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Towns & cities · Bas-Rhin
Strasbourg
European and Alsatian capital, whose Petite France district, crossed by canals and lined with half-timbered houses, embodies Franco-German charm.
View full page →Christmas markets: the most beautiful towns and villages
Illuminated half-timbered lanes, wooden chalets, mulled wine and bredele: eastern France, from Alsace to Lorraine and Franche-Comté, is the land of choice for Christmas markets.
This selection brings together towns and villages whose Christmas atmosphere is particularly renowned, from the Alsatian capital of Christmas to the small winegrowing villages of the wine route.
Dates, hours and crowds vary from year to year: check the programme with the tourist office before you go, and favour weekdays to avoid the crowds.
10selected sites
2regions
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Villages · Haut-Rhin
Colmar
Located in the centre of Alsace, between the two other major industrial centres of Strasbourg and Mulhouse, Colmar is an essential stop.
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Villages · Haut-Rhin
Riquewihr
A charming little Alsatian town producing one of the best wines of Alsace, the village, whose wealth stirred the covetousness of the powerful, gave itself ramparts and a fortress that did not always prevent pillaging.
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Villages · Haut-Rhin
Eguisheim
Ranked among the Most Beautiful Villages of France since 2003, national flower prize since 1989, gold medal of the European Entente Florale competition in 2006...
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Villages · Haut-Rhin
Kaysersberg
Kaysersberg, with its many half-timbered houses, fine historic centre and ruined imperial castle (Kaysersberg means the Emperor's mountain) overlooking the town, has tremendous charm.
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Villages · Bas-Rhin
Obernai
A medieval town on the Alsace wine route, whose Gothic Chapel tower overlooks a market square surrounded by half-timbered houses in flower.
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Villages · Haut-Rhin
Hunawihr
The village lies half-way up the slopes at the confluence of two watercourses. Surrounded by its little fortified cemetery, the fifteenth-century church emerges among vines that stretch to infinity.
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Towns & cities · Moselle
Metz
Prefecture of the Moselle built in golden Jaumont stone, at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille, dominated by the cathedral of Saint-Étienne.
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Towns & cities · Haut-Rhin
Mulhouse
A former textile industrial town become the French capital of technical museums, whose painted town hall overlooks the Place de la Réunion.
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Towns & cities · Doubs
Montbéliard
A former Protestant principality linked to the House of Württemberg, now the historic cradle of the Peugeot car industry in Franche-Comté.
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