Blois Christmas Market

Blois Christmas market sets up at the foot of a château that has seen seven kings and ten queens of France come and go. On Place du Château, some twenty food and craft chalets line up in front of the Renaissance façade, where the François I staircase traces its stone spiral above the slate roofs. The Loire flows below, the illuminations climb the steep lanes, and at this time of year the whole scene becomes an old town huddled beneath its château.

It is all part of the Des Lyres d'Hiver festival, which sets the town's rhythm from late November to early January. The market is its heart, but it shares the bill with a Ferris wheel, an ice rink and a show projected onto the very walls of the royal château. You come for the chalets and stay for the atmosphere.

What you will find at Blois Christmas market

The chalets on Place du Château lean into the flavours of the Loire. Loire wines, chocolates, waffles and crêpes, the famous roast-chestnut locomotive that scents the cold air, and craftspeople setting out their work a few metres from the equestrian statue of Louis XII. The carousel turns right next door, and children happily hop from a sweet-treat chalet to the ride without leaving the square.

For a sweet tooth, the region has plenty to offer. Soft pithiviers, malice du loup and chocolates from local makers all find a place on the stalls, and tarte Tatin, born in Lamotte-Beuvron, some fifty kilometres away, hovers over every seasonal menu. As for mulled wine, the recipe changes from one chalet to the next, and you can try your own at home before comparing on the spot.

The château, the House of Magic and the sound and light show

As night falls, the façade of the royal château comes alive. For the 2025 edition, the light show was entrusted to the artist Jérémie Bellot, with a creation called “Rêves chromatiques” (Chromatic Dreams) that dresses the stone in shifting colours. The show runs at weekends, then every evening during the holidays, and you only need to look up from the square to enjoy it.

Directly opposite, the Maison de la Magie Robert-Houdin still has its dragons poking out of the windows on the hour. The venue pays tribute to Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin, a magician from Blois regarded as the father of modern magic, and it rounds off the stroll nicely when the cold drives you indoors. The two monuments face each other, so the highlights are all packed into the same small corner of town.

Around the market: Ferris wheel, ice rink and little train

The 25-metre Ferris wheel sets up on Place de la Résistance and gives you a bird's-eye view of Blois lit up and of the valley. A few streets away, on Place de la République, the 900 m² ice rink comes with six sledge runs, enough to fill a whole late afternoon. From mid-December, a free little train loops a half-hour circuit around the centre, leaving from Place Louis-XII, handy with tired children or in damp weather.

Blois lends itself well to a two-day break. The town sits at the crossroads of the Loire châteaux, with Chambord and Cheverny within easy driving distance, and the station has direct TER trains to Paris-Austerlitz in just under an hour and a half. If you carry on west, our guide to Tours Christmas market gives you the Touraine counterpart, and heading north, Chartres Christmas market adds its illuminated cathedral to the route.

Practical tips for planning your visit

The market fills Place du Château, in the pedestrian zone of the historic centre. The town-centre car parks are still the easiest way in, bearing in mind that you climb the château hill on foot up sloping streets. Opening hours generally run from 11am to 8pm on weekdays, with longer hours at weekends. Wear shoes with good grip: the cobbles of Blois get slippery when it rains, and it rains often on the Loire in December.