Alsace Christmas Villages 2026: Kaysersberg, Riquewihr, Eguisheim and More

The village Christmas markets of the Alsace wine route open on Friday 27 November 2026, but each keeps its own calendar. Riquewihr is open every day until 20 December, Eguisheim every day until 30 December (closed 24 to 26 December), and Kaysersberg on Friday to Sunday only, four weekends running, from 10:00 to 20:00. Ribeauvillé holds its medieval market on just four days: 5, 6, 12 and 13 December. From Colmar, the Christmas shuttle buses run from 27 November to 20 December 2026, and tickets go on sale online on Thursday 12 November 2026 at 12:00.

Quick facts (dates checked November 2026)

• Kaysersberg: Fridays to Sundays, 27–29 November, 4–6, 11–13 and 18–20 December 2026, 10:00–20:00.
• Riquewihr: daily 27 November to 20 December 2026; 10:00–18:30 on weekdays, 10:00–19:00 at weekends.
• Eguisheim: daily 27 November to 30 December 2026, closed 24, 25 and 26 December; 10:00–19:00, but from 12:00 on Monday to Thursday until 10 December.
• Ribeauvillé medieval market: 5, 6, 12 and 13 December 2026; Saturdays 10:00–19:00, Sundays 10:00–18:00.
• Turckheim: 27 November to 30 December 2026, closed 25 December.
• Christmas shuttles from Colmar station: 27 November to 20 December 2026; €17 per person per day from Friday to Sunday, €8 on the Eguisheim line from Monday to Thursday, free for under-12s (a free ticket must still be booked).

These are the villages that people combine with a day in Colmar or Strasbourg. Each market is small, a few dozen chalets at most, and the attraction is the setting: half-timbered streets lit for Advent in places that are crowded with day-trippers on December weekends. For the city markets themselves, see our guides to the Colmar Christmas markets and the Strasbourg Christmas market. This page covers what each village offers, when it is open, and how to get there with or without a car.

Which Village on Which Day

The calendars do not line up, and that decides most itineraries.

• Monday to Thursday: Riquewihr, Eguisheim and Turckheim are open. Kaysersberg and Ribeauvillé are not. The only Christmas shuttle running is the Eguisheim line.
• Friday: everything except Ribeauvillé's medieval market. The shuttle loop through Kaysersberg, Riquewihr and Ribeauvillé runs hourly.
• Saturday and Sunday: everything is open, the loop shuttle runs every 30 minutes, and the park-and-ride car parks operate. On 5–6 and 12–13 December, Ribeauvillé's medieval market is on as well. These are also the busiest days.
• After 20 December: the shuttles stop and Riquewihr and Kaysersberg close. Eguisheim (closed 24–26 December) and Turckheim (closed 25 December) stay open until 30 December, and both are on regular bus routes from Colmar.

Kaysersberg

Kaysersberg sits in the valley of the River Weiss north-west of Colmar, below the ruins of its 13th-century castle and a fortified bridge. It was voted the French public's favourite village in 2017, and it is the birthplace of Albert Schweitzer, the doctor and Nobel Peace Prize winner; the house he was born in is now the Schweitzer Centre.

Christmas chalets and crowds below the half-timbered houses of Kaysersberg. Image: Arnaud 25, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The market is held only from Friday to Sunday on the four Advent weekends of 2026, from 10:00 to 20:00. About 30 wooden chalets stand in the Cour de l'Arsenal and behind the Sainte-Croix church, and the organisers, the Association de Noël à Kaysersberg, select the craftspeople who take part. A farmers' market runs on Place de la Mairie, in front of the town hall, on the same days and hours.

Kaysersberg also puts on a Christmas exhibition, which in 2026 has the theme "Memories of Our Childhood Winters". It is open from 27 November to 20 December, from 14:00 to 18:00 on Monday to Thursday and from 10:00 to 20:00 on market weekends (Friday to Sunday), and then from 14:00 to 18:00 from 21 December 2026 to 3 January 2027, closed on 25 December and 1 January.

The main street of Kaysersberg on a December market weekend. Image: Arnaud 25, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Without a car: the Christmas shuttle (lines 1 and 2) stops on Route de Kientzheim. On weekdays and Saturdays outside public holidays, Fluo Grand Est bus line 813 (Colmar to Le Bonhomme) also serves Kaysersberg, taking about 35 to 40 minutes from Colmar in the 2025–26 timetable. It does not run on Sundays.

By car: the town-centre car parks (Porte Basse, Schweitzer and Place Gouraud) remain open on normal terms but fill early. The tourist office lists a €4 car park at Théo Faller, 20 rue des Tilleuls, and a €4 car park at Kientzheim, about 1.5 km away. On Saturdays and Sundays, three park-and-ride sites on the Lapoutroie side of town (Hinteralspach-Mauffrey, DS Smith and Carrefour Contact) charge €4 per vehicle, with a free shuttle every 15 minutes from 10:00 to 20:30 to Place Gouraud.

Riquewihr

Riquewihr is a walled wine village north of Colmar whose old houses and ramparts have survived largely intact. Its market is open every day from Friday 27 November to Sunday 20 December 2026, from 10:00 to 18:30 on weekdays and 10:00 to 19:00 at weekends. The streets and façades are lit with thousands of lights.

Market chalets in Riquewihr in December. Image: Gzen92, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Without a car: Riquewihr is on the shuttle loop, and it is also the easiest village to reach by regular bus. Fluo line 816 runs from Colmar station (stop "Gare SNCF Quai 7") to Riquewihr in about 30 minutes and Ribeauvillé in about 40, and in the 2025–26 timetable it also ran four times each way on Sundays and public holidays. On Sundays and public holidays a TER bus also links Sélestat, on the Strasbourg to Colmar railway, with Ribeauvillé and Riquewihr.

By car: on Saturdays and Sundays (28–29 November and 5–6, 12–13 and 19–20 December 2026), the "Perles de Noël" park-and-ride at the Naturoparc in Hunawihr has 220 spaces. It costs €10 per vehicle, which covers the shuttle for everyone in the car, with buses every 30 minutes from 9:45 to 18:30.

Ribeauvillé: The Medieval Market

Ribeauvillé, the next village north, does something different. On four days only, Saturday and Sunday 5–6 and 12–13 December 2026, the old town becomes a medieval Christmas market, with performers in costume as beggars, peasants and dancers, spit-roasted wild boar served with cervoise (barley beer) or wine, and stalls selling handmade nativity scenes and Advent wreaths. It opens from 10:00 to 19:00 on Saturdays and 10:00 to 18:00 on Sundays.

A blacksmith demonstrates his craft at Ribeauvillé's medieval Christmas market. Image: Flocci Nivis, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Without a car: the shuttle loop serves Ribeauvillé on all Friday-to-Sunday dates, and line 816 ends there. Fluo line 817 continues from Colmar via Ribeauvillé to Saint-Hippolyte.

By car: on the four market days, the park-and-ride at the Cordon-Schmidt car park, 22 Route de Colmar in Bergheim, has 430 spaces. It costs €10 per vehicle including the shuttle, which runs every 20 minutes through the market day; the 2026 times are still to be confirmed.

Eguisheim

Eguisheim, just south of Colmar, is built around its castle in concentric rings of streets. It has been listed among the Most Beautiful Villages of France since 2003, and was voted the French public's favourite village in 2013. The market carries the "Christmas Towns and Villages" label and has about thirty craftspeople and makers.

Market chalets on a small square near the Saint-Léon chapel in Eguisheim, December 2017. Image: Zéphyrios, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

It is open every day from 27 November to 30 December 2026, except 24, 25 and 26 December. Hours are 10:00 to 19:00 from Friday to Sunday. On Monday to Thursday it opens at 12:00 until 10 December, and at 10:00 from 14 December. Through Advent the programme adds musical strolls, concerts, treasure hunts and night watchman rounds.

Half-timbered houses along one of Eguisheim's ring streets in December. Image: Valentin F.R. from Nouvelle Austrasie, France, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Without a car: Eguisheim has its own Christmas shuttle (line 3) from Colmar station every day from 27 November to 20 December 2026. It is the only shuttle that runs from Monday to Thursday, at €8 per person per day; from Friday to Sunday it is €17. The regular Fluo line 830 (Colmar to Rouffach) takes about 12 minutes from Colmar station to Eguisheim, but runs Monday to Saturday only, so on Sundays after 20 December there is no bus.

By car: the Mairie and Marronniers car parks cost €5 a day, and the Millénaire car park is free. Blue-zone spaces in the village are limited to 20 minutes.

Turckheim and the Night Watchman

Turckheim, just west of Colmar on the road to the Munster valley, is the most practical village to add at short notice: it is on Colmar's town bus network. Its "Christmas market of the Elves" fills Place de l'Hôtel de Ville from 27 November to 30 December 2026, with about twenty craftspeople. It is open daily from 10:00 to 19:00 between 28 November and 23 December, until 20:00 on Saturdays; 10:00 to 18:00 on 24 December; closed on 25 December; 10:00 to 19:00 from 26 to 29 December; and until 18:00 on 30 December.

The Porte de France, one of the medieval gates of Turckheim. Image: Gzen92, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Turckheim's best-known tradition is its night watchman, who walks the old streets in a tricorne hat with a halberd, horn and lantern, telling stories about the town. The town traces the role back to 1540. The Colmar tourist office's Christmas agenda lists the rounds every evening from 1 to 23 December 2026 at 21:00, starting from the Corps de Garde on Place Turenne; they are free.

Without a car: take Trace town bus line A or C from the Théâtre or Gare stop in Colmar to the République stop in Turckheim; on Sundays only line A runs. The listed fare is €1.50 with a card or €2 in cash. TER trains also run from Colmar and Colmar Saint-Joseph stations. On Friday to Sunday until 20 December, the Christmas shuttle line 4 (Colmar, Turckheim, Munster) stops here too.

Obernai, from the Strasbourg Side

If you are based in Strasbourg, Obernai is the closer village market. It runs from Friday 27 November to Thursday 31 December 2026: 10:00 to 20:00 from Sunday to Thursday, until 21:00 on Fridays and Saturdays, 10:00 to 16:00 on 24 and 31 December, and closed on 25 December. There are 45 chalets on five squares, and mulled wine is made from white wine in a winegrowers' cauldron. New for 2026, a video-mapping show, "The Windows of Advent", is projected onto the town hall every evening from 1 to 24 December.

A lane in Obernai decorated for Christmas. Image: Espirat, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Obernai is on the TER line from Strasbourg to Sélestat via Molsheim, and the station is about 500 metres, roughly a six-minute walk, from the centre. Bus line 257 also links Obernai with Strasbourg. Drivers can use the free Pass'O shuttles that run at weekends from the car parks on the edge of town.

The Christmas Shuttles from Colmar

All shuttle lines leave from Colmar train station and run between 27 November and 20 December 2026.

• Lines 1 and 2: a loop through Kaysersberg, Riquewihr and Ribeauvillé, in opposite directions. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays only: hourly on Fridays, every 30 minutes at weekends. €17 per person per day.
• Line 3: Colmar to Eguisheim, every day. €8 from Monday to Thursday, €17 from Friday to Sunday.
• Line 4: Colmar, Turckheim and Munster, Friday to Sunday. €17, or €10 for an "Explorer" ticket valid only on lines 4 and 5.
• Line 5: Colmar to Neuf-Brisach, on 12 and 13 December only.

The €17 ticket covers unlimited travel on all lines that day, so one ticket can take in Kaysersberg, Riquewihr and Ribeauvillé, or Eguisheim in the morning and the loop in the afternoon. Children under 12 travel free but need a free ticket booked like everyone else. Tickets are sold online only, not at the stops, from Thursday 12 November 2026 at 12:00 (CET); seats are limited, and extra tickets are released three days before each date. The Christmas shuttle buses on the regular timetable are accessible to people with reduced mobility, although extra buses added at busy times may not be. The Riquewihr and Ribeauvillé park-and-ride sites have reserved spaces, with one wheelchair space on each shuttle bus.

A Day on the Wine Route

A Saturday in December works well like this: take an early shuttle from Colmar to Kaysersberg, which opens at 10:00, continue on the loop to Riquewihr for lunch at the stalls, and finish in Ribeauvillé if it is a medieval-market weekend, or go back to Riquewihr for the lights after dark. On a weekday, pair Eguisheim (by shuttle line 3 or bus 830) with Turckheim (Trace line A or C) and be back in Colmar for its own markets in the evening.

Practical notes

• Getting there: Colmar is the hub: regional trains run from Strasbourg, and all the shuttles and Fluo buses leave from Colmar station. The bus timetables quoted here are the 2025–26 ones; check the Fluo Grand Est timetable for December 2026 before relying on a particular bus, especially on Sundays.
• Parking: Saturdays and Sundays bring the heaviest traffic. Use the park-and-ride sites (€4 per vehicle in Kaysersberg, €10 including the shuttle for Riquewihr and Ribeauvillé) rather than looking for space in the village centres.
• Shuttle tickets: book online as soon as sales open on 12 November; weekend seats sell first.
• Around Christmas: Riquewihr and Kaysersberg close for the season on 20 December, Eguisheim closes from 24 to 26 December, and Turckheim on 25 December.
• Dates, hours and prices are as published by the tourist offices and organisers in November 2026 and can change; check noel-colmar.com and tourisme-obernai.fr before you travel.