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Group Tour Operator for Holidays to Strasbourg & Alsace, France

Strasbourg Christmas Markets

  • Strasbourg Christmas Market at night ©Vincent Muller, Office de Tourisme de Strasbourg

    Strasbourg, France
  • Strasbourg Christmas Market illuminated at night ©Daniel Schoenen, Office de Tourisme de Strasbourg

    Strasbourg christmas market
  • Christmas illuminations on Mercier Street with the Cathedral in the background ©Cedric Schell, Office de Tourisme de Strasbourg

    Christmas
4 day tour
From £259 per person - minimum 30 passengers

Wind through the striking hills of Alsace on a group tour taking in the Strasbourg Christmas markets, Alsatian Wine Route and the enchanting village of Riquewihr. Few places on the planet have better claim to be more festive than a midwinter Strasbourg with its 450-year-old Christmas markets. The smell of gingerbread, mulled wine and chocolate ease from the city windows, filling the quaint squares with a uniquely festive appeal.

Beyond the city, your group can experience the Château de Haut-Koenigsbourg, which offers unparalleled panoramas of the Alsace region, stretching all the way to the Alps. The steep hills of the region offer up some of France’s most evocative imagery and undoubtedly some of its best traditional cuisine.

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Strasbourg: Capital of Christmas and Contradictions

Dating back to 1570 and among Europe’s oldest, the Strasbourg Christmas markets fully justify the Strasbourgian claim to be the capital of Christmas. Over 300 wooden chalets span from the grand Gothic Cathedral at Place Broglie to the Great Christmas Tree of Place Kléber, lording it over the weaving alleyways of the UNESCO-listed Grand Île.

The festive attitude bubbles warmly releasing the comforting aromas of mulled wine and freshly baked gingerbread into the city air. The nearby modern glitz of the European Quarter – home to the European Parliament, Council of Europe and European Court of Human Rights – seems a world away as you cosy up into a traditional Alsatian Winstub tavern.

The timber-framed houses of La Petite France hearken back to the city’s medieval trades of tanning and dyeing, contrasting the modern culture beating at the heart of France’s second largest student population. Strasbourg is truly a city of contrasting identities split between modernity and medieval, French and German, and it is all the more fascinating for it.

The Alsatian Wine Route and Riquewihr

With its red-sandstone turrets standing tall among the Vosges Mountains, Château de Haut-Koenigbourg offers up spectacular views across the hills and vineyards below. On a clear day, it is possible to see far across the Black Forest to the distant Alps. The 900 year history of the castle lives on in its distinctly medieval feel, despite the fact it was reconstructed by Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1908.

Approximately once every mile, as the Route des Vins d’Alsace winds through the castles and vineyards of the Alsatian countryside, the doors to a traditional winery beckon. If not a winery, the routes throws up an enchanting village of medieval heritage promising all the patisserie delectations of chocolate, gingerbread and macarons.

Among the many impossibly beautiful villages en route, Riquewihr stands out as special with its twisting lanes and medieval ramparts. One of the few local towns and villages mostly undamaged during World War Two, Riquewihr is mostly unchanged since the 16th century.

Fancy travelling by EUROSTAR?

From London St Pancras International, there is a quick change in Paris, then on to Strasbourg making the Strasbourg Christmas markets a convenient and relaxing destination to travel to by train.


Dates

End of November - December 2023 & 2024


Suggested itinerary by coach

Day 1

Travel to Strasbourg

Travel through France to your hotel in Strasbourg. This evening, if time permits, why not begin exploring this wonderful town and catch your first glimpse of the intoxicatingly festive Christmas markets?

Day 2

Strasbourg and Markets Galore!

With over 300 wooden chalets set up in the city’s historic centre waiting for you to discover. The markets are spread across the centre of the town, focused around Cathedral square and Place Broglie. Here, browse over the different ornaments and toys, whilst you enjoy the festive food and mulled wine. As well as this, explore the pretty canals and medieval half-timbered houses contrast with the ultra-modern buildings of the European Parliament.

Day 3

Wine and Castles

Today, why not visit the nearby Chateau du Haut-Koenigsbourg, the most-visited attraction in the Alsace, situated high in the Vosges Mountains. Return via the famous Alsatian Wine Route, where you will discover some of the most beautiful small cities of this picturesque region, such as Riquewihr which rightfully deserves its nickname as the “pearl of the vineyard”. Afterwards, head back to Strasbourg to enjoy your final evening at the markets.

Day 4

Departure

Your festive frolics in Strasbourg have come to an end. Begin your homeward journey.


Suggested hotels

Ibis Strasbourg Centre Historique ***

Overlooking the River L’Ill, this hotel is a 2-minute walk from Le Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain contemporary art museum and 2 km from Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg. Rooms have free Wi-Fi and flat-screen TVs, as well as desks, custom-designed beds and wooden floors. There’s a 24-hour bar and a casual barbecue restaurant with a terrace. 

Mercure Strasbourg Centre ****

The Mercure Strasbourg Centre in the heart of Strasbourg, 700 yards from Notre Dame Cathedral and the picturesque district known as Petite France. The hotel features a unique panoramic view from the 7th floor where the buffet breakfast is served. Guests have free access to the fitness centre which is open daily. Guest rooms are decorated with modern furniture. All air-conditioned rooms are equipped with a flat-screen TV and Wi-Fi access, while a bottle of water is also provided in the room. Each room has a private bathroom with bath or shower.


You may also be interested in:

Paris Christmas Markets

Metz Christmas Markets

Drachenburg Castle Christmas Markets – A Festive Experience on the Rhine

Three Countries Christmas Markets – Belgium, Germany & Holland


Date Half Twin Single Supplement
November – December 2023 From £259.00 per person From £172.00 per person
2024 dates Price on request Price on request

 

Price based on exchange rate of £1.00 = €1.17. All prices are per person based on sharing a double or twin room and with one free place in a single room, based on a minimum 25 full fare paying passengers. Prices do not include UK coach hire or travel insurance. Dates are subject to availability. Smaller groups can be quoted for on request. Greatdays Holidays Limited is a member of ABTA (Y0380) which means you have the benefit of ABTA's assistance and Code of Conduct. Please ask us to confirm what protection may apply to your booking. Greatdays Holidays Limited has an ATOL licence (4279) and all of our air package tours are protected under this licence. In the unlikely event of our insolvency, the Civil Aviation Authority will ensure that you are not stranded abroad and will arrange to refund any monies you have paid to us for an advance booking. All the flights and flight-inclusive holidays on this tour are financially protected by the ATOL scheme. When you pay you will be supplied with an ATOL Certificate. Please ask for it and check to ensure that everything you booked (flights, hotels and other services) is listed on it. Please see our booking conditions for further information or for more information about financial protection and the ATOL Certificate go to: www.atol.org.uk/ATOLCertificate. Our website policy is to use only copyright free images or images which have been authorised to us for free use by the owner. If you consider an image to be unauthorised or to be your property, please contact us immediately and if invalid we will have the image removed. If your image requires crediting or is missing a copyright statement then we will be pleased to add this to the webpage, contact us at info@greatdays.co.uk Strasbourg images from Office de Tourisme de Strasbourg: www.visitstrasbourg.fr

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