French Christmas Markets

French Christmas Markets

1 - 12 December 2014

We had made several previous trips to Europe to visit the Christmas Markets but had never visited any of those in France. We decided on a short trip to Strasbourg and Paris to see how the French markets compared to the those we had visited in other countries.

Our first stop was Strasbourg which claims to have the oldest Christmas market. Admittedly, since it's located in the Alsace region, Strasbourg has both a German and a French atmosphere. Marches de Noel [Christmas Markets] have a city-wide emphasis. Each of the 10 markets is located no more than a fifteen-minute-walk from the Sofitel where we stayed.  

Maps of the city with each market's location and a short description are readily available and easy to follow.

Each market differs slightly from the others. Even the gluwein is different here; it's called vin chaud and is available in either blanc or rouge. The city is decorated with lights strung across streets and on buildings and other decorations adorn some of the buildings. 

The Galeries Lafayette department store was swathed in pink and purple with animations in some of the windows.

More of Strasbourg.

We rode the TGV from Strasbourg to Paris where we stayed at the Westin Vendome Hotel. While there is much publicity available online about Christmas Markets in Paris, many of them (to quote one Parisian) "no existe." We did visit the one on the Champs Elyssee, the one at La Defense and another near St. Germain de Pres Church. This was our first winter visit to Paris, and this time we learned to use the Metro. 

Printemps Department Store:

Galeries Lafayette Department Store in Paris:

Lindt Chocolate Cafe in Paris:

Montmartre & Sacre Coeur:

Place de la Concorde area:

 We window-shopped our way up and down Rue Cler, 

We enjoyed the brief trip and hope it won't be our last opportunity to experience Christmas customs in another country.