Colmar, France Christmas Market
Colmar, France Christmas Market is breathtaking and the perfect place to visit if you’re looking to get into the Christmas spirit fast! This year’s Christmas market consisted of six markets throughout the city. You can download the entire Christmas Map HERE
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Where To Stay
We arrived in Colmar on Wednesday, November 23rd, the day before the opening of the Christmas Markets. We stayed at this little house that only accepts cash payments (Which is why we were able to book it last minute.) It offered free parking and Anne the owner, was AMAZING! This property overlooks the river and is right across the street from the indoor bakers market, making getting breakfast and coffee super EASY! We could park (For Free) and be minutes away from all the Christmas Markets. If you’re traveling with a dog, she told us she allows some dogs, primarily only dogs that don’t shed. However, feel free to ask if you’re traveling with your dog. All the Christmas Markets in Colmar were super dog friendly too. We stayed HERE if you want to check it out.
This was our view from apartment we rented.
Traveling With Kids
Most roads were shut off to cars, making traveling with children a lot less stressful. We brought the stroller for our 3-year-old Dean, which was a great idea! We spent about 2 hours in the morning looking at all the Christmas booths. We went back to the apartment for a few hours to rest. We then went back out around 5:00 pm to look around some more. When we headed back around 5:00, the crowd was a little thicker, but honestly, I was surprised it was not busier. I could still move my stroller around, and the kids could walk freely without me worrying that they would get lost.
I appreciated the Colmar bathrooms; they were free (Which is HUGE in Europe). They had a changing table for children, stroller and wheelchair accessible. Colmar did their bathrooms right this year. As a mom to small children, I appreciated this.
Each Christmas market had at least one ride. The prices were one place for 3 Euro or four spots for 10 Euro. We purchased a lot of 4 spots as we’re a big family! We rode all the rides too.
This year Colmar added a HUGE ferris wheel. This was one of the highlights of the Colmar trip and the boys had a lot of fun!
Christmas Market Mug
One thing that my family and I love to do is get the different Christmas mugs from each Christmas market. My oldest son loves being the first one to locate the Christmas mug! Finding Christmas mugs is the first thing we do at every market. I’ve heard that some markets have a limited supply of market cups a day. (Although I haven’t encountered this personally, I also don’t want to be without a mug just because I waited.) We also have a rule in my house that we can only have the Christmas mugs of the markets we visit. (Some people buy mugs from different places, I call that cheating.) If you’re new to the market mug world, you pay for the drink and a cup fee ranging in price from 2 Euro to 5 Euro. If you want your money back, you bring the mug back. If you’re going to keep the mug, you don’t bring it back.
This year’s mug at Colmar was only located at one hut, and it was 9 Euro with the drink, which is a lot more than 2 Euro.
Top, Tips & Tricks For Colmar Christmas Markets
- Visit during to week day to avoid weekend crowds
- Go early (first thing in the morning)
- Dress in layers as the mornings tend to be colder, and the afternoon will be warmer.
- If you’re driving to Colmar, try to find a hotel with parking and a walkable distance from everything.
- Make sure to find the mug first!