My family and I (me, my wife, our two kids, ages 9 and 7) are going to be in Strasbourg on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day this year, and are trying to plan ahead for meals, knowing that things are likely to be closed on Christmas. We are planning to cook in our Airbnb on Christmas Day, and would love to visit a restaurant on Christmas Eve, but aren't sure how open things typically are. What should we expect in terms of shopping ahead and cooking vs. dining out on Christmas Eve?
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10188 posts
Here's an article from a local Strasbourg source stating that some restaurants will be serving special holiday meals (normally fixed-price, multi-course). Additionally, the restaurants geared to tourists will be open. If you don't read French, you can use Google translate.
Be sure to get your shopping for the 25th and possibly the 26th done early on the 24th. The food shops will be mobbed.
https://www.rue89strasbourg.com/restaurants-ouverts-noel-strasbourg-114211
Posted by
Los Angeles
4392 posts
I was just in Strasbourg for the day, note that if you plan to visit the Christmas market you will definitely need a pass sanitaire. And even though it's outdoors, it will be packed. There are also multiple markets so don't fret, right outside the cathedral is a big one.
You'll also need to show your pass and possibly have your bags checked as you start to enter the downtown area crossing the bridge (dodging the trams). And just as an aside, not only is there a strong police presence in town, there are also heavily armed soldiers wandering around in packs of 3 or 4. So behave.
Also note that like everyone else we intended to visit the cathedral, and we did eventually get there, but we also stopped into two nice churches along the way. I'm sure they get many visitors thinking they are THE church in town, but they were nicer and more down to earth. As I recall, one was Catholic and one Protestant. If you're planning to take the boat tour, the ticket office is right next to the cathedral and not really anywhere near the dock, make sure they give you good directions on how to get down to the river although you could probably figure it out, there is some signage on the sides of buildings but you really have to look for it.