Where to stay for the Strasbourg Christmas market

The Strasbourg Christmas market is not a single market but a set of themed squares spread across the Grande Île, listed as UNESCO World Heritage. Place Broglie is its historic heart, with the most traditional stalls. Place Kléber holds the great tree, around which most of the crowd gathers. Other, smaller squares are spread between the cathedral and La Petite France.

A word of honesty about the dates: when this article was written, the City of Strasbourg had not yet published the calendar for the 2026 edition on its official site. Recent editions ran from late November to 24 December. Several listings sites announce 2026 dates before they are officially published: we would rather point you to noel.strasbourg.eu, which is authoritative, than repeat an estimate.

Schiltigheim borders Strasbourg and is linked to its centre by tram. That is the decisive difference in December: parking in the Strasbourg centre is saturated for the whole of the market, and part of the area is closed to traffic for safety reasons. From Schiltigheim you reach the market squares without ever having to look for a space or pay a city-centre rate.

The town also has its own character, inherited from its brewing past: the old breweries left a recognisable industrial architecture and a neighbourhood life that does not stop with the summer months. For a stay of several nights it is a markedly quieter base than the Grande Île, where the bustle lasts until the chalets close.

Haguenau is the second town of the Bas-Rhin after Strasbourg, connected by a direct regional train with no change. Above all it holds its own Christmas market, from 20 November to 30 December 2026: more than five weeks, one of the longest runs in the region, in the old centre.

The appeal of this base is twofold. You have a market within walking distance for weekday evenings, without depending on a journey, and Strasbourg for a full day when you want to see the Christkindelsmärik. It is also the town where we have the most apartments, which leaves the widest choice on December weekends, the first to fill up.

The Bas-Rhin is not only Strasbourg. Obernai, at the foot of Mont Sainte-Odile, holds one of the latest markets in the region, from 27 November to 31 December 2026: one of the few still open between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, when most others have closed. Bouxwiller, further north, is limited to a single weekend, from 11 to 13 December 2026.

This spread of dates bears directly on how you plan a stay: a weekend in mid-December lets you combine several markets, whereas a stay placed after Christmas is limited to those still open. If you are aiming for the period between 26 and 31 December, Obernai in the Bas-Rhin and Colmar in the Haut-Rhin are the two safe bets.

A Christmas market is visited in the evening, in cold and often damp weather. Coming back to a place where you can dry the coats, cook a meal and sit down together changes the nature of the stay, particularly with children or as four adults. Over three nights the gap with two hotel rooms closes quickly.

Our apartments in Schiltigheim, Strasbourg and Haguenau have self check-in from 4 pm: the instructions are sent before the stay, and coming back after the chalets close poses no problem. Check-out is at 11 am, unless a late check-out is taken. The price shown is the price you pay, with no platform commission, tourist tax included in the total before payment.