One of my favorite holiday season traditions in France so far are the Marchés de Noël or Christmas Markets in English. Luckily, I live in the region of France that has all of the famous ones. Eastern France has a lot of German influence which means the culture has a traits from each of the two countries.
The first Christmas Market that I visited was the one in Colmar which was voted the 2nd Best Market in all of Europe in 2017! Everyone has been telling me that I HAVE to go visit Colmar so I took a day trip this past weekend. I met up with some other assistants doing TAPIF and we had an amazing time!
Colmar is a pedestrian friendly city so all of the markets are accessible by walking. The markets are separated into 6 separate mini villages and each have different artisan vendors, food dessert, and other crafts for sale. There’s also A LOT of gingerbread products for sale. My personal favorite was La Petite Venise! As the name suggests, it is resembled the Italian city of Venice.
Another one of my favorite markets was Place de l’Ancienne Douane. It’s located right in the middle of the city and is surrounded by a bunch of cute chalets arranged around a fountain. There’s also an indoor Christmas Market here so if you get too cold, you can warm up inside!
Depending on the language, Vin Chaud/Mulled Wine/Glühwein is a holiday favorite for people going to the markets. They sell them in cups for about 2 euros and if you pay an extra euro, you get a souvenir cup that also will allow you to get refills. To me, it tastes like a hot Sangria. Would I drink it again? Probably. Did I absolutely LOVE it? Not exactly.
This town looks exactly like a Fairy Tale during Christmas. All of the buildings were decorated with lights so when it got dark, it was absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately, the magic didn’t show up too well in photos. If you ever find yourself in Eastern France or Germany during the Holiday Season, you must go to a Christmas Market to experience it in person.
Thank you so much for reading and let me know in the comments if you’ve ever been to a Christmas Market in Europe!
Xoxo,
Kanisha Lucille
Kanisha Lucille 
I would love to visit one of the Christmas markets. My trips to Europe have always been in the spring or summer. Which dates are best to visit or when do they begin each year?
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They begin at the end of November and go through the end of December. Europe in the summer is great but I have absolutely loved it during the holiday season.
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Awnnn this Christmas Market is so adorable! And you are so right about looking exactly like a Fairy Tale… I am in love… I have been to a Christmas Market in Munich many years ago. So beautiful and magical…
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Munich is definitely on my list to visit before I leave Europe! 😍
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Oh my goodness! That place looks magical! Looks like Christmas is the best time to visit.
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It absolutely is! If you’re ever able to, I can’t recommend it enough!
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Hey! I totally loved this post. It’s weird how much i love Christmas but thanks for this amazing post. Wish i was in the country-
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Oh girl I LOVE Christmas too. I’ve been listening to Christmas for a month now. No shame 😂
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I desperately want to go to a Christmas market in Europe! But I’m not a huge city person with a lot of people, so this looks like a gorgeous quaint place to go!
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It definitely is! It’s the perfect size for someone who likes smaller cities 🙂
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Loved reading this! I haven’t been to France in almost 20 years. Living in the US, it’s a dream of mine to go back someday! What a beautiful place!
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France misses you I’m sure!
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I also live in France, but in the South. We have not visited any Christmas markets yet but have the plan to go to Toulouse next week. I have been in Alsace at christmas time and visited the town of Riquewehr where they had a small but lovely market. I love the atmosphere, the Glühwein and other traditional foods. You have definitely inspired me to go and see Colmar.
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I had a friend who went to the Riquewehr market and she loved it! I want to visit the South of France so I may ask you for some travel tips 😊 I’m glad I could inspire you to visit Colmar!
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This looks a lot like Christmas! Always wanted to go to Europe during this season. So beautiful and historic!!
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I have LOVED Europe during Christmas 😍 It’s like a Christmas Wonderland everywhere!
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