Hi all. My family and I are headed to France for 9 full days in late November and early December to enjoy some of the holiday ambience of the season. Just wanted to get thoughts on how best to concentrate time. We are planning to arrive in Paris and immediately head to Alsace for 5 nights. I was thinking of getting a rental in Strasbourg then staying in Colmar for those 5 nights and use it as a jumping off point to check out the towns and Christmas markets in the surrounding region (e.g. Strasbourg, Mulhouse etc). Is this a reasonable base and are there any places we should be sure not to miss? Is it even worth trying to head somewhere across the border to Germany for a day or should we keep our focus in France for that short time? The last four nights I’m planning to stay back in Paris and maybe do a day trip to Reims. Any thoughts/recommendations appreciated. Happy travels!
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area
5697 posts
In Paris don't miss the interior of Galleries Lafayette elaborately decorated for Christmas -- and then take the escalator to the roof for a free viewpoint over the city.
Posted by
Noblesville, Indiana, USA
1406 posts
Back in early December 2019 we based in Colmar for 5 nights and visited the Christmas market there as well as those in Eguisheim, Kaysersberg, Freiburg, Germany and Basel, Switzerland. It was a great base and easy driving. Wish we would have had time for Strasbourg but logistics got in the way - we were originally going to take the train between Paris and Colmar and then rent a car but ended up having to drive the entire trip due to a transportation strike. Have fun!
Posted by
Uppsala, Sweden
6985 posts
I was thinking of getting a rental in Strasbourg then staying in
Colmar for those 5 nights and use it as a jumping off point to check
out the towns and Christmas markets in the surrounding region (e.g.
Strasbourg, Mulhouse etc).
Don't rent a car for that itinerary. Colmar, Strasbourg and Mulhouse are well connected by train. And trying to visit those towns by car is not recommended.
Is it even worth trying to head somewhere across the border to Germany
for a day or should we keep our focus in France for that short time?
If you have the time, why not? Freiburg is not far away.
Posted by
MPLS, MN
399 posts
It sounds like you have your heart set on driving, which is fine. However, we based ourselves in Colmar for a week without a car and had no trouble going wherever we waned to go. I will pass a couple ideas on to you. One of our days consisted of taking the bus to Freiburg, Germany, to check out their markets, then we took the train to Basel, Switzerland with a direct train back to Colmar. It was very enjoyable and did not feel like we bit off too much in one day (we were pleasantly surprised with Basel, both the town itself and its Christmas markets). We also took a cab to Ribeauville and walked amongst the vineyards to Riquewihr (returned to Colmar via bus). It was a nice alternative to the crowded markets of Colmar, Strasbourg et al. Colmar is an excellent base.
Posted by
California
158 posts
I would second visiting Basel as well as somewhere in Germany. The German markets are different than Alsace and you are so close to Germany! Basel in Switzerland has a couple of Christmas markets. The one by the Cathedral has a special area for children. There are old time activities and crafts that looked really fun, and when we were there, it wasn’t at all crowded.
Posted by
OP
12 posts
Thanks for all the replies. Definitely not set on renting a car, and I’d definitely prefer to do most by train if at all possible. We arrive at CDG around 11am so hoping we will be able to get a reasonable train all the way to Colmar that day and do 5 days of exploring the region by train and bus after that. Seems like a couple other Alsatian town plus maybe Basel and Freiburg could be the way to go. Looks like trains from CDG to Colmar are at least 3-5 hours depending upon when we are able to clear immigration and customs and get out of the airport.