Alsace Christmas Markets 2026: Strasbourg, Colmar, Riquewihr and Kaysersberg

Plan this trip in four steps

1. Sleep near Colmar station for the weekend, Friday to Monday. Every Christmas Shuttle leaves from there.
2. Book the shuttle for Saturday and Sunday the day sales open, November 12, 2026, at noon Paris time. Christmas Shuttle tickets
3. Keep Monday for Strasbourg, a half-hour train from Colmar.
4. Want it ready-made? The seven-day Alsace itinerary lays out the nights and the rail day trips.

Pick your dates around December 20

Three calendars decide the trip. Strasbourg runs until Christmas Eve and Colmar until December 29, but Riquewihr closes on December 20, the Christmas Shuttles stop the same day, and Kaysersberg opens only on Advent weekends. If the wine villages matter to you, travel before December 20 and include at least one Friday-to-Sunday stretch.

The best four-night shape is Thursday or Friday to Monday. Spend Saturday and Sunday in the villages, when the shuttle runs and Kaysersberg’s chalets are open, and keep Monday for Strasbourg. The city’s own crowd chart rates Mondays and Tuesdays low all day, while Saturday afternoons and all of Sunday are rated high. For Colmar’s town-center markets, a weekday evening around 6 p.m. gives you the lights without the weekend crush; they close at 7 p.m. Monday to Thursday and at 8 p.m. from Friday.

Strasbourg: go on a Monday, travel light

The market runs from November 27 to December 24, 2026, spread across the squares of the Grande Île, the island at the heart of the old city. The whole center is pedestrian for the duration, and the city announces random checks at the entrances, with suitcases and backpacks systematically inspected on the way in. Arrive with a small bag. If you are coming straight from the train, drop the luggage at the hotel or use a station-side room so you are not queuing at a checkpoint with a roller case.

Come early for photographs, then leave the island for lunch and return at dusk for the lights. The city lists chalet hours of 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. next to last year’s dates, so treat them as a guide and confirm on arrival. A day trip from Colmar works well: direct trains on the regional K200 line take about half an hour and run roughly every 30 minutes for most of the day. City of Strasbourg Christmas Market information, checked November 9, 2026

If Strasbourg is your base, a room on the Grande Île puts you inside the market at night; one near the station keeps the walk short with luggage and puts the Colmar trains right there.

Colmar: six markets and a car-free center

Colmar’s markets open on November 23 and run until December 29, 2026, across six squares of the old town, from Place des Dominicains and the Koïfhus on Place de l’Ancienne Douane to Petite Venise, where the market is set up for children. Over the same dates the center is closed to all vehicles, so drivers park outside and walk in. On December 24 the chalets close at 5 p.m., and the gourmet market and Ferris wheel keep going until January 3. Shops in town open on the Sundays of November 29 and December 6, 13 and 20, which makes those Sundays busier than the rest of the week. Colmar tourist office hours and pedestrian zone (French), checked November 9, 2026

Near the station or in the old town? The station side is the practical pick for the shuttles and the Strasbourg train; the old town is the one to choose if you want to walk out into the lights after dinner.

Driving in? Since the center is closed to cars for the whole season, pick up a rental only for the days you leave Colmar, and park outside the old town.

Riquewihr and Kaysersberg: book the shuttle the day sales open

Neither village has a train station. The simplest way in is the Christmas Shuttle from Colmar station, which runs from November 27 to December 20. Lines 1 and 2 loop through Kaysersberg, Riquewihr and Ribeauvillé, but only from Friday to Sunday, for €17 a day with unlimited rides. Children under 12 ride free, but they still need a booked ticket. Sales open on November 12, 2026, at noon Paris time, which is 6 a.m. Eastern. If your date sells out, the operator releases more tickets three days before each travel day. Christmas Shuttle dates, lines and fares, checked November 9, 2026

Riquewihr’s market opens daily from November 27 to December 20, 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on weekdays and until 7 p.m. on weekends. On a weekday, when the shuttle does not run, regular Fluo bus line 816 connects Colmar with Riquewihr and Ribeauvillé; check its timetable for the return before you go. Drivers can use the €10-per-car park-and-ride at the Naturoparc in Hunawihr on weekends, which includes the bus into the village for everyone in the car. Riquewihr market and park-and-ride · Regular bus lines

A night inside the walls lets you see Riquewihr after the day visitors leave; if that appeals, book it as soon as your dates are set.

Kaysersberg’s craft market, about 30 chalets around the Cour de l’Arsenal and the Sainte-Croix church, is open only on four Advent weekends in 2026: November 27–29 and December 4–6, 11–13 and 18–20, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The tourist office suggests arriving at dusk. With a car, use the weekend park-and-ride lots at €4, with free shuttles every 15 minutes to Place Gouraud at the top of the town. Kaysersberg market weekends · Kaysersberg parking and shuttles

Eguisheim for a quieter weekday

If you only have weekdays, make Eguisheim the village. Shuttle line 3 runs from Colmar station every day of the season, for €8 Monday to Thursday. The market is open from November 27 to December 30, closed December 24 to 26, and opens at noon on weekdays until December 10, so plan an afternoon visit early in the season. Eguisheim market dates and hours

Where to sleep

Choose Colmar near the station if the villages are the point. Every shuttle line starts there, Strasbourg is a half-hour train ride away, and the old town is a walk. Choose Strasbourg’s Grande Île if the city itself is the trip and you want to walk home through the lights; the seven-day Alsace itinerary uses four nights there with rail day trips. Book the Friday and Saturday nights before anything else, and pick a rate you can cancel until your shuttle tickets are confirmed.

Book your trip

Rooms first, with free cancellation, Friday and Saturday nights before anything else:

Then the rest, in this order: the Christmas Shuttle on November 12, 2026, at noon Paris time; the Strasbourg–Colmar trains on the regional K200 line once your days are fixed; and, before you fly, the free France Trip Checklist for your passport, EES and money.