I had been wanting to go to European Christmas markets for years. Truly, YEARS. And finally in 2025, due to Dan’s job change, we found ourselves with an extra week of vacation in December and booked a last minute trip to the Alsace during Christmas market season. We visited Strasbourg, Colmar, Basel, and Paris over the course of a week! I will be posting more about this trip, including information about the Colmar market and comparing Colmar and Strasbourg, but this post details exactly what we did over the course of one week. Highly recommend taking an extra week of vacation to Christmas market hop!

DAY 1: WELCOME TO STRASBOURG – THE CAPITAL OF CHRISTMAS

We arrived at Paris Charles de Gaulle after an overnight flight from Newark (NYC). We took the train, which we pre-booked, directly from CDG to Strasbourg, France. We arrived in Strasbourg in the early afternoon, left our luggage at our hotel, Voco Strasbourg City Center (by IHG), and promptly walked to the Place Kléber Christmas market, one of Strasbourg’s eight (!!) Christmas markets. I didn’t originally expect to jump right into the markets without a nap, but it being too early to check in, off to the markets we went.

The first order of business was “vin chaud”, or hot mulled wine. We were hungry after our big day of travel, so we split one of the famous “Raclette dogs,” or a local sausage topped with Raclette cheese. While fun, it was not the best tubed sausage I have ever tried. I also ordered a plate of spätzle, or Alsatian mac & cheese. That was a winner.

We wandered from Place Kléber to the neighboring market, where we also split a tarte flambée, which is another Alsatian delicacy. We were hungrier than we expected, and the food was really good.

And finally, before any sleep whatsoever, we also made it to the Christmas market in front of the Strasbourg Cathedral, which was the busiest market with some of the most fun stalls. We drank a “Bombardino + Café”, which is an Italian Alpine drink made with cream, egg liqueur, and rum, plus a shot of espresso, and did a bit of shopping.

After our Bombardinos, we were in need of a nap, and a shower. We walked back to our hotel and finally checked in for the evening. En route, we saw lots more Christmas decorations. Strasbourg really goes all out.

This evening’s dinner was intended to be another selection of treats from the Place Kléber Christmas market, and we did make our way around again and tried various mulled wines. However, the market closed promptly at 9:00 PM (we thought it was open until 10:00 PM), and we missed ordering the bulk of our dinner. In a very un-Dan move, we went across the street to McDonald’s. I ordered France’s McDonald’s ‘Happy Doggy’, which comes with a dog toy in lieu of a children’s toy. Dublin (my Mom’s dog) very much appreciated the toy.

We were exhausted after dinner, so off to bed it was after a final nightcap at one of Strasbourg’s Irish pubs, Adamson’s.

DAY 2: MORE OF STRASBOURG’S CHRISTMAS MARKETS & AN ALSATIAN FOOD TOUR

Day two was our big Strasbourg Christmas market day. We intended to see as many markets as possible, starting strong at the Marché des Délices d’Alsace (Alsatian Delights market), on the Terrasse du Palais Rohan and the adjoining Place du Marché aux Poissons (Fish Market Square), around 11:00 AM. This market is purportedly a gourmet market, with local foods and wine. Our first stop was mulled Alsatian white wine. While we generally prefer red wine, we enjoyed the white.

We then moved on to a tarte flambée stall down the street where we split one with cream, cheese, onion, bacon, fresh goat cheese, and honey from the Neuhof Apiary.

We next strolled around Strasbourg, making our way to La Petite France, aka the most charming part of Strasbourg. This was a Sunday, and the Christmas markets started to get really crowded around midday. We could barely move. We ducked into a restaurant for a coffee and a break before heading back out into the crowds.

We concluded our day-time Christmas market exploration with yet another visit to the Cathedral market, which, while insanely crowded, remained my favorite. Good food stalls and decent shopping. We split a fantastic ham and Emmental crepe from one of the Cathedral market stalls.

After thoroughly exploring three markets, it was time for a break. We had a quick snack of Guinness and chicken goujons, which came with a side of Munster cheese in lieu of mustard (LOL), at Brasserie des Halles before heading back to our hotel to enjoy its on-site spa. I also squeezed in some Monoprix shopping at this point!

After a decent break at our hotel, we headed back out for a food tour through Strasbourg, focusing on local, Alsatian food. By this point, it was raining and chilly. Our first taste of traditional cold Christmas market weather. Of course, we stopped en route for a vin chaud on Place Kléber for the walk to the tour meeting point.

The food tour was fun and interesting, teaching us a lot about Alsatian cuisine and the markets in the area, even though it was not technically a Christmas market food tour (and we did not eat at any of the Christmas markets). Among many other things, we visited the busiest parts of Strasbourg with the best decorations, tried Christmas sausage from a local sausage shop, a spätzle with mushrooms, and a delicious sweet tarte flambée. Stay tuned for another post on this tour specifically.

We called it a day after the food tour. We were stuffed and still tired from our overnight travels.

DAY 3: A DAY TRIP TO COLMAR’S CHRISTMAS MARKETS AND DINNER IN STRASBOURG

The following day, a Monday, we took the train from Strasbourg 30 minutes to Colmar, which is Alsace’s other great Christmas market town. Fun fact, Colmar is also where Dan and I got engaged in 2016! This was our first time back.

Colmar is much smaller than Strasbourg and in Colmar, we explored the town, had drinks at the Carousel Bar (yes, an actual carousel with a bar on board), and sipped Crémant d’Alsace from the town’s Ferris wheel!

And to be clear here, this is an add-on VIP ticket that you can buy onsite, coming with a few extra turns on the Ferris wheel and an entire bottle of Crémant (you can carry it off with you to finish on the ground). You can read more about it in this blog post. Highly recommend visiting Colmar for at least a half-day from Strasbourg.

After spending the entire day in Colmar, we returned to Strasbourg in the early evening. We moved hotels, to Hôtel Les Haras, and enjoyed dinner at its restaurant on-site.

DAY 4: SWISS CHRISTMAS MARKETS, CHEESE FONDUE, AND A FINAL EVENING IN STRASBOURG

On our final day in the Alsace, we once again took a day trip, this time to Basel, Switzerland. Basel is about 90 minutes from Strasbourg by train and has two charming Christmas markets, which makes it a very good day trip. Prior to exploring the Christmas markets, we enjoyed an OUTSTANDING fondue lunch at Baracca Zermatt, a Basel winter pop-up of a restaurant in Zermatt, Switzerland, the village below the Matterhorn.

After lunch, we walked over to explore Basel’s Christmas markets. Located on Barfüsserplatz and Münsterplatz, Basel’s markets are smaller than those in Strasbourg and Colmar, but very cute, with better shopping (in my opinion) and real ceramic Christmas mugs! We stayed in Basel until late afternoon before taking the train back to Strasbourg.

We returned to Strasbourg via train in the late afternoon. This evening, we explored more of Strasbourg’s Christmas markets and got in some last minute shopping. We had to be back at Les Haras by 7 for our spa appointment.

We again dined at La Brasserie des Haras this evening. It was good the evening prior, and we didn’t feel like leaving the hotel. I got one last Flammekueche in before departing the following morning for Paris.

DAY 5: BACK TO PARIS, THE MUSÉE DE L’ORANGERIE, PARIS CHRISTMAS MARKETS, AND A DELICIOUS DINNER

On our final full day in France, we took a fast TGV train back to Paris, solely because we were flying out of CDG the following morning. We arrived in Paris by mid-day and, after waiting far too long for an Uber at Gare de l’Est, we arrived at our hotel, La Fantaisie, with plenty of the day remaining. The highlight of my train ride was a tasty Comté and jambon sandwich from the Strasbourg train station.

La Fantaisie is truly a fantasy hotel, decorated in lots of pink and green and adorably chic. My only problem with it is the location, which is not my favorite area in which to stay (I prefer the 11th!). The hotel otherwise was simply fantastic.

We found La Fantaisie through an American Express deal, which meant our reservation came with several perks, including a $100 property credit. To ensure we used it, we enjoyed lunch at the hotel’s restaurant. The restaurant, like the hotel, was impeccably decorated and the food was delicious.

After lunch, we walked 40 minutes from La Fantaisie to the Musée de l’Orangerie, which, despite having studied abroad in Paris and visiting ten plus times, I had never visited (that was a mistake on my part)! Built in 1852 and located inside the Tuileries Gardens, the Musée de l’Orangerie is well-known for housing Claude Monet’s famously huge Water Lilies paintings, or Les Nymphéas in French. And while the paintings are incredibly impressive, it was insanely crowded. If you’re going, buy tickets in advance.

We left the Orangerie around sunset, and caught gorgeous views of the Eiffel Tower.

We next moved on to our Paris main event, a Parisian Christmas market. We opted for the Jardin des Tuileries market, which I had read was a good one. It was OK, with mulled wine, some decent looking food, children’s rides, and stalls selling a lot of the same thing, but it fell far short of those we just visited in Alsace and Switzerland. It was a bit on the tasteless side. We spent too long here and would have been better simply exploring Paris and its Christmas decorations.

Our one dinner in Paris was kind of a shot in the dark, as the restaurant I initially booked cancelled day-of due to some water issue. Bummer! I found Les Cocottes on the train to Paris and made a reservation. Dinner ended up being excellent, including some very tasty escargot, steak tartare, and a phenomenal Caesar salad.

After dinner, I had to have a quick Guinness at the Irish pub next door as a means of capping off our trip!

STEAL OUR TRIP

Voco Strasbourg City Center: 9 Rue des Magasins, 67000 Strasbourg, France.

Adamson’s: 12 Rue de Sébastopol, 67000 Strasbourg, France. Open Monday – Thursday 11:30 AM to 1:30 AM, Saturday 12:00 PM to 1:30 AM, and Sunday 2:30 PM to 12:30 AM.

Brasserie des Halles: 14 Rue de Sébastopol, 67000 Strasbourg, France. Open Friday and Saturday 11:30 AM to 1:00 AM, Sunday 4:00 PM to 12:00 AM, and Monday to Thursday 11:30 AM to 12:00 AM.

Les Haras Hôtel: 23 Rue des Glacières, 67000 Strasbourg, France.

La Fantaisie: 24 Rue Cadet, 75009 Paris, France.

Musée de l’Orangerie: Jardin des Tuileries, 75001 Paris, France. Closed Tuesday. Open Wednesday through Monday 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Recommend buying tickets in advance.

Les Cocottes: 135 Rue Saint-Dominique, 75007 Paris, France. Open daily 12:00 PM to 11:00 PM. Reservations suggested.

Ha’Penny Bridge Pub: 153 Rue de Grenelle, 75007 Paris, France. Open Friday and Saturday 12:00 PM to 2:00 AM, Sunday 12:00 PM to 12:00 AM, Monday to Tuesday 3:00 PM to 12:00 AM, and Wednesday and Thursday 12:00 PM to 1:00 AM.

SNCF: France’s train system, where you can purchase train tickets throughout France.