When is the Strasbourg Christmas market in 2026?

The Strasbourg Christmas market opens on Friday 27 November 2026 at 14:00, which the city has confirmed, and its last day is projected for Thursday 24 December because the city hasn't printed the end of the 2026 run yet. The 24 December date comes from past seasons and from the city's FAQ, which closes the chalets at 18:00 that day. This guide covers the Christkindelsmärik on Place Broglie and the six other Strasbourg markets with pages on this site, plus the villages nearby that make quieter days. It draws on market files we checked against the city's Christmas site and the Alsace tourism offices on 10 October 2026.

Market	Square	Who it suits	The drawback
Strasbourg Christkindelsmarik	Place Broglie	First-timers who want the historic market	Friday evenings and weekends pack the square
Strasbourg Cathedral Christmas Market	Place de la Cathédrale and Place du Château	Anyone after stalls and the Gothic west front in one frame	The tightest squeeze in the city on a December weekend
Strasbourg Place Kleber and the Grand Sapin	Place Kléber	Families who come for the big tree and its light show	The busiest crossing point in the centre
Strasbourg Quai des Delices	Terrasse Rohan and Place du Marché-aux-Poissons	People who came for vin chaud and Bredle more than ornaments	The evening crowd spills over from the cathedral
Strasbourg Carre d'Or Christmas Market	Place du Temple Neuf	Window-shoppers who like pastry and chocolate shops between stalls	Fewer chalets than the big squares
Strasbourg Petite France Christmas Market	Place Benjamin Zix and Place Saint-Thomas	Couples and photographers	Cobbled lanes and narrow bridges bottleneck at dusk
Strasbourg Marche OFF	Place Grimmeissen	Repeat visitors after ethical gifts and vintage finds	A small market and a short detour past Petite France

All seven keep the same dates and the same hours, which the next section gives.

When does the Strasbourg Christmas market open and close in 2026?

The markets open on Friday 27 November 2026 at 14:00 (confirmed by the city), and from the next day the chalets trade from 11:30 to 21:00 every day. The city hasn't published the last day. In 2025 the season ran from 26 November to 24 December, and the FAQ for the coming season shuts the chalets at 18:00 on Christmas Eve, so this site projects Thursday 24 December as the close.

Treat the 24 December date as a plan you confirm later. When the city posts the full run, each market page switches to confirmed on the day we read it. If your trip hangs on the last few days, book a refundable room. The city's home page was still showing the 2025 run when we checked.

Where are the markets, and which should you see first?

Start at Place Broglie. The city dates the Christkindelsmärik to 1570, and its history page says the market moved to Place Broglie in 1870, though its market page gives 1871. The chalets run down the long square towards the Opéra national du Rhin, and the entrance arch is the photo the city itself suggests you take.

From there it is a short walk to Place du Temple Neuf and the Carré d'Or market, and rue des Orfèvres leads on to the cathedral. The city decorates that street as one of its showpieces, so walk it after dark. The cathedral market wraps around the west front and runs into Place du Château. Behind it, the Palais Rohan terrace holds the Quai des Délices, where the Tribu des Gourmets pours vin chaud made with Alsace white wine and the Bas-Rhin bakers' federation sells Bredle (small Alsatian Christmas biscuits) from a pop-up bakehouse.

In Petite France the chalets stand on Place Benjamin Zix and Place Saint-Thomas among half-timbered houses over the Ill, and the Marché OFF is a little further on at Place Grimmeissen, in shipping containers and geodesic domes. Come back through Place Kléber in the evening for the Grand Sapin. In 2025 the tree's light and music show ran every hour from 16:00 to 21:00, and the 2026 schedule isn't out yet.

When is the Strasbourg Christmas market quietest?

Mondays and Tuesdays are the calmest days, by the city's own account, and so is any morning soon after the 11:30 opening. Friday evenings and weekends are the densest, and the city adds Wednesday afternoons to that list.

A weekday morning at Place Broglie and the cathedral square gives you room to stop at a stall. Petite France looks its best once the lights come on and the houses show in the water, and a weekday evening keeps its narrow bridges clearer.

Which villages near Strasbourg have quieter Christmas markets?

The village markets below all have 2026 dates in our files. Obernai and Sélestat have their own stations, and from Colmar the Christmas shuttles run on to the wine villages at weekends.

Village market	2026 dates	Who it suits	The drawback
Obernai Christmas Market	27 Nov to 31 Dec (announced)	Food lovers who want a village market a short train ride from Strasbourg	Weekend evenings and the video-mapping shows fill Place du Marché
Selestat Christmas Market	20 Nov to 27 Dec (announced)	Anyone curious about the history of the Christmas tree	A small chalet market with 2026 hours still unpublished
Colmar Place des Dominicains Christmas Market	23 Nov to 29 Dec (confirmed)	Ornament hunters who want Colmar's biggest square	Weekend day-trippers and coach groups
Eguisheim Christmas Market	27 Nov to 30 Dec (confirmed)	People based in Colmar who want about 30 makers in medieval lanes	Closed from 24 to 26 December
Turckheim Elves' Christmas Market	27 Nov to 30 Dec (confirmed)	Families, and anyone who stays for the night watchman at 21:00	About 20 makers on one square
Kaysersberg Christmas Market	Advent weekends, 27 Nov to 20 Dec (confirmed)	Craft buyers who want juried makers in a medieval imperial town	Open Friday to Sunday only
Riquewihr Christmas Market	27 Nov to 20 Dec (confirmed)	Colmar-based travellers who want a walled wine village under its lights	Weekends need the park-and-ride
Ribeauville Medieval Christmas Market	5–6 and 12–13 Dec (confirmed)	Families who like costume and street theatre	Four days only, and every one of them is crowded

Obernai makes the easiest half day. The local winegrowers pour white-wine vin chaud across 45 chalets on five squares, and weekday mornings stay calm. The tourism office's Christmas page gives 31 December as the last day, and its home page card says 30 December.

Sélestat sits on the main line halfway to Colmar, so you can break the train ride there for an afternoon. From 21 November to 31 December 2026 the Humanist Library shows a town account book from 1521 that mentions forest guards watching over the trees cut for the feast. In Saint-Georges church ten trees hang from the nave arches until 3 January 2027, and each one is dressed the way trees were in its own century.

For the wine villages, Monday to Thursday is the time to go. Colmar's tourism office posts a day-by-day attendance forecast on noel-colmar.com. Riquewihr is quieter on weekdays. At weekends its Perles de Noël park-and-ride sends shuttle buses in every 30 minutes. Eguisheim calms down on weekday afternoons in early December. At Kaysersberg the Friday is the quieter day of each market weekend.

What should you know before you go?

The cup deposit is €1 per drink, published in the city's FAQ for the 2026 season. Hand the cup back at any drinks chalet for your euro, or drop it in a charity bin and the euro goes to a Strasbourg charity.

During market hours the Grande Île is closed to motor traffic, and there are access checks on the bridges onto the island, so carry a small bag and expect someone to look inside it. The checks followed the attack of 11 December 2018 near Place Kléber, in which a gunman killed five people and wounded eleven. Park and Ride on the edge of town cost €4.20 a day when we checked, and that covers a return tram ticket for everyone in the car. Trams A, C, D and F all stop close to the market squares.

The info chalet on Place Kléber lends wheelchairs and walkers free of charge against an ID document, and in 2025 it lent them between 11:30 and 18:30. Free public toilets sit across the Grande Île, and several are accessible. The free Ici Toilettes app maps them. The Marché OFF runs a Safe Zone that lends noise-cancelling headphones and blankets to visitors with disabilities who need a quiet moment.

Quick answers

When does the Strasbourg Christmas market open in 2026?

The Strasbourg Christmas market opens on Friday 27 November 2026 at 14:00, and the city has confirmed that date. From 28 November the chalets open from 11:30 to 21:00 every day.

When does the Strasbourg Christmas market end in 2026?

The Strasbourg Christmas market's 2026 end date is projected for Thursday 24 December, with the chalets closing at 18:00. The city hasn't published the last day yet, and the 2025 season ended on 24 December.

What are the Strasbourg Christmas market opening hours?

The Strasbourg Christmas market chalets open from 11:30 to 21:00 every day. On opening day, 27 November 2026, they start at 14:00, and on 24 December they close at 18:00.

What is the quietest day to visit the Strasbourg Christmas market?

Monday and Tuesday are the quietest days at the Strasbourg Christmas market, according to the city, especially in the morning soon after the 11:30 opening. The busiest times are Friday evenings and weekends, and the city adds Wednesday afternoons.

How much is the cup deposit at the Strasbourg Christmas market?

The cup deposit at the Strasbourg Christmas market is €1 per drink for the 2026 season. You get it back at any drinks chalet, or you can leave the cup in a charity bin and the euro goes to a Strasbourg charity.

Which villages near Strasbourg have Christmas markets in 2026?

Obernai (27 November to 31 December, announced) and Sélestat (20 November to 27 December, announced) both have Christmas markets on train lines from Strasbourg. Colmar's markets run from 23 November to 29 December 2026 (confirmed), and the wine villages of Eguisheim, Turckheim, Kaysersberg and Riquewihr sit close to Colmar.