Colmar’s Christmas markets reward a visit if you enjoy choosing gifts and regional food against the backdrop of the old centre. The six sites have different purposes, from decorations beside the Dominican church to indoor crafts at the Koïfhus and a children’s market in Petite Venise. You can browse without buying, or make a longer outing of shopping and a meal.
Six market stops on foot
Choose the markets by what you want to do, rather than treating all six as interchangeable. Start at Place des Dominicains for decorative gifts, then continue to Place Jeanne d’Arc for Alsatian provisions. The gourmet market on Rue de la Montagne Verte makes the food pause before the outdoor stalls at Place de l’Ancienne Douane and the neighbouring indoor Koïfhus. Finish in Petite Venise for the children’s market.
This order combines gift browsing with food to take home, food to eat now and a family stop. Colmar is worth visiting at Christmas for that variety in its historic centre, but you need not make a purchase at every square to enjoy the outing.
For a shorter visit, choose Place de l’Ancienne Douane and the Koïfhus as a craft-focused pair. Their outdoor and indoor displays give you two distinct ways to browse without following the whole walk. Add Place Jeanne d’Arc if edible gifts are your priority, or the gourmet market if you want a meal rather than more shopping.
Season, hours and Christmas holidays
- Usual season
- Late November to late December; exact dates vary by edition
- Five shopping and craft markets, 2026
- Monday–Thursday 11:00–19:00; Friday–Sunday 10:00–20:00
- Gourmet market
- Daily 11:00–22:00
- Christmas Day, five shopping and craft markets
- 25 December 2026: 10:00–20:00
The shared shopping and craft schedule covers Place des Dominicains, Place Jeanne d’Arc, Place de l’Ancienne Douane, the Koïfhus and the children’s market at Place des Six Montagnes Noires. The gourmet market has a later daily finish, so a meal there can follow your gift browsing rather than compete with it.
Christmas Day allows an afternoon or evening visit to the shopping and craft markets. For an ordinary market day, separate two pleasures: browse near opening when choosing presents, then return later for the illuminated settings. That gives you time to look at the goods without making the evening view your only shopping opportunity.
Place des Dominicains: decorations and gifts
Place des Dominicains begins the walk with Christmas-tree decorations and gifts beside the Dominican church. Use this stop to look for something decorative, and save your appetite for the gourmet market. The church gives the square a recognisable backdrop and a reason to pass through again when it is illuminated.
Browse near opening if you want a clearer look at individual stalls. Choosing decorations calls for a different pace from simply walking through: pause to compare the pieces that interest you before continuing towards the food stalls at Place Jeanne d’Arc. Entry to the Place des Dominicains market is free.
Gzen92 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Edited
Place Jeanne d’Arc: Alsatian food to take home
From Place des Dominicains, continue to Place Jeanne d’Arc for Alsatian food and drink to take home. Its Alsatian-village presentation suits a stop devoted to regional provisions. Cured meats, foie gras and wine belong here, alongside schnapps, a spirit, and bredalas, Alsatian Christmas biscuits.
Think about the journey your purchases will make after the market. Biscuits suit a portable gift, but perishable provisions need more thought. Ask the vendor how to store perishable purchases, particularly if you still have a long day outdoors or a journey ahead. Browse earlier when you want to choose gifts rather than combine shopping with the evening crowds.
Mulled wine can be an optional drink during this stop, but the main distinction is between provisions and a meal. Buy here for your table or for someone else’s; continue to the gourmet market for dishes to eat during the outing. Entry to the Place Jeanne d’Arc market is free.
Gzen92 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Edited
The gourmet market on Rue de la Montagne Verte
After Place Jeanne d’Arc’s provisions, the gourmet market on Rue de la Montagne Verte is the stop for a meal during your walk. Chef-run stalls offer dishes to eat on site or take away. This is food for the immediate pause, rather than the edible gifts you have just been choosing.
Give the meal its own place in the outing before continuing to Place de l’Ancienne Douane and the Koïfhus. If you prefer takeaway food, keep the pause rather than trying to eat while examining craft stalls. The distinction makes choosing easier: stop here when you are hungry, not simply because you want another bag of regional provisions.
- Name
- Gourmet Christmas market
- Location
- 17 Rue du Chasseur, Colmar Maps
- Site
- tourisme-colmar.com
- Essential fact
- A food-focused Christmas market on Rue de la Montagne Verte in Colmar.
- Price
- Free
Place de l’Ancienne Douane: crafts by the fountain
From the gourmet market, continue to Place de l’Ancienne Douane for outdoor craft stalls around the Schwendi fountain and beside the Lauch. Contemporary creations sit alongside traditional Christmas decorations. The fountain anchors the square, while the neighbouring Koïfhus gives you an indoor craft stop immediately afterwards.
Browse the outdoor chalets before going inside. This lets you enjoy the square as well as look at the goods, without confusing the outdoor market with the separate displays in the former customs building. Entry to the Place de l’Ancienne Douane market is free.
If a full circuit does not suit you, start your shorter outing here and make the Koïfhus the second stop. The pair is particularly useful when your interest is crafts rather than food gifts or the children’s attractions. In wet weather, keep the outdoor browse brief and devote more attention to the indoor displays.
Gzen92 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Edited
The Koïfhus: the indoor craft market
After the stalls at Place de l’Ancienne Douane, enter the neighbouring Koïfhus, the medieval former customs building, for crafts displayed indoors by local craftspeople. Ceramics, glasswork and woodcraft give you different materials to examine, with hats and jewellery extending the choice beyond Christmas decorations.
The contrast with the square is part of the appeal: here the craft displays occupy a historic building rather than outdoor chalets. It makes a useful indoor pause in rain, but is also worth choosing for the work itself. Take time over the materials and pieces that interest you instead of treating the building only as shelter.
Entry to the Koïfhus Christmas craft market is free, and no advance booking is required. You can therefore make it the centre of a shorter craft-focused visit, adding the neighbouring outdoor market before or afterwards as the weather allows.
Андрей Романенко · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Edited
Petite Venise: the children’s market
From the Koïfhus, continue to the children’s market on Place des Six Montagnes Noires in Petite Venise. The mechanical nativity and giant letterbox for letters to Father Christmas give children something to engage with beyond shopping. This family focus distinguishes the final stop from the craft displays you have just visited.
Choose daylight for younger children, and put this market first if it is the main reason for your family’s visit. Families may want to linger over its attractions rather than follow the gift-shopping pace of the other squares. Adults mainly interested in crafts can give it a shorter browse before exploring more of Petite Venise. Entry to the market at Place des Six Montagnes Noires is free.
Maksym Kozlenko · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Edited
Quieter browsing and wet weather
After finishing in Petite Venise, decide whether you want another look at the illuminated squares or have done enough shopping. Weekdays near opening suit quieter browsing, while evening suits the illuminated settings. Keep those aims separate if choosing gifts matters more than seeing every market after dark.
Wear warm layers and waterproof footwear for standing outdoors, and carry a manageable shopping bag. In rain, centre a shorter visit on Place de l’Ancienne Douane and the indoor Koïfhus rather than trying to give every outdoor market equal attention.
If you arrive by rail, Colmar railway station is your starting point for the walk into the old centre. Head towards Place des Dominicains for the full market order, or Place de l’Ancienne Douane for the shorter craft pair. Families prioritising the children’s market can instead begin at Place des Six Montagnes Noires.
Sources & fact-checking
Checks against the sources below cover: fares and charges, services, and opening hours.
