Colmar's six Christmas markets run from Monday 23 November to Tuesday 29 December 2026, and the gourmet market, the Ferris wheel and the Christmas fair on Place Rapp stay open until 3 January 2027. The official hours are 11:00–19:00 Monday to Thursday and 10:00–20:00 Friday to Sunday, with an early close at 17:00 on Christmas Eve and normal weekend hours on 25 and 26 December. Every market is free to enter, and they all sit inside the small old town, so you can walk from one to the next in five minutes.
Colmar is the Christmas town that people see on postcards: half-timbered houses painted in pastel colours, canals in the Petite Venise quarter, and decorations on almost every façade. It is much smaller than Strasbourg, half an hour away by train, which makes it ideal for a day trip or a quieter base for exploring the wine villages around it. It suits couples, photographers and families with young children, who get a market of their own.
The Six Markets, One by One
Place des Dominicains
The market under the tall Gothic church of the Dominicans has around sixty wooden chalets and is the place to buy decorations for the tree: glass baubles, wooden ornaments and hand-painted figures.
Market chalets beside the Église des Dominicains on Place des Dominicains, Colmar. Image: Gzen92, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Place de l'Ancienne Douane and the Koïfhus
The busiest square of the old town wraps around the Schwendi fountain in front of the Koïfhus, the old customs house with its glazed-tile roof. About fifty chalets mix traditional decorations with work by contemporary makers, and the market runs along both banks of the little River Lauch up to the Koïfhus.
Timber-framed houses lit for Christmas above the crowds on Place de l'Ancienne Douane. Image: ernst andre, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Inside the Koïfhus itself is the indoor craft market: about twenty local craftspeople, including potters, glassmakers, cabinetmakers and jewellers, which makes it the best place for a gift that was actually made in Alsace, and a warm refuge on a cold day.
Market chalets in front of the Koïfhus, Colmar's former customs house. Image: Gzen92, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Place Jeanne d'Arc
The Alsatian village market concentrates on food and drink from the region: foie gras, charcuterie, wine, fruit brandies (schnaps) and bredalas, the Alsatian Christmas biscuits.
Petite Venise: The Children's Market
On Place des Six Montagnes Noires, in the Petite Venise quarter, the market is built for children: animals, a mechanical nativity scene, horse rides and Santa's giant letter box. The canal-side houses around it are some of the most photographed in Alsace, especially at dusk when the lights come on along the water.
Christmas lights reflected in the canal in Colmar's Petite Venise quarter at night. Image: ALINE COCO 67, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Rue de la Montagne Verte: The Gourmet Market
This is a gourmet market with nine chefs in nine cabins and cooking shows in the middle. It is also the one that stays open longest: until 3 January 2027, every day from 11:00 to 22:00, closing at 17:00 on New Year's Eve.
A vin chaud stall and decorated chalets at Colmar's Christmas market. Image: HarshLight, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Practical info for all six: Old town of Colmar, about 15 minutes on foot from the railway station. 23 November to 29 December 2026; gourmet market, Ferris wheel and Place Rapp fair until 3 January 2027. Mon–Thu 11:00–19:00; Fri–Sun 10:00–20:00; 24 December 11:00–17:00; 25 and 26 December 10:00–20:00. Gourmet market and Ferris wheel 11:00–22:00 daily (31 December to 17:00). The markets close exactly on time for security reasons.
Getting There: The Day Trip from Strasbourg
Regional TER trains run between Strasbourg and Colmar throughout the day, and the fastest take about 30 minutes, so a day trip is easy: leave Strasbourg in the morning, spend the day in Colmar, and stay for the lights after dark before taking an evening train back. Colmar station is about a 15-minute walk from the old town. Buy your ticket at the machines or in the SNCF Connect app before you board; on December weekends, trains in the early evening fill up with people heading back to Strasbourg, so allow time.
If you come to Alsace mainly for Strasbourg, read our Strasbourg Christmas market guide and add Colmar as the third day.
Driving and Parking
The town centre is closed to vehicles from 23 November to 29 December, during the market hours. The covered car parks in the centre are paid, and their hours vary:
- Rapp and Gare/Bleylé: open 24 hours. Free shuttles run from Bleylé to the Théâtre Municipal every 13 minutes, Monday to Friday 9:30–19:30 (to 18:00 on 24 December, none on 25 and 26 December).
- Mairie and St Josse: open from 7:00 (Sundays from 10:00) to 21:00 or 20:00, with shorter hours on 24–26 December.
- Lacarre: open until 1:00 Monday to Saturday.
On the busiest weekends the town also runs a park-and-ride at the Parc des Expositions (Avenue de la Foire aux Vins): €3 per car per day, with a free shuttle bus into the centre every 10 minutes. Check the dates for 2026 on noel-colmar.com before you rely on it.
Further Afield: Eguisheim and Kaysersberg
Colmar's tourist office also promotes the Christmas markets of the villages on the Alsace wine route, and two of them are worth the short trip.
Eguisheim, a ring-shaped medieval village just south of Colmar, holds a small market of about thirty craftspeople. In 2026 it is open every day from 27 November to 30 December, except 24, 25 and 26 December: 10:00–19:00 Friday to Sunday, and on weekdays from noon until 10 December, then from 10:00 for the last two weeks.
A half-timbered house in Eguisheim hung with a "Marché de Noël" banner. Image: mcfr, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Kaysersberg, north-west of Colmar, keeps its market to Advent weekends only: Friday to Sunday from 27–29 November to 18–20 December 2026, from 10:00 to 20:00, in the Cour de l'Arsenal and behind the Sainte-Croix church, with about 30 chalets and a farmers' market on Place de la Mairie on the same days.
Pretzels at the Christmas market in Kaysersberg. Image: Arnaud 25, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Riquewihr, the walled wine village north of Colmar, runs a traditional market every day from 27 November to 20 December 2026: 10:00–18:30 on weekdays and 10:00–19:00 at weekends. The whole village is hung with lights, and it is the busiest of the wine-route markets, so arrive early. Drivers can use the "Perles de Noël" park-and-ride at the Naturoparc in Hunawihr on weekends (€10 per vehicle, shuttle included).
Ribeauvillé, the "city of minstrels", holds a medieval Christmas market on only four days: 5, 6, 12 and 13 December 2026 (Saturdays 10:00–19:00, Sundays 10:00–18:00). Expect street performers in costume, spit-roasted wild boar and handmade nativity scenes. The park-and-ride for it is at the Cordon-Schmidt car park in Bergheim, with a shuttle every 20 minutes.
Christmas shuttles from Colmar run to the wine-route villages from Friday to Sunday between 27 November and 20 December 2026; the 2026 fare listed by the tourist office is €17 per person per day, free for children under 12. Riquewihr is also on the regular bus line 16 from Colmar.
Practical info: all of these villages are served by Christmas shuttle buses and regional buses from Colmar; check the "Christmas Shuttles" pages on noel-colmar.com for the 2026 timetable before you go.
A Day in Colmar, Hour by Hour
- 10:00: arrive by train from Strasbourg and walk into the old town while the stalls open; start at Place des Dominicains, the quietest at this hour.
- 11:30: Koïfhus and Place de l'Ancienne Douane, then the indoor craft market inside the Koïfhus.
- 13:00: lunch at the gourmet market on Rue de la Montagne Verte or a winstub in the old town.
- 14:30: the Unterlinden Museum, or the food stalls on Place Jeanne d'Arc if you would rather stay outdoors.
- 16:30: walk down to the Petite Venise quarter for the children's market and the canal as the lights come on.
- 18:30: a last vin chaud on the Ancienne Douane, then the evening train back to Strasbourg.
On a Saturday, swap the order: Petite Venise and the Koïfhus are calmest in the first hour, and the museum is a good place to sit out the mid-afternoon peak.
Colmar with Children
Colmar is the easiest of the Alsace Christmas towns to do with small children. The old town is compact and closed to traffic during market hours, so pushchairs and small feet can move between the markets without crossing busy roads. Start at the children's market in Petite Venise, with its animals, horse rides and Santa's giant letter box, and save the Ferris wheel and the Christmas fair on Place Rapp for the end of the day; both keep going after the main markets close for the season, until 3 January 2027. Bring warm layers and gloves: you will spend most of the day outdoors, and the cold settles in quickly once the sun drops behind the houses in the late afternoon.
Where to Stay
- Colmar old town: the best place to be in the evening, when the day-trippers leave, but small and expensive in December; book well ahead for weekends.
- Near the station: a 15-minute walk from the markets, handy if you plan train trips to Strasbourg or Mulhouse.
- Wine villages (Eguisheim, Kaysersberg, Riquewihr): quieter and more atmospheric, but you will need a car or the shuttle timetables.
- Strasbourg: a bigger choice of hotels; see Colmar as a day trip.
Tips for Visiting
- Weekdays are much easier. On Saturdays the old town's narrow streets are crowded from late morning; Monday to Thursday you can move freely.
- Arrive for the afternoon and stay for dusk. The markets close at 19:00 on weekdays and 20:00 at weekends, and Colmar's lights are at their best in the last two hours.
- See the Unterlinden Museum. If the weather turns, Colmar's main museum, in a former convent beside Place Unterlinden, is a short walk from the markets and houses the Isenheim Altarpiece.
- Eat and drink like an Alsatian: vin chaud (red or white), bredalas biscuits, pain d'épices (spiced bread), pretzels, and a glass of local Riesling or Gewurztraminer from the wine stalls.
- Shop on Sundays in December. Colmar's shops open on Sundays in the run-up to Christmas, so you can combine the markets with the boutiques in the old town.
- Plan around 24 December. The markets close at 17:00 that day, and Eguisheim is closed from the 24th to the 26th.
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