The Problem with Alsace Christmas Markets in France

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If you want to experience the best Christmas markets in France, there should be one destination at the top of your itinerary: Alsace. This German-flavored region in northeast France is home to the best Christmas markets in the country.

And boy, does Alsace go all out at Christmas! You’re going to love it here. If you can handle the crowds.

I’ve been covering Christmas markets in Europe as a travel blogger since 2016, and in that near-decade, I’ve seen Europe’s Christmas market tourism grow enormously. And as is always the case with tourism, that is both a good and a bad thing.

On top of that, river cruises have really taken off during the same time period, and one of the most popular river cruise stops along the Rhine is the Alsatian city of Strasbourg. It’s easier than ever to visit Alsace at Christmas — and the streets have never been more crowded.

While I first visited Alsace on a September trip some years ago, last year my husband Charlie and I road tripped from Prague to enjoy Christmas in Alsace. We visited five different Alsatian cities — Strasbourg, Colmar, Ribeauvillé, Riquewihr, and Kayserberg-Vignoble.

And while we enjoyed our trip, there is one BIG thing we need to talk about: overtourism. Alsace’s Christmas markets are flooded with tourists from all over France, as well as the entire world.

And if you don’t plan appropriately, you might hate your trip here. Read on for how to plan it well!

This post was published in November 2025.

People gathered around a brightly lit carousel bar at night.

Why visit Alsace?

Alsace is German-flavored in nature, which makes it an interesting place to visit, especially if you’ve been to different parts of France before. This region has been volleyed back and forth between French and German control over the centuries.

Here, sausages and pretzels are as common as pains au chocolat and escargots, and many locals speak Alsatian as their first language.

(Interestingly, while the Alsatian language has been in decline, I found out that new Alsatian language immersion programs began in schools in 2023! Let’s hope that Alsatian goes the way of Welsh and becomes a thriving language once again!)

And while the cities of Alsace are a lot of fun, the small towns seriously are stunning, colorful, and forgive the cliché, but straight out of a fairy tale. The Alsatian towns of Ribeauvillé and Riquewihr reportedly inspired the setting for Belle’s village in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.

And because of this German influence, Alsace has an incredible array of Christmas markets. Strasbourg even calls itself La Captitale de Noël (Capital of Christmas).

Groups of people walking past a pale blue half-timbered house, each window covered with wreaths.

Yet even though Alsace is German-influenced, this is still very much France. France is a very aesthetics-driven country, and it doesn’t surprise me that Alsace has the prettiest Christmas decorations of anywhere I’ve been in Europe.

And people tend to be a bit more dressed up at the markets in France than in Germany, for example. You tend to see more nice scarves, hats and boots on locals, and fewer athletic outfits.

The food here? Instead of German gluhwein, you’ll be drinking vin chaud, or hot wine. And while I prefer mulled red wine overall, Alsace has some lovely white wines that make a terrific base for vin chaud blanc.

And then there’s the food. Tarte flambé, choucroute garnie, and plenty of hearty yet refined French dishes that will fill you with warmth on a chilly winter day. I find the food in Alsace much more delicious and varied than German Christmas market fare.

And then there’s the cheese. SO much cheese. If you want to eat cheese at Christmas markets, believe me, you’ll want to come to Alsace.

Big crowds of people walking down a narrow street filled with colorful half-timbered homes covered with Christmas garlands.

The Reason for Alsace Christmas Overtourism

However, you can’t talk about the Christmas markets in Alsace without talking about the overtourism. It is severe.

Imagine heading to what you think will be a delightful Christmas market experience, and instead you are packed to the gills with other tourists.

Looking to get some food from a stall? You’ll be waiting in a wraparound line. Got your wine and want to grab a table? Get ready to stand in place, because they’re all taken. Feel like taking a stroll? You’ll be shuffling along at a snail’s pace as you move with the horde.

And in the case of Strasbourg, you’ll be herded through fences as men and women with big guns patrol the city.

I know some Christmas Markets are packed, but I found Alsace Christmas Markets to be grotesquely crowded during the weekend.

Unfortunately, this is a fairly recent development, owing to both the takeoffs of Christmas market tourism and river cruise tourism. Last night I was talking to a friend who used to live in Freiburg who couldn’t believe what I was telling her about what it’s like today.

Eight years ago, she was able to walk up and buy a Navettes de Noël shuttle bus ticket on a whim in Colmar. Nowadays, these tickets sell out within hours of the onsale!

Kate and Charlie taking a selfie with big grins with an Alsatian tarte flambé in front of them.

So what makes Alsace’s Christmas markets worse than Christmas markets in other countries?

First off: TONS and TONS of French people.

On my most recent trip, I noticed that there were lots of tourists from other parts of France. (Including a group of older ladies shocked that they could not validate their Strasbourg tram tickets “à l’interieur” and were effectively stealing a ride.)

That’s when it hit me — France funnels all of their Christmas tourists into one region. While, sure, plenty of French tourists go to Paris and Lyon and other places in December, if French people are traveling in their country for Christmas markets, they are almost certainly visiting Alsace.

Let’s take a look at the map of France with Alsace highlighted:

A map of France with the region of Alsace, a tiny region in the northeast of the country, highlighted in red.

Alsace is a tiny region, geographically speaking. It’s a small sliver of northeast France.

And it’s even more significant when you look at how little of Alsace is developed:

A road map of the Alsace region of France with a tiny corridor of towns running from North to South.

As you can see, there’s basically one main road that runs from north to south, and most of the towns in Alsace are located off that one road.

There is a mountain range running along Western Alsace, which is a reason why this region kept being passed back and forth between the French and the Germans over the years. Overall, most of Alsace is quite rural, with a small corridor of towns running from north to south.

Not only are tons and tons of French travelers descending upon a small region, they are descending upon the minuscule developed portion of said region.

So French people flock to Alsace each year. But doesn’t this happen in Germany, the country with the biggest draw for Christmas markets? Absolutely not! Why? All of Germany goes all out for Christmas.

Every German city and most German small towns have their own Christmas markets; unless you’re very rural, you won’t need to go far to find one.

And Germans tend not to travel for any Christmas market in particular. Maybe, occasionally, German tourists will travel to Dresden’s or Nuremberg’s legendary Christmas markets, and sometimes they’ll visit friends and family in other cities or do a city break during December, but most of the time, Germans stick to their own region.

So domestic tourism in Germany is pretty evenly dispersed during the month of December — but France has a massive funnel emptying people from all over France directly into Alsace.

A river cruise boat parked in a small town in Germany

The Impact of River Cruises

River cruising has become an incredibly popular way to explore Europe over the last decade, especially for retirees and older folks. (Perhaps all those Viking ads during Dancing with the Stars had an impact.)

And among those cruises, Christmas cruises have tremendously grown in popularity and are now dominating the scene in December.

The two most popular river cruise routes to travel during Christmas are along the Rhine and the Danube. The Rhine is the border between Alsace and Germany. Most Rhine cruises have their itinerary run from Amsterdam to Basel, stopping in Strasbourg along the way.

As a result, Strasbourg is filled to the brim with river cruisers in December. I’m looking at the schedule for December 2025, and most days have four to seven cruise ships docked in town.

Even though these are considered “small cruise ships,” they are collectively dumping hundreds of additional tourists into the already crowded town.

And Strasbourg is not the only destination in Alsace that faces this. Most of the river cruise companies include excursions to Colmar; some offer excursions to other towns like Riquewihr. That adds to the crowds in those destinations.

Lots of people standing around in a courtyard in front of Christmas market booths.

How to Avoid the Crowds at Alsace Christmas Markets

This is my most important piece of advice: visit the most popular Alsace Christmas markets on weekdays as opposed to weekends. And by weekdays, I mean Monday through Thursday.

Weekends are packed to the point of being intolerable, and weekdays, though still busy, are far less crowded and far more enjoyable.

I visited Colmar last year on a Saturday night and a Sunday night — and you would not BELIEVE the difference of the Colmar Christmas Market. Just by eyeballing, it looked like Sunday night had about one third of the crowds of Saturday night.

Another example: on Saturday we had to squish our car into the last available spot in our hotel’s parking lot. On Sunday, we were one of only three cars in the parking lot.

On Saturday, we waited in line for 30 minutes to get potato galettes at Colmar’s gourmet market. On Sunday, there were never more than two people in line in front of us at any food vendor.

I would not recommend visiting the Christmas markets of Alsace on the weekend if you can help it — with one exception, the Ribeauvillé Christmas Market.

Ribeauvillé’s Christmas market is exceptional and only takes place on two Saturdays and two Sundays each December. Brave the crowds for this one, because it’s worth it.

Avoid river cruises if you don’t want crowds. Are river cruises fun? I’m sure they’re lots of fun! But if a destination accommodates river cruises, it means it’s going to be incredibly crowded.

That also goes for the popular shore excursions from river cruise ports, like Colmar and Riquewihr.

Charlie standing in front of a booth, looking at sausages.

Visit less-popular markets during the weekends. Within Alsace, I would suggest visiting Mulhouse, the largest city in the Haut-Rhin (the southern part of Alsace), which is a little bit off the main tourist trail.

Another good option is the Obernai Christmas Market. Obernai is a small city southwest of Strasbourg that has much of the beauty of the more popular cities, but a fraction of the tourists.

And if you’re willing to travel a bit, consider Metz. This city is in the Grand Est region of France, it’s about a 48-minute train ride from Strasbourg, and has some great Christmas markets away from the Alsace crowds.

And that’s not all. This guide has lists of all the Christmas markets in Alsace, including plenty I guarantee you’ve never heard of.

Know that “smaller town” does not mean “smaller crowds.” Ooh, that is not true in the least! Some of the most popular Christmas markets in Alsace are in the smaller towns: Kayserberg (population: 4,400), Eguisheim (population: 1,700) and Riquewihr (population: 1,000).

So don’t think that you’ll be escaping the crowds by choosing a smaller town — you probably won’t be.

Consider visiting wineries on weekends. The Alsace Wine Route is a popular activity in Alsace, and there are many tours that will take you to different wineries for tastings. I love these tours because they have a built-in designated driver, and wineries are often located out of town, far from the market crowds.

You can take this half-day wine tour from Strasbourg, or this half-day wine tour from Colmar. Both tours include multiple wine tastings and will show you the glorious Alsatian countryside.

Plan your parking in advance — or stay far away. If you’re traveling around Alsace by public transportation, that’s terrific! I highly encourage that!

If you’re driving, be sure to plan your parking ahead of time, or you’ll be spending a lot of time looking for hard-to-find parking spaces.

Meats roasting over a fire in the middle of a medieval square in France.

Tips for Visiting the Alsace Christmas Markets

Double-check the dates. Most Alsace Christmas Markets start in late November and finish in late December, but the dates can vary from town to town. Always double-check before booking your trip.

Consider your base carefully. Strasbourg and Colmar are the two more popular places to base in Alsace, and they have the best selections of accommodation.

So which one is better? Strasbourg is a bit cheaper overall than Colmar, with more variety, and because Strasbourg has a robust public transportation system, you can stay further away and still get around easily.

Strasbourg has more train and bus connections, and you can easily day trip to other towns on both the French and German sides of the Rhine.

Colmar, by contrast, is a smaller town. Though the center is walkable, you should use Google Maps to make sure you’re actually within walking distance of the center (think La Petite Venise region). And the closer you are, the more expensive it gets.

But Colmar is also closer to the most famous small villages in the region, and the Navettes de Noël shuttle buses run from Colmar.

Overall, Strasbourg and Colmar are about an hour’s drive apart, but just 30 minutes apart by train. Hooray for effective public transit! You can easily stay in one town and visit the other, as long as you keep track of the train schedule (and they do get busy during the festive season).

We chose to stay at the Ibis Budget Centre Ville in Colmar, which was a basic hotel for a decent price, had its own parking lot, and was within a 15-minute walk of most Christmas Markets in Colmar.

Book your accommodation EARLY. I can’t emphasize this enough. The most popular spots with the best deals tend to book up months in advance, and I don’t think you’re overreacting if you book your stay as early as January!

Find deals on places to stay in Strasbourg here and find deals on places to stay in Colmar here.

A group of people standing in line for a shuttle bus.

Book the Navettes de Noël from Colmar. This is the Christmas shuttle, and it runs several routes around the Colmar region in Alsace. A single weekend ticket costs 17 EUR ($19.50 USD).

I took the route that takes you from Colmar to Ribeauvillé, Riquewihr, and Kayserberg, and it runs in both directions. They also have a route from Colmar to the pretty wine town of Eguisheim; from Colmar to the towns of Turckheim and Munster; and on select weekends, from Colmar to the town of Neuf-Brisach.

I found the Navettes de Noël to be well-organized, running frequently, with friendly staff. And when I saw all the cars that parked haphazardly for miles surrounding the towns, BOY was I glad we chose to take the shuttle!

You should know that tickets tend to sell out VERY quickly, especially on the weekend, and especially especially on the two weekends of the Ribeauvillé Christmas Market. Check the onsale date on the website and book the moment they go on sale.

If not, you can book a multi-market tour from Strasbourg or Colmar. Tours are more expensive than the Navettes de Noël, but they’re a good option if they’re sold out.

This tour from Strasbourg visits several towns in Alsace — Colmar, and possibly Riquewihr, Ribeauvillé, Egusheim, or Berghaim, depending on the day.

This other tour from Strasbourg visits Colmar, Eguisheim, and Riquewihr, as well as making a visit to Haut-Koenigsbourg castle.

This tour from Colmar visits Eguisheim, Riquewihr, Kayserberg, and possibly Ribeauvillé depending on the day.

This international tour from Colmar visits Christmas Markets in three countries in a day: Basel, Switzerland; Freiburg, Germany; and Neuf-Brisach, France!

a flatbread topped with cheese, onions, and bacon lardons.

Eat all the Alsatian specialties. Of course, Alsace has so many delicious foods that you can rarely find outside the region! So what should you be eating?

Tarte flambée. Also called flammekueche in Alsatian and flammkuchen in German, this is THE dish of Alsace, and perhaps the most popular food to buy at Alsatian Christmas markets. It’s a thin flatbread topped with creme fraiche, bacon lardons, and onions, cooked in a wood-fired oven.

While most people stick with the classic, you can also find varieties with gratinated Gruyere cheese, Muenster cheese or mushrooms. Whatever you choose, eat it quickly. It’s such a thin piece of bread that it gets cold fast!

Choucroute garnie. Another popular Alsatian dish that will stick to your ribs, this is a mix of sauerkraut and meats — often knack sausages and ham — with potatoes and sometimes other vegetables.

Bouchée à la Reine. Also known as the vol-au-vent, these little bowls of pastry are often filled with chicken and/or veal in Alsace.

Coq au riesling. You may have heard of coq au vin, a popular French stew made with chicken, red wine, mushrooms, and lardons. In Alsace, it’s usually made with white wine, and either listed as coq au vin blanc or coq au riesling if made with riesling!

An outdoor vendor selling piles of Alsatian breads and pastries.

Kougelhopf. You’ll see mini bundt-shaped cakes everywhere. These are yeasted cakes, often flavored with vanilla and lemon zest, or chocolate, or a marbled mixture of the two. They are tiny and adorable!

Manalas. Forget gingerbread men — these are brioche shaped like men that are an Alsatian specialty for St. Nicholas Day on December 6, but you can find throughout the Christmas season. And don’t forget pain d’épices (gingerbread!).

Bretzels. Well, pretzels. They are everywhere. I’m personally not a big pretzel-eater in my regular life, but the cheese-covered pretzels of Alsace were absolutely stupendous! Don’t knock them until you try them!

And don’t forget to try the Alsatian wines! The wines here are predominantly whites; if you want a red, it’s Pinot Noir or nothing. They make excellent Rieslings (including dry Rieslings) and Pinot Blancs. But my absolute favorite is the Crémant d’Alsace, a sparkling wine that I think can go toe to toe with champagne any day!

Consider making advance reservations at restaurants. Between you and me, Christmas market food gets old fast, especially when you’re eating it daily. Making a reservation at an Asian restaurant is a great palate-cleanser!

Say bonjour when you walk up to a vendor. I know, this sounds very basic, but believe me, in France you are considered extremely impolite if you don’t say bonjour when you walk into a store, bakery, or even a market stand. Just say it. Or say bonsoir if it’s after dark.

Rating the Alsace Christmas Markets

Strasbourg

If you’re visiting Alsace, you’ll probably begin in Strasbourg. This major city has a small airport with limited flights, but is connected well internationally by train and bus. (There’s even a bus from my home city of Prague, which takes about seven hours!)

Strasbourg calls itself La Capitale de Noël, or Capital of Christmas, as well as La Magie de Noël (the Magic of Christmas). The Strasbourg Christmas Market is set on La Grande-Île de Strasbourg, the geographic center of the city that happens to be a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

(A quick note: there was a terror attack at the Strasbourg Christmas Markets in 2018. Since then, the markets have had heightened security. You will see security officers patrolling the markets with big guns, which probably won’t phase you if you’re from the US, but can be jarring to others. Just be aware that this is a thing here.)

You’ll find plenty of classic markets in front of the Cathedral de Notre-Dame and around Place Kléber, as well as a giant Christmas tree. I honestly wasn’t the biggest fan of these markets; they were very crowded and didn’t seem to be featuring original works, only the mass-produced tchotchkes that you can find at any Christmas market.

BUT there were two Christmas markets in Strasbourg that I especially loved.

First, the food market on Place du Marché aux Poissons was such a good place to eat! I loved that it was only food stalls. We had an excellent tarte flambée here, as well as a dégustacion plate of tasty charcuterie. The vin chaud with Alsatian white wine was so good. And if you want some foie gras…well, you’ve got plenty of options.

The other good market was the OFF market, a nontraditional Christmas market at Place Grimmeissen. This square was covered with shipping containers, each featuring works by local artists — cute works of art, like art prints, Christmas decorations, and all kinds of home decor and local products. It felt very homey and SO much better than the mass-produced junk that the central markets were selling.

A group of people standing and eating around several wooden chalets serving Alsatian food.

Kate and Charlie smiling, holding plastic cups filled with white mulled wine and slices of fruit.

A wooden board filled with many kinds of charcuterie and pickles.

Getting to Strasbourg: If coming by public transportation, Strasbourg has direct trains from Paris, and is accessible by bus from several cities in Germany and Switzerland (Frankfurt and Basel are the two closest airports).

Because of the security situation and crowds, if you’re driving, I recommend parking away from the city center. In Strasbourg, we originally planned to park at a P&R (Park & Ride) for our Friday visit. These are parking lots that have easy access to public transportation taking you into the city. In this case, Strasbourg’s excellent tram system.

Well. We arrived just before noon and the car in front of us was the last car allowed into the lot!! After waiting a bit for someone to leave and realizing it wasn’t going to happen, we looked up nearby parking lots and actually found a free lot.

It’s called Parking P7 Stade de la Meinau and this is its location on Google Maps. It was a five-minute walk from the Krimmeri Stade de la Meinau station, which is just a nine-minute, four-stop ride on the A tram to Homme de Fer, right in the city center. I can’t promise that it will still be free when you visit, but just throwing it out there…

You can always find a parking lot near a tram stop and head into the city that way.

Colmar

Colmar is a small, strikingly beautiful city. No matter what time of year you visit, you’ll be delighted by its beauty — but the holiday season brings some of the most wonderful lights and decorations I saw in Alsace.

This city is extremely popular for Christmas Markets, and you’ll have to navigate significant crowds. For this weekend, I urge you to visit Colmar midweek rather than during the weekend.

We stayed at the Ibis Budget Centre Ville, which was basic but had parking and wasn’t too far a walk from the markets.

Colmar is also the home base for the Navettes de Noël, the shuttle buses taking you to various towns around Alsace. There are several routes departing from Colmar, which makes it an easy way to visit.

The highlight of Colmar’s Christmas markets, for me, was the culinary market on Rue de la Montagne. Several chefs set up booths surrounding tables and they dish out their treats, both Alsatian and classic French specialties.

(As previously mentioned, I found it much better to visit the culinary market on a Sunday rather than a Saturday — there were two people rather than 10 people in each line, and it was much easier to get a table.)

There is also a carnival on Colmar’s Champs de Mars, complete with fun rides and an actual carousel bar!

A close-up shop of people drinking on a carousel turned into a bar.

Two glasses of champagne and a tasting plate with potato pancakes and several cheeses.

People riding a carnival ride with swings flinging them around under a night sky.

An unexpected joy of Colmar was the best quiche lorraine of my life at a place called Pâtisserie Charles Schmitt on Avenue de la Republique. It’s fairly close to the Navettes de Noël stop. Charlie and I loved it so much, we drove to their second location to have it again the next day.

Getting to Colmar: The train from Strasbourg to Colmar takes just 30 minutes.

Colmar is also the base of the Navettes de Noël Christmas shuttle buses, which makes it possible to visit if you’re staying in another town.

Huge crowds in the brightly colored medieval town of Ribeauville at Christmas.

Ribeauvillé

If there is any Christmas market in Alsace worth traveling to see, it is the Ribeauvillé Christmas market. Ribeauvillé (RI-bo-vee-AY) puts on a unique medieval Christmas market that only takes place on two weekends during December.

There are lots of medieval Christmas markets around Europe, but what makes this one special? The workers are all in costume as medieval characters, and they interact with everyone!

Jokers and royalty put on mini skits on stages. Townspeople put visitors in the stocks and jokingly flog them. Devils wander town on stilts and grab people. Men randomly lead a herd of geese through crowds! Where else can you find this?!

A medieval knight locking a woman in the stocks, her head and hands pointing through the holes.

A group of people dressed as monks and jesters on stage, acting out for an audience.

A man in costume herding a flock of geese down a crowded street at a busy town in France.

I was delighted by the entire atmosphere in Ribeauvillé, which added so much childlike wonder to my trip. And it didn’t hurt that Ribeauvillé is one of the most beautiful villages I’ve seen in France. Seriously — I think it’s the prettiest of the five towns I’ve visited in Alsace.

Ribeauvillé is basically one long street that twists and turns, different colorful houses at every angle.

One other thing I noticed was that all of the people working at the market seemed to be in a jolly, cheerful mood. Perhaps that’s the effect of the market only taking place for four days each year. People are still into the joy and novelty of the early days.

Ribeauvillé was extremely crowded, even though we arrived on the first Navettes de Noël Christmas shuttle of the day. And you know what? IT WAS WORTH THE CROWDS. It was worth EVERY MINUTE.

Honestly, if you want to experience something truly special in Alsace, come to the Ribeauvillé Christmas Market. This was my favorite.

One thing to be cautious about: there is a cheese shop on the left side of the street as you walk into town. The cheeses look and smell SO good, so we bought some, and nearly keeled over when we were charged something like 80 euros. Don’t get roped into buying expensive cheese like we did!

Getting to Ribeauvillé: You need to book the Navettes de Noël, the shuttle bus from Colmar. The parking situation is horrendous, with cars parked on top of each other in a wide radius, and public transportation is extremely limited from bigger hubs.

Some Christmas market tours fr o m Strasbourg and some Christmas market tours from Colmar visit Ribeauvillé, but keep in mind the Christmas Markets only take place on four dates in December.

Riquewihr

I’ll be honest — while Riquewihr (REEK-veer) is one of the smaller villages and a feast for the eyes, it was probably my least favorite of the five Christmas markets we visited in Alsace. It was incredibly crowded, the small market area didn’t have anything particularly interesting to share, and there was a surprising lack of food vendors.

I would not visit Riquewihr on the weekend again; I only visited then because it was part of the shuttle route to Ribeauvillé Christmas market, which only takes place on the weekend.

That said, this was obviously a very beautiful town to photograph…though not as twisty and turny and beautiful as Ribeauvillé, I must admit.

Crowds of people walking down the street with a yellow building covered with Christmas lights and garlands.

A window topped with snowman-like decorations carved from wood.

A cobblestone street full of people, surrounded by peach and green half-timbered houses, Christmas lights running between the two sides of the street.

And we did have a lovely lunch at Restaurant au View Riquewihr. This restaurant has multiple levels and is bigger than it looks, and we easily got a table at 2:00 PM, despite the crowds outside.

Charlie had their bouchée à la reine with veal and chicken, and I had their signature rösti with lardons, smoked sausages, and leek cream. Nice house wine, too. Highly recommended!

Getting to Riquewihr: Once again, I recommend booking the Navettes de Noël, the shuttle bus from Colmar. The parking situation is horrendous, with cars parked on top of each other in a wide radius, and public transportation is extremely limited from bigger hubs.

Some Christmas market tours fr o m Strasbourg and some Christmas market tours from Colmar visit Riquewihr. It seems to be a regular stop on all the tours, though keep in mind destinations can change last-minute.

Another small town with half-timbered beige and brown buildings, covered with Christmas decorations and surrounded by crowds.

Kayserberg

Kayserberg (KY-zer-berg), also known as Kayserberg-Vignoble, is another small and lovely town close to Colmar. What makes it special during Christmas time? Its arts tradition.

Kayserberg has a glass-blowing studio where you can watch live glass-blowing demonstrations, as well as a gallery with professional pieces of art for sale. I also found there were lots of interesting, artsy stalls in Kayserberg, many of them set back a bit from the busy streets.

Huge crowds of people on a square in France, surrounded by fairy tale half-timbered houses with thatched roofs.

Picture-perfect cream and brown half-timbered buildings covered with Christmas garlands, and lots of people below.

The weekend crowds in Kayserberg were quite intense — though honestly, there were a lot of big squares here with more space to spread out, which made a difference from the narrow alleys of Ribeauvillé and Riquewihr. I would recommend not visiting on the weekend if you can help it, but if you have to, go for it.

Getting to Kayserberg: Once more, you need to book the Navettes de Noël, the shuttle bus from Colmar. The parking situation is horrendous, with cars parked on top of each other in a wide radius, and public transportation is extremely limited from bigger hubs.

Some Christmas market tours from Colmar visit Kayserberg, but it’s one of the lesser-visited tour stops.

People gathering at a Christmas market in Heidelberg with a castle on the hill behind them

Don’t Forget Christmas Markets Near Alsace!

As much as I enjoyed visiting the Alsace Christmas markets last year, they weren’t my overall favorite. My favorite was Heidelberg! This city in southwest Germany is only 90 minutes from Strasbourg, and I was instantly smitten with both the city and its markets.

What was so great about Heidelberg? It was busy, but not to the point of any of the Alsace Christmas markets we visited. (My hunch? Because no river cruises stop there or day trip there.)

There were several different markets along a single road. The food was really great (I remember their donuts and pierogis with fondness!) and there were so many kinds of gluhwein.

And best of all, it felt local, but welcoming.

Here was our overall schedule:

Day 1: Drive from Prague to Rothenburg ob der Tauber (4.5 hours) for lunch and exploration; drive to Heidelberg (2 hours); night in Heidelberg.
Day 2: Drive from Heidelberg to Strasbourg (1.5 hours) for lunch and exploration; drive to Colmar (one hour); night in Colmar.
Day 3: Take the Navettes de Noel to Ribeauvillé, Riquewihr, and Kayserberg; night in Colmar.
Day 4: Drive from Colmar to Prague (8 hours).

If we had another day based in Colmar, I would have liked to visit the markets of Egusheim or perhaps Mulhouse.

We didn’t stop anywhere else on Day 4 because it was raining pretty hard and we decided we’d rather just head home.

But if the weather had been nicer, we would have been up for visiting the markets in Stuttgart (2.5 hours from Colmar) or the surrounding towns of Ludwigsburg or Esslingen, which are both known for their excellent markets. Ludwigsburg has a Baroque Christmas market!

Another option would have been visiting Nuremberg, which has one of the best Christmas Markets in Germany and is a convenient stop on the drive from Colmar to Prague. I visited a few years ago; you can see some photos here. Unfortunately it’s also extremely crowded these days due to being a river cruise stop.

And if we had room for one more, we could have stopped in Plzěn, Czech Republic, which is right off the highway and has a small but nice market.

Kate wearing a winter coat on top of a sweater over a dress, leggings, wool socks, and sneakers, plus a beanie on her head.

What to Pack for Alsace Christmas Markets

Packing for a Christmas market trip is different from what you might ordinarily pack for a winter city break in Europe. You are going to be outdoors and standing still for most of the day. It’s important to dress for warmth.

Here are my favorite essentials for Christmas market trips:

Base layers (thermal underwear). I am a huge fan of the Uniqlo heat-teach scoop-neck top and leggings, which are very warm, affordable, and I wear all the time. I find that base layers are essential for Christmas market trips in winter or any winter trip where you’re outside much of the day because they give you an extra layer of warmth.

Warm sweater. Sweaters (or jumpers, Brits!) make the perfect mid-layer between your base layer and your outerwear. Did you know that Uniqlo makes affordable cashmere sweaters in a ton of colors?

Warm winter coat. If it’s not waterproof, that’s okay, but make sure to bring a travel umbrella.

Boots. Waterproof winter boots are ideal, as anyone who’s stepped into a deep slushy puddle can tell you. You might not need them, but they’re a good item to have in your wardrobe for winter travel. If not, you can stick to sneakers, which I did for this particular trip.

Warm socks. I am a big fan of merino wool socks, which I wear during the winter and for hiking year-round.

Hat. I’m not a hat person; nevertheless, I rocked a beanie throughout this chilly winter trip.

Speakeasy travel supply scarf. I love these scarves, which come in a variety of patterns and materials, and they come with a hidden zip-up pocket that is perfect for your valuables!

A steaming plastic cup of hot wine that says Colmar on it, and the market in the background

Are Alsace Christmas Markets worth it?

So, the BIG question — are Alsace’s Christmas Markets worth it, considering how horrific the crowds are these days?

For me, they were worth it, but I don’t think they would be worth it if you’re the kind of person who gets nervous or irritated in big crowds. I’m glad I visited, but if I returned, I would do a few things differently.

I was happy with my decision to base in Colmar (and stay at Ibis Budget Centre Ville), and my decision to use the Navettes de Noël to visit Ribeauvillé.

But differently, I would time my visit for mid-week rather than the weekend. However, Ribeauvillé’s markets were my absolute favorite, and they only take place on two Saturdays and two Sundays each December. So a little bit of weekend time would have been necessary.

I would have pushed Strasbourg, most market time in Colmar, Riquewihr, and Kayserberg to mid-week. I would have done Ribeauvillé one weekend day and an Alsace wine route tour from Colmar another weekend day. And if I had more time, I would have loved to visit the markets in Obernai and Mulhouse.

I remain steadfast in my decision not to book a Christmas markets river cruise — that’s the epitome of being part of the problem, not the solution.

But overall, I really enjoyed the decorations, the decadent food, the vin chaud, and the overall merriment that Christmas brings to Alsace. And that was definitely worth it!

More on Christmas Markets in Europe:

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