Strasbourg, France Christmas Markets Crowds?

I too had been thinking of stopping in Strasbourg in early December as we will be in Paris then. We had enjoyed a previous visit to Strasbourg this past summer but for December I was noting very high hotel prices. Probably due to multiple events over the weekends - there is at least one Ligue One Football (Soccer) game, the Christmas Markets and another big event which escapes me at the moment. If we could work it out, a mid-week visit might be better as less events happening.

We spent 4 nights in Colmar in June 2023 and loved it so much that we decided to return for the Christmas markets. Prices for Colmar during the markets were 3 times what we paid in June, so we found cheaper lodging in Strasbourg. We stayed 4 nights in early December 2023, arriving around 1:30 on a Saturday. We went to our first market and were soon swallowed by the crowd. Literally shoulder-to-shoulder and you didn’t (couldn’t) move unless the crowd moved you. I had a little panic attack and really started to question how we would do this for our 8 night trip. We managed to visit 9 of the 10 markets in Strasbourg over the next 6-7 hours, but the crowds were intense. Think Disneyland or Times Square on New Years Eve.

Sunday we went to one of the small villages nearby via public bus (Ribeauville). We arrived 10 minutes before the opening time and people were STREAMING in. Within 20 minutes the crowds were shoulder-to-shoulder. We made our way to the end of town, then worked our way out of town - like fish swimming upstream against the waves of people still streaming into town. We went to another town Kaysersberg, where it was less crowded, thankfully. But on the way out of the first town, we saw at least 40 tour buses parked along the road, and cars parked for a mile outside of town. The markets are ultra-peak season for these towns.

Monday we visited Colmar and again arrived before the opening time. It was blissfully not crowded. Definitely lots of people, but not packed like on the weekends. So big tip: and the popular markets on the weekends. There will still be INTENSE crowds at night, as locals visit the markets after work. But during the day is fabulous, and it gets dark around 4 so you can see the beautiful lights before it gets crazy crowded. Meal times are the worst.

Based on everything I’ve seen and read (there’s a great fb group called Magical Christmas Markets of Europe), Colmar and Strasbourg are absolutely packed at night and on weekends. We chose to spend the evenings at smaller markets (Obernai & Gengenbach), or eating at restaurants. The crowds thinned out about 8pm (markets close at 9 in Strasbourg), so we’d wander through after dinner.

The Christmas atmosphere in Strasbourg, Colmar & surrounding villages is fabulous. We found the markets to be somewhat repetitive: same food, same items sold. We also visited Cologne and the markets there are far better. But the city doesn’t have the same charm.

We’ve also been in Paris during the markets. Quite by chance. They are fun, and the city is beautifully decorated.

This year we are going to the markets in Vienna, Budapest, Salzburg, Innsbruck and Munich. We will stick to our strategy: shop/view stalls during the day, lunch at the markets, nap or other sightseeing after lunch, back to the markets around 4, dinner around 5-7, one more market after dinner. Travel between cities on Saturdays. Be pickpocket proof.

Thank you, everyone, for the details you’re sharing! My adult daughter and I will be at the Strasbourg Christmas Market this year. We are just staying at that location one night (Thursday) because it was so expensive. I am expecting crowds, but that doesn’t sound fun - ugh!

Our itinerary for our first time to Christmas Markets is Vienna, Salzburg, Munich, Stuttgart/ Esslingen, Strasbourg, Paris.

Strasbourg is magical at Xmas, and the most decorated city I've ever visited at the holidays. It's absolutely breathtaking at night with the elaborate lights. It also has several markets, ice rink, etc which take awhile all to see. I'd recommend spending the money and stay in town, as commuting in and out can be exhausting. There's so much to see, and it's nice to rest up and warm up midday. Like most markets, it gets more crowded around 5pm, when the locals get off work, and the lights come on. Any serious shopping is best done during the day.
The Stuttgart markets are great, and Esslingen, (a short train ride away) has charming Middle Ages markets, with vendors in period costumes and live entertainment. We had a great time here.
Hope this answers parts of your questions.
Wishing you a wonderful trip!

Hotel prices are a pretty good indicator. That holds true for any city, any time. When they are high, you should expect a crowd.

Strasbourg is the best French market I've seen, and I've spent the last three years wandering around the Alsace-Lorraine. I stayed over 4 days in the city December 2023, and have been back a couple time since then. in December it's a totally different city in the evenings once the lights are up and on. Every section of the town has a different light pattern. The market(s) are spread out around the old town, and it's hard to imagine "doing" all of them in one or two days. Usually the stalls start opening around 11am, but it's after 4pm that things really get going. Note that traffic into the old town by car is strictly limited at the time of the markets, even more than normal. I've been to a lot of Christmas markets and events and Nuremberg is the only other one that comes close to the crowds, but Nuremberg is much less spread out, or less segmented. Still, both will be wall to wall crowds.

Colmar is pretty good also, but not as big. The thing is, to me, Colmar is a city that's much more tourist dependent. Strasbourg is much more of a working city and has a better infrastructure that reaches outside the city center. Colmar is much more densely oriented to the city center, and in that way it's a lot like Nuremberg. Colmar, and a lot of the smaller towns around the Alsace, dresses up for the season. Strasbourg changes personality. It's a very different feel.

If you don't want to stay in Strasbourg, consider Haguenau. It's an overlooked city, attractive, a direct train ride to Strasbourg, and you can find rooms in December for around $100/night. They also have a Christmas market and you'll have to look to find American tourists there. My other suggestion would be to stay in Nancy and day trip to Strasbourg. The advantage to that is that Nancy also has really good holiday decorations, it's a beautiful city, and you'd also have the ability to visit Metz, Paris, etc. as well as the smaller towns within the region and across the border into Germany (Saarbrucken, Trier, etc).

Colmar won't be quieter than Strasbourg. Avoid weekends in Strasbourg, though!

Balso said the magic words. Avoid any of the Christmas markets on weekends. Just….awful crowds. I go again in a heartbeat…just on a weekday.

Jean, Kehl in Germany, about 20 minutes from Strasbourg’s Homme de Fer tram stop, is a great option for lodging. Usually much more affordable and easy access to the markets via tram.

Thanks for the tips.

Haguenau and Kehl are both interesting options. Nancy might not be convenient enough.

Fortunately our trip is mostly week days with one weekend straddling Stuttgart and going into Freiburg.

I do remember a few years ago the crowds in Nurnberg (I think it was there) for the market on a weekend and it was a bit too much for me.

We've returned from our trip and we did end up spending 2 nights in Strasbourg. Original plans got changed due to feeling a bit out of it in Stuttgart and wanting to be safe and not dealing with a longer train ride with connections. So instead of bypassing Strasbourg we went straight there from Stuttgart (easy direct train ride, I think 2 hrs).

We stayed out of town at the Holiday Inn Nord. Either needed a 15-20 minute taxi/uber/bolt/etc. ride or a 5 minute walk to the bus station and then take the bus into old town. Not ideal but it was quiet and cheap (used points for free nights). The hotel itself is old, with the toilet right against wall on one side and some cracks in the sink, etc. It seemed pretty clean and decent especially price wise compared to the sold out hotels in town or paying $300-400 for hotels that normally go for 1/2 or 1/3 of that price normally (outside of Christmas Market time).

The town itself is obviously nice but it is another city that just gets swamped with tourists and tour groups along with video bloggers. We were there midweek (Mon/Tue 12/1, 12/2) and by mid/late afternoon it was fairly crowded. The cathedral obviously is very nice to see.

We enjoyed our time there but I wouldn't put it high on my list of "to go back" cities.

Richard,

It's very kind of you to offer this follow up. Thanks for sharing.

The tourist onslaught is mostly in Christmas market season. It is fairly enjoyable to stroll in old Strasbourg the rest of the year. But yeah, there's not that much to it either.

2 years ago we arrived in Strasbourg on the 24th + the day it ended. Everything was still decorated and there were still plenty of stands in town that sold pretzels and spiced wine. I am actually glad we arrived their after as it was fairly calm. We were then able to visit the surrounding cities and their markets.

In my opinion, Colmar is much calmer and easier to enjoy.

I appreciate the update from OP. I love to look at the holiday lights, but the markets themselves don't interest me so much other than to stroll through, which I can do during the day. I've only been to Alsace once, but it was so adorable that I have thought about returning in December to see everything lit up. It sounds like I might be okay if I stay clear of the actual market in the earlier evening hours and on weekends.

To me Colmar felt like a zoo. I couldn't wait to get out of the crowd.

Jean, Kehl in Germany, about 20 minutes from Strasbourg’s Homme de Fer tram stop, is a great option for lodging. Usually much more affordable and easy access to the markets via tram.

I recall reading this before our trip and looked into it but even there prices were high or rooms were difficult to find.

Now part of that is because I didn't plan this trip 6 months in advanced but more like a couple of months with finding the FF airline tickets and then figuring out where we were going between Munich (arrival) and Paris (departure).

If you do go, try to avoid the weekends/friday night and go early so if the crowds get to you, you can always leave and maybe come back one night just to see the lights.

We were early in terms of Christmas markets. Munich had just opened, Tubingen had no yet opened (we did a short trip there and enjoyed the town but missed the markets). Stuttgart was nice.

Stuttgart was nice.

Been a while since I went, but I really enjoyed Stuttgart and their Christmas market scene some years ago.

I was in Strasbourg in 2021 for the opening day of the Christmas market. Despite still being in the clutches of COVID, and the Omicron variant just starting to make itself known, the market was quite busy. That being said, it is spread over a wide area and so it never felt like too much, honestly. The lights were so amazing (I remember in particular a tree completely covered in tiny blue lights that took my breath away) and we enjoyed ourselves immensely, even though mask wearing was enforced everywhere in the market area - totally understandable but it kind of sucked to have to wear them outside, in addition to having to wear them everywhere inside. I imagine the crowds were lighter than usual given COVID. We stayed in the Hotel Tandem which was fairly reasonable, quite attractive and had an excellent breakfast. It is across from the train station so very convenient to the city centre.

We spent the next couple of days in Colmar and loved the way all the buildings were lit up. It was so pretty! The market itself was insanely busy, COVID or not, and like others have mentioned, I had to escape after a short while. We also went to Eguisheim, which wasn't my favourite, Kaysersberg, which was so lovely and not crowded at all and finally Turkheim. We weren't expecting much but enjoyed it greatly -- it was quiet and very pretty with a super cute little Xmas market with one of a kind items. Again, I imagine that our experience wasn't the norm, so while it seemed a little crazy at the time to be travelling in the midst of everything going on in the world, it was a wonderful trip overall and I have no regrets.