasbourg before (not at christmas) I know how terrible parking is so I considered taking the train. However, a train for 2 adults and 2 kids (5&7) is over 400 euro! Does anyone know of a less expensive way? I can drive for sure, but it's a 3 hour drive each way so I was hoping to avoid that if possible. Maybe that's the way that it has to be, but I thought that I would ask the forum for advice before resigning to this fate. Thanks in advance.
Posted by
London, United Kingdom
4684 posts
Were you looking for the exact date you intend to travel or for tickets for immediate travel? If you book in advance online with SNCF, Loco2, or Trainline, you can get discounted fares. Of course, since Strasbourg is such a famous Christmas destination, it's possible that the cheap fares have sold out already.
Posted by
Washington DC
28102 posts
Potential travel dates? I'm guessing you're a bit late to get a great promo fare during the Christmas period. I found a 26.80-euro outbound fare on December 14 (I assume too early for you), but that itinerary takes 3 hr. 42 min.
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15791 posts
I liked the Colmar markets even more than Strasbourg's. With a car you could also visit at least one of the nearby villages - Kayserberg, Ribeauville . . .
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
It's also 3.5-4 hours each way by train. On my test date, you'd have to choose between an 8:00 a.m. departure with 2 connections or a 10:00 departure with 1 connection, but it doesn't arrive to Strasbourg until 13:44, leaving you not much time to see Strasbourg before turning back.
If Dijon is not already in your plan, I'd add a visit there.
Posted by
32 posts
I second Colmar. In fact, even more amazing was Kayserberg's, on the route de vin. I am currently ending my week long stay in Colmar this week and it has been wonderful. Made a day trip to Strasbourg, but was underwhelmed after seeing Colmar and Kayserberg's market. The items to purchase from the Strasbourg christmas booths largely looked imported, rather than local.
Posted by
OP
Boulder, CO, USA
719 posts
Hey folks,
I forgot that I posted to this! So, we'll be hitting a market in the days following Christmas, but haven't picked one specifically. The 27th, for instance, is about 320 euro and leaves at 8am, arrives at 11:30ish, then leaves again at 4:21. 5 hours is probably plenty of time, so this may be the way to go. We visited Colmar in '15 for their markets, and they were great, but we wanted to see something different. Strasbourg is always regarded as one of France's best Christmas markets, so that's why we'd like to see it. The mention of imported goods concerns me, so can anyone tell me if the whole market is like this? I'm guessing that due to the size, we'll find some of these goods but be able to find locally made ornaments and wooden gifts etc. That's how Colmar was, at any rate.
Any advice that you folks have will be appreciated! Thanks!
Darren
Posted by
Portland, Maine
2916 posts
The mention of imported goods concerns me, so can anyone tell me if the whole market is like this?
We went to the Strasbourg market several years ago after first going to the markets in Salzburg and Munich. In contrast to the locally-made ornaments in Salzburg and Munich, most of what we saw in Strasbourg looked to be foreign-made. On the other hand, the setting was beautiful.