Which Alsace Christmas markets can you reach by train from Strasbourg?

Colmar gives a Strasbourg base its strongest day out

Go to Colmar if you have one spare day in Alsace. Six Christmas markets fill its old town, and five of them run from 23 November to 29 December 2026. The town's Christmas site has confirmed those dates. The biggest is the Place des Dominicains market, with around 60 chalets below the Dominican church and plenty of tree ornaments. About 50 more chalets stand around the Schwendi fountain on Place de l'Ancienne Douane, and next door some 20 Alsatian makers sell indoors at the Koïfhus craft market. Families head to the children's market in Petite Venise for its mechanical nativity and Father Christmas's giant letterbox. Food shoppers go to Place Jeanne d'Arc for foie gras and bredala (small Alsatian Christmas biscuits). The gourmet market on rue de la Montagne Verte makes six. It opens on 23 November too and stays on to 3 January 2027 (confirmed).

Colmar suits anyone who wants a second Alsace town for an afternoon and an evening under the lights. Its drawback is the weekend, when day-trippers and coach groups fill the town. The tourism office posts a day-by-day attendance forecast on noel-colmar.com so you can pick a calmer date. Monday to Thursday is quieter, and on those days the five main markets close at 19:00 instead of 20:00. The gourmet market keeps going to 22:00 every evening, so a weekday visit can still end over dinner there.

On the train, look at the service type when you book. The Strasbourg to Colmar line mixes TER regional trains, which have open seating, with TGV INOUI trains, which SNCF says need a reservation. Of the 42 trains to Colmar on Wednesday 2 December, 36 are TER (computed).

Two more markets hang off the Colmar trip. Sélestat sits on the main line halfway between Strasbourg and Colmar, and its tourism office announces a run of 20 November to 27 December 2026. Go there for the hanging Christmas trees in Saint-Georges church. Kaysersberg opens only from Friday to Sunday on the four Advent weekends from 27 November to 20 December 2026 (confirmed), and you reach it from Colmar on Fluo coach line 813 from the stop at Colmar station. Fluo renumbered its coach lines on 1 September 2026, so an older guide may give that route another number.

Obernai's last train home leaves before the Saturday market closes

Pick Obernai if you want a smaller, food-led market close to Strasbourg. The tourism office announces the Obernai Christmas Market for 27 November to 31 December 2026, though the card on its home page says 30 December, so check the last day before you plan around it. Its 45 chalets spread over five squares, and the local winegrowers pour vin chaud made from white wine. From 1 to 24 December a video-mapping show plays on the town hall at 18:00 and 19:00.

The train home is Obernai's drawback. Every train on this line is a TER, and on Wednesday 2 December the timetable has 31 each way with the last one back at 21:27 (computed). Saturdays thin out. On Saturday 5 December we count 20 trains out and 19 back, and the last leaves Obernai at 20:29 (computed), while the market stays open to 21:00 on Fridays and Saturdays. Catch the 18:00 show and you still have time for the train. Weekend evenings and the show times are also when Place du Marché gets busiest, so a weekday morning gives you the calmest stalls.

Mulhouse adds a city market to a Colmar day

Mulhouse suits travellers flying in through EuroAirport, or anyone who wants a city market of about 90 chalets whose theme is a Christmas fabric that changes every year. The Mulhouse Christmas Market fills Place de la Réunion around the Temple Saint-Étienne and spills onto Place des Cordiers. The tourism office announces 20 November to 27 December 2026, and the market closes on Christmas Day.

Trains between Colmar and Mulhouse run often. We count 54 out of Colmar and 56 back on Wednesday 2 December, and a typical one takes 21 minutes (computed). The catch for a Strasbourg base is that you ride two legs. We computed only the Colmar to Mulhouse hop, so look up the through journey from Strasbourg on SNCF Connect before you go. The neatest plan treats Mulhouse as the evening stop after an afternoon in Colmar.

Basel's Saturday trains stop before its market closes

Basel suits a trip that carries on from Alsace into Switzerland. Its Christmas market fills Barfüsserplatz and Münsterplatz from 26 November to 23 December 2026. The canton has confirmed those dates, and both squares open 11:00 to 20:30. Münsterplatz is the calmer one and holds a fairy-tale forest for children in front of the Minster.

As a day trip from Strasbourg, Basel asks the most of you. The fastest train takes 75 minutes (computed), SNCF publishes 77, and every train on the leg is a TER. On Wednesday 2 December the timetable has 24 trains back, and the last leaves at 21:51. Saturday is harder going. On 5 December we count 11 trains out and 10 back, and the last one leaves Basel SBB at 20:21 (computed), ten minutes before the stalls close. Prices in Basel are in Swiss francs, so carry a card that pays in CHF. Our Swiss market trains piece picks up the route from Basel.

Plan Strasbourg and Colmar for the quieter days

The two big towns fill on the same days, so split your week around them. In Strasbourg the city names Monday and Tuesday as the calmest days and any morning soon after the 11:30 opening. Friday evenings and weekends are the densest, and the city adds Wednesday afternoons to that list. Colmar is calmest from Monday to Thursday. Spend Monday or Tuesday in Strasbourg's own Christkindelsmärik and cathedral market. When Wednesday afternoon crowds Strasbourg, take the train to Colmar. Keep Saturday for Obernai or Mulhouse, and leave early enough for Obernai's 20:29 train.

The city confirms Strasbourg's opening on Friday 27 November 2026 at 14:00 and hasn't published the last day. This site projects Thursday 24 December from past seasons and from the city's FAQ, so treat that close as a plan until the city prints it.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day change the timetable and the markets

On Thursday 24 December the trains run close to a normal weekday. We count 41 trains from Strasbourg to Colmar and 43 back, and the last train back to Strasbourg leaves Colmar at midnight (computed). Obernai drops to 22 each way, and its last train home leaves at 20:49 (computed). The markets close early that day: Strasbourg's chalets at 18:00, Colmar's five main markets at 17:00, Mulhouse at 18:00 and Obernai at 16:00.

On Christmas Day, which falls on Friday 25 December, choose Colmar. Its five main markets stay open until 20:00 that day and the gourmet market until 22:00. Obernai and Mulhouse close, and Strasbourg's run is projected to have ended the day before. Trains keep running at a lower count. We count 26 trains from Strasbourg to Colmar and 28 back, and the first one out leaves at 06:47 (computed). Obernai falls to 14 each way and Colmar to Mulhouse to 27 (computed). Basel still has 13 trains out and 12 back, though its market closed on 23 December. The Christmas Day guide lists what else stays open.

How we worked out the train times

We counted every train in SNCF's published GTFS timetable that stops at both stations on five December 2026 dates: Wednesday 2 December, Saturday 5 December, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Eve. The fastest time is the quickest train on any of those dates in either direction, and the typical time is the median journey on the day named. The dataset sits on transport.data.gouv.fr, in the version SNCF issued on 10 October 2026. Timetable data: SNCF, via transport.data.gouv.fr, under the ODbL 1.0.

SNCF Connect publishes its own fastest times, which we checked on 10 October 2026: 26 minutes to Colmar, 28 to Obernai, 19 from Colmar to Mulhouse and 77 to Basel (as published). Our computed figures sit within two minutes of each. SNCF can still change a winter timetable, and a strike cancels trains at short notice, so check SNCF Connect the day before you travel and buy travel insurance that covers rail strikes.

Quick answers

How long is the train from Strasbourg to Colmar?

The train from Strasbourg to Colmar takes 25 minutes at the fastest and 30 minutes on a typical December weekday train, computed from SNCF's published timetable. SNCF Connect publishes 26 minutes as its fastest time.

When is the last train from Colmar back to Strasbourg in December?

The last train from Colmar to Strasbourg on a December weekday leaves at 23:59, computed from SNCF's timetable for Wednesday 2 December 2026. On Saturday 5 December 2026 the last one leaves at 23:01.

When is the last train from Obernai to Strasbourg?

The last train from Obernai to Strasbourg leaves at 21:27 on a December weekday and at 20:29 on Saturday 5 December 2026, computed from SNCF's published timetable. On Christmas Eve it leaves at 20:49.

Can you visit Alsace Christmas markets by train on Christmas Day?

Yes, Colmar is the Alsace market town to visit by train on Christmas Day 2026. Its five main markets open until 20:00 on 25 December, and SNCF's timetable has 26 trains from Strasbourg to Colmar that day and 28 back (computed). Obernai's and Mulhouse's markets close on Christmas Day.

Is Basel a good day trip from Strasbourg for the Christmas market?

Basel works as a weekday day trip from Strasbourg, with 23 trains out and 24 back on Wednesday 2 December 2026 and a fastest time of 75 minutes (computed). On Saturdays it gets tight, because the last train back on 5 December leaves Basel SBB at 20:21. Basel's market runs from 26 November to 23 December 2026 (confirmed).

Which day is quietest at the Colmar Christmas market?

Monday to Thursday are the quietest days at Colmar's Christmas markets, according to the tourism office, which also publishes a day-by-day attendance forecast. Saturdays and Sundays bring day-trippers and coach groups.