Draguignan Christmas Market

Once the prefecture of the Var and now a sub-prefecture, Draguignan still has the air of a capital of the Provence Verte, between the old town topped by its clock tower and the vine-covered slopes stretching towards the Verdon. In December, the Draguignan Christmas market livens up Boulevard Georges Clemenceau and the historic centre, with craft chalets, santon makers’ stalls and the scent of mulled wine as the first lights come on. The town kicks off its festivities in early December and keeps them going until Epiphany, ice rink included, in a mild Var climate that makes market evenings fairly gentle for the time of year.

The Draguignan Christmas market, from Boulevard Clemenceau to the old centre

Draguignan does not settle for a single event: the town offers several over the month. It all kicks off on Place du Marché, with a day devoted to exhibitors, then the chalets move onto Boulevard Georges Clemenceau for several weeks. This is where the heart of the Draguignan Christmas market beats, between the Marché des Délices, which brings together gourmet produce and takeaway food to a musical backdrop, and the craft market, which showcases makers in the last few days before Christmas Eve. In a few steps you go from a stall of soaps and pottery to a display of hand-painted santons, with an apéro-concert always going on somewhere to set the pace.

The old town extends the stroll in the warm. The clock tower, a 17th-century campanile built on the remains of the old castle, is a landmark above the steep lanes. You pass the Porte Portaiguières, the last remnant of the medieval ramparts, and a string of little squares that look like life-size nativity scenes when the garlands light up. The Musée des Arts et Traditions Populaires, housed in a former mansion, puts on activities around Provençal traditions for the occasion, with a guided tour and a presentation of the thirteen desserts for families.

Spreading the markets out changes the way you visit. Rather than one long aisle, you move from one mood to the next: the opening day on Place du Marché feels like a food fair, the Marché des Délices is all about a quick bite and music, and the craft market saves its finds for last-minute presents. The shopkeepers’ Christmas spreads to the shops in the centre, with dressed windows and street entertainment. A full tour means a bit of walking, but everything is on foot between Boulevard Clemenceau and the Allées d’Azémar, and distances stay short.

Santons, thirteen desserts and flavours of the Var hills

Here, Christmas has a Provençal accent, and you see it from the very first chalets. The santon makers have pride of place: these small clay figurines, modelled and painted, from the shepherd and the miller to the angel Boufareu, have filled the region’s nativity scenes since the 19th century, and Draguignan keeps the tradition alive with its makers. For treats, the thirteen desserts of the gros souper (the Christmas Eve supper) set the tone: black and white nougat, calissons, dried fruit, quince paste, dates and the famous pompe à l’huile that you break by hand. Local olive oil, garrigue honey and local nougat fill the baskets, while winegrowers from the Coteaux Varois en Provence offer tastings of their reds and rosés, the very same wines that will grace the festive table. To recreate the atmosphere at home, a good mulled wine recipe with cinnamon and orange already gets you a long way.

The Musée des Arts et Traditions Populaires is worth the detour to understand where these customs come from. You follow the story of the gros souper, the meatless meal on Christmas Eve served before midnight mass, with its seven dishes and thirteen desserts representing Christ and his apostles. The Provençal nativity scene, peopled with santons, makes full sense here: each figurine stands for a trade or a village character, and families add to theirs year after year. The guided tour offered during the festivities is for young and old alike, and people often leave wanting to lay their own table by the rules.

• Clay santons modelled and painted by hand, from the shepherd to the ravi, to fill the family nativity scene.
• The thirteen Provençal desserts: nougat, calissons, dried fruit, quince paste and pompe à l’huile, the full gros souper tradition.
• Olive oil and garrigue honey from the Provence Verte, to taste at the stall before leaving with a jar.
• Coteaux Varois en Provence wines, reds and rosés, to take home for Christmas Eve dinners.
• Spiced mulled wine, served steaming, to warm up evenings spent among the illuminated chalets.

Ice rink, Fête de la Glisse and family entertainment

The big attraction of the season is the Fête de la Glisse. The ice rink takes over the car park on the Allées d’Azémar, a short distance from the market; in 2025, it stayed open from mid-December to early January, and the town has kept the same spot for 2026 without yet publishing the opening dates. Around it, the 2025 programme cast a wide net: Sapin Magique and Farandole, a little Christmas train, the Paradis des Enfants, daily apéro-concerts, cooking and craft workshops, shows for younger children, Christmas films and parades. Father Christmas made his grand entrance during the festivities, and a firework display closed the month around 30 December. Enough to fill a whole day with children without ever running out of things to do.

The ice rink is worth planning your visit around. Weekend and school-holiday sessions fill up late in the afternoon, when night falls early and the garlands take over: aim for early afternoon on a weekday to avoid the wait and enjoy quieter ice if you are a beginner. Skate hire on site and a modest entry fee, with the rest of the village free. Between laps, the little train links up with the market, and the apéro-concerts are a good excuse to sit down with a glass of Coteaux Varois rosé or a steaming mulled wine.

Entry to the market is free, and you only pay for what you eat, drink or take home. For winter 2026, the local press (Fréquence Sud, 30 July 2026) announces the Christmas markets from 6 December 2026 to 3 January 2027 in the town centre, pending the detailed programme from the town and the Dracénie tourist office: the previous edition ran from early December to the very beginning of January. By train, Les Arcs-Draguignan station (on the TER line Marseille, Toulon, Saint-Raphaël, Nice) is about ten kilometres away, linked to the centre by local buses. By car, several car parks ring the centre, but spaces go fast at December weekends: aim for the morning or the end of the day, when the lights take over from the daylight. Boulevard Clemenceau and the Allées d’Azémar are flat and accessible, although the lanes of the old town need a little care with a pushchair.

What to see around the Draguignan Christmas market

There is much more to Draguignan than the chalets. The Pierre de la Fée, a megalithic dolmen on the edge of town, is one of the most impressive in Provence: its three pillars hold up a stone table weighing several tonnes, nearly five thousand years old, and it is just a few minutes away by car. The Artillery museum, linked to the training school that has long been based here, traces the history of the arm through weapons and cannons, an indoor visit that makes a change from the trails. In the centre, the clock tower, the Musée des Arts et Traditions Populaires and the old lanes easily fill a morning between two showers. Draguignan remains linked to the name of Georges Clemenceau, who was its member of parliament and lent his name to the boulevard where the chalets stand, a nod few visitors notice while looking for their mulled wine.

It is also ideally placed for exploring. The town is a gateway to the Verdon and its gorges, a little further north, and to the hilltop villages of the Provence Verte. On the coast, the Fréjus Christmas market is just under half an hour away and combines Provençal chalets with Roman heritage. A little further on, the Hyères Christmas market and the Toulon Christmas market make for a lovely festive weekend along the Var coast, among palm trees, lights and food stalls.