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Are you curious about the Mulhouse Christmas market? Never heard of it, you say? Well, the Christmas markets in the Mulhouse region are often overlooked by the larger markets of Colmar and Strasbourg, but this hidden gem in the southern corner of Alsace, France, knows how to celebrate Christmas! The Mulhouse Christmas market is the perfect size, offering a large enough experience for diversity in attractions, food, and vendors but small enough to explore in a day. Becasue of this, I recommend following this Mulhouse Christmas market guide and adding Mulhouse as a stop on your Alsace Christmas market road trip this Advent season for a unique cultural experience.
After spending a week on an Alsace Christmas market road trip, Mulhouse was one of my favorite stops. This Mulhouse Christmas market guide will help you find all the best things to do, see, and eat at this large yet cozy market. The Mulhouse Christmas market is tucked away under the impressive Temple of St. Étienne that lights up for the holidays. You’ll also see Mulhouse’s textile culture on full display throughout the market. Additionally, you’ll want some extra time in the region to visit the unique markets in the suburbs of Mulhouse, including an intimate community-led market and an eco market focused on recycling and upcycling. Of course, this guide to the Mulhouse, France Christmas markets has all this and more, like where to stay and what food to eat!
WHAT WE’RE COVERING
QUICK LOOK
- Mulhouse is a Christmas market town in Alsace, France.
- The market has a unique cultural theme for a unique experience.
- Surrounding local markets include an eco-friendly and a magical forest market.
- Mulhouse is a great addition to an Alsace Christmas itinerary or stand-alone trip.
How to Get to Mulhouse
By Car: If you’re following my Alsace road trip itinerary, you’ll arrive by car. You can reach Mulhouse from Strasbourg via A 35. Depending on how you optimize your route, you’ll either head straight down from Strasbourg or make several stops along the way.
By Train: Mulhouse, France, is also accessible by train. The best way to reach Mulhouse is to first navigate to Strasbourg. buying your tickets on Omio for easy to easy-to-understand English booking option. From there, you can take the non-stop TVG train either direct to Mulhouse, which only takes an hour, or stop in a few other Alsace towns along the way.
If you’re coming from outside mainland Europe, you’ll want to fly to any hub, including Strasbourg, Basel, and Stuttgart, and plan your route by train.
Mulhouse Christmas Market Dates for 2023
Mulhouse Christmas markets are open longer than most. So, you can take full advantage of visiting from late November to late December. However, if you want also to visit some of the surrounding markets, such as Pfastatt and Kingersheim, you will want to visit the last weekend of November.
We managed to cram everything into one full day. We visited the Pfastatt and Kingersheim markets in the afternoon before dropping into the Mulhouse market to celebrate after dark. We even had some time again the next morning to explore the Mulhouse market in daylight. I felt like we had plenty of time, but I suggest two nights if you prefer to take things at a slower pace.
Mulhouse Christmas Market Dates 2023
- November 24 – December 27, 2023
- Mon – Thurs 11:00 am – 8 pm
- Friday: 11:00 am – 9 pm
- Saturday: 10 am – 9 pm
- Sunday: 10 am – 8 pm
- Closed Christmas Day
Pfastatt Christmas Market Dates 2023
- November 24-26, 2023
- December 1-3, 2023
- Friday: 4 pm – 8 pm
- Saturday: 11 am – 8 pm
- Sunday: 11 am – 7 pm
Kingersheim Christmas Market Dates 2023
- 2023 dates TBA. The following are the dates and times for 2022
- November 25 – 27, 2022
- Friday: 4 pm – 8 pm
- Saturday: 11 am – 8 pm
- Sunday: 10 am – 6 pm
The best date to visit all three markets, including Mulhouse, Pfastatt, and Kingersheim, is the last weekend of November 25-27, 2021. Do not plan your trip for Christmas Day. Most Christmas markets are closed over Christmas, and you will miss out. However, because the Mulhouse Christmas market is open for the entire Advent season, you can easily visit Mulhouse anytime. The Kingersheim and Pfastatt markets are rather small, and don’t stress if you can’t coordinate to see them all.
While it will be great if you can visit all three markets, don’t stress about it too much. Your priority here should be Mulhouse, the largest market open the entire Christmas season. The smaller markets are a nice bonus, but visiting all three markets and the medieval markets near Colmar in one trip can be quite challenging on a limited schedule. But, of course, if you’re only visiting the Mulhouse region, you’ll want to visit during the last part of November to see all three markets.
Weather + What to Pack for Mulhouse Christmas Markets
Alsace winters are increasingly mild but get snow, rain, and freezing temperatures. Therefore, I always recommend some layers. More packing tips are in my German Christmas market packing essentials and Colmar Christmas market guide. The weather is quite similar to where I live in Germany, and most of those items should ensure you’re covered in Mulhouse.
Where to Stay in Mulhouse for Christmas
We stayed in such a great spot in Mulhouse. It was a modern and chic hotel with a great central location. Unfortunately, the hotel we stayed at in Mulhouse closed and is now owned by another company. Our hotel was decorated to the max for Christmas, and we felt like we were stepping into the living room of a dear friend over the holidays. However, the new hotel’s design looks very similar; the new property has good reviews and a level 3 sustainability award. The best part is that we could essentially walk out the front door, and within a couple of steps, we were at the Christmas market. I can, therefore, comfortably recommend staying at the La Maison Hotel Mulhouse Center. The hotel has parking for a small fee.
Booking.com
Mulhouse Christmas Market Guide
The main market takes over the Place de la Réunion and has hundreds of festive stalls selling food, Vin Chaud, handmade crafts, alongside standard cookie-cutter gifts. The decorations and lights at this market are top-notch and you’ll notice that the lights and decorations may have a similar theme. Mulhouse is known as a textile producer and each year a new Christmas fabric is debuted. This fabric pattern becomes the theme of the market. I loved walking through the market and noticing the pattern show up in the light displays, on table cloths, gifts, and more.
2019 Mulhouse fabric pattern in the decorations
If have someone on your Christmas list that loves to sew, I would highly recommend picking up some of this fabric for them. If those on your list are less crafty, then you can gift them pre-made items such as oven mitts, pillows, throws, aprons, curtains, and more. You can buy this textile at the textile hut, which is located in the Town Hall.
Make sure you walk up the stairs of the Town Hall with an impressive view of the Mulhouse Christmas market. But, the best view is achieved by riding the Ferris wheel to the top for a true bird’s eye view of the Temple St. Étienne.
The Mulhouse Christmas market feels large enough to be several markets. Make sure you take your time to meander exploring behind the temple and some of the side alleyways. When I visited in 2019, there was also an ice skating rink and rides hidden away.
There is plenty to eat here and I managed to find some great vegetarian Tarte Flamée covered in tomato, cheese, and mushrooms. Other traditional foods are potato pancakes covered in Munster cheese, roasted nuts, fried potato skewers, and of course Vin Chaud.
Special Events
- Guided tours happen every Saturday night at 5 pm.
- Tours are only in French and start at 5 Place Lambert.
Pfastatt and Kingersheim Christmas Market Guides
Pfastatt Christmas Market
The Pfastatt Christmas market is an adorable market just on the outskirts of Mulhouse. In order to enter the market, you travel down a decorated forest passage and emerge into a market tucked away in a green space. The entire market feels like a secret fairy forest at Christmas time. I loved walking around and looking at all the decorations and the attention to detail at this market is impressive.
The Pfastatt market reminded me of our community events back home. It seemed like the entire neighborhood came together to put on one heck of a show. We were welcomed in by the locals and even invited to take part in a festive trivial game – though my French and Christmas trivia was sorely lacking.
The baked goods all seemed to be homemade. Make sure you buy a Mannele, which is a sweet French brioche in the shape of a human. These are typically eaten on St. Nicholas day, but we ate them as we explored the market.
When you first enter the market there are some traditional Christmas market stalls and chalets, but after that, there are several community halls you enter which are filled with tables and locals selling their handy crafts. I managed to find a cool necklace made from recycled coffee pods and a handmade wooden ornament.
Kingersheim Christmas Market Guide
The Kingersheim Christmas Market is another market just outside of Mulhouse. It is your eco and environmental one-stop shop for a mindful Christmas. The entire market is full of recycled, upcycled, and sustainably made local products. There is even a thrift store, where you can purchase second-hand clothing as a gift – or for yourself. The decorations such as snowmen made from recycled bicycles really are the icing on the cake.
Similar to Pfastatt this isn’t your traditional market with wooden huts, instead, you enter a community rec center. The center stage hosts events, entertainment, and other shows. People in Christmas costumes made from trash and recycled items wandered through the market. This is a rather small market, but the wares were unlike any other market in France. If you are interested in sustainability and unique handicrafts it is worth checking out.
Discuss and Share
Is visiting the Mulhouse Christmas market on your list of fun things this holiday season? Hopefully, this Mulhouse Christmas market guide sparked your curiosity. The Alsace Christmas markets are truly special among European markets, and the Mulhouse Christmas market offers an experience rooted in traditional fun. As a larger market with a cozy community feels, it is worth adding to your Alsace Christmas market itinerary and the Pfastatt and Kingersheim Christmas markets.
Plan Your Entire European Christmas Market Adventure!
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I live close to Kingersheim, yet never heard of the Xmas Market. Thank you for the tip.
That’s so cool you live near there! I love the Alsace region, thankfully I’m not too far in Munich. Hopefully you can make it to the Kingersheim market this year!
Beyond just being homesick for travel, seeing Christmas markets makes me want to travel even more. They are definitely on my bucket list.
I lived in Europe during high school. The Christmas markets were one of my favorite things and something I miss every year. Need to add some of the markets to my “must visit” list.
Christmas markets in Mulhouse and other parts of Alsace are definitely one of the highlights of living in Europe for me too – I totally get that.
I’m lucky enough to live next door in Belgium and the Mulhouse Christmas Market has definitely been added to my list this winter season. There are so many great tips and suggestions! Thanks so much for this excellent post!
Oh you should totally do a full Alsace Christmas market tour coming down from Belgium! Hope you have a great holiday season.
Is there public transpiration to get to Pfastatt and Kingersheim?
Hey there, we drove as part of our road trip, but yes there is a tram and bus combo that can get you to both Pfastatt and Kingersheim. I would suggest using Google Maps to check the best route and current time tables during your visit. Hope you have the best time.