Strasbourg proudly proclaims itself as the capital of Christmas and it isn’t an idle boast. The city was richly decorated and fairly glowed with fairy lights.
We did the visit as a day trip from Frankfurt. The train ride took under 2 hours each way which gave us around 6 hours in Strasbourg. It was sufficient for the Christmas markets but not the city itself. Thankfully, the sprawling Christmas market was situated in Strasbourg’s UNESCO historic centre so we got to see some of this beautiful city.
Strasbourg’s Petite France
Petite France is a district in Strasbourg’s city centre where quaint half-timbered houses line narrow cobblestoned streets and quiet canals.
Barrage Vauban
Great view from the rooftop terrace.
Strasbourg Cathedral de Notre-Dame
The first cathedral I have seen with only one tower which gave it a really unique profile.
The interior was stunning. Giant tapestries flanked the pews and magnificent wreaths dropped down from the ceiling.
Christmas Market (Marché de Noël de Strasbourg)
Strasbourg’s Christmas market was voted best Christmas market consecutively in 2014 and 2015 by readers of the European Best Destination site and hasn’t veered far from the podium since.
Instead of one large market, Strasbourg had several sizeable markets spread out all over the city centre. We spent hours wandering around and still weren’t sure we saw it all. Place Broglie, Place de la Cathédrale and Place Kléber were three of the main ones.
Place Broglie
Place de la Cathédrale
Place Kléber
Giant Christmas tree!
Food
Bredeles (cookies) were disappointing but everything else we tried was delicious. Wished there were more non-French hot food options though.
Christmas Lights and Decorations
Giant teddy bears, angels, gingerbread men… Strasbourg had them all.
5pm and it was time for us to head back to the train station. Seeing the city all lit up was the perfect end to an already great day.
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