Gérardmer Christmas Market

The pearl of the Vosges swaps its rushing waters for fairy lights as soon as Advent comes round. Gérardmer Christmas market lines up its twenty or so chalets on Place du Vieux Gérardmé, a stone's throw from the lake and the Church of Saint-Barthélemy: wooden huts that light up as night falls. The air all around smells of pine resin and spiced mulled wine. This is proper mountain country, and the altitude makes itself felt through the dry cold and, some years, the snow that settles on the steep roofs.

Strolling around Place du Vieux Gérardmé

The square forms a rectangle lined with shops, and the chalets stand in a row along it. Around twenty exhibitors, craftspeople and producers, set out their stalls around the church. You go from a glassblower to a woodturner, from a stand of Vosges honey to a textile stall, a nod to the household-linen tradition that made the town's name. Toiles des Vosges are the tablecloths, tea towels and linens woven in the valley for more than a century, and you can still find lovely pieces here to take home.

Evening falls early in the valley in December. That is when the market really comes into its own: the lights reflect in the shop windows, steam rises from the cups, and children dash off to the ice rink set up right on the square. It is real natural ice, about sixty square metres in the open air, charged by the half-hour for a few euros. Skating in the mountains, under the lights, with the illuminated bell tower just behind you, makes for a different kind of winter evening.

Food and treats at Gérardmer Christmas market

Vosges cooking makes its way between the chalets, and it has character. Farmhouse Munster, matured on the farms of the massif, is eaten here the way it should be, strong and runny. Tofailles, a rustic bake of potatoes and bacon, keep you going after a walk in the cold. To finish on a sweet note, there is blueberry tart from the uplands, Vosges sweets made with fir sap, or a small glass of fir syrup that tingles in your nose.

• Farmhouse Munster and cheeses from the massif, matured in the neighbouring valleys
• Vosges tofailles, the warming potato and bacon bake
• Blueberry tart and Vosges sweets made with fir sap
• Fir syrup and fruit brandies distilled in the region
• Spiced mulled wine, served piping hot at the stalls on the square

Mulled wine flows freely on the square, made the old-fashioned way with cinnamon, orange and cloves. If you feel like making it again once you are home, the traditional mulled wine recipe needs only a few ingredients and travels well in a thermos flask for the next day's hike.

Entertainment, opening hours and getting there

The programme runs through Advent and often spills over into the Christmas holidays, with a craft marquee taking over after the festive season. Saint Nicholas visits in early December, Father Christmas then takes over for photos with the little ones, and weekends come alive with local choir concerts, street shows and roaming elves. Creative workshops keep children busy while parents make the rounds of the stalls.

Opening hours vary from day to day: on opening weekends they are often around 11am to 7pm, with longer hours during the school holidays. The dates of the 2026 edition have yet to be confirmed by the tourist office and the Gérardmer Animation association, so check before you travel. Entry to the market is free; only the ice rink and some activities are paid.

By road, Gérardmer is reached via the N57 then the D417 from Épinal, which takes just under an hour. By train, the nearest station is Remiremont, linked to Épinal and Nancy, with a connecting coach to Gérardmer. Free and paid car parks surround the centre, and Place du Vieux Gérardmé is pedestrianised during the market. The site is all on one level and accessible to people with reduced mobility.

Staying longer in the Vosges

There is more to Gérardmer than its market. You can walk around the lake in any season, frozen at the edges when winter bites. The ski resorts of the Hautes-Vosges are a few minutes away, and the town is also known for its international fantasy film festival in January. Spend a morning by the water, an afternoon on the slopes, and keep the evening for the illuminated chalets.

If you are planning a route through the Grand Est, the great squares of Lorraine and Alsace are worth the detour a few dozen kilometres away. Nancy Christmas market sets out its traditions around Place Stanislas, while Colmar Christmas market takes you to the other side of the massif, among the old half-timbered houses typical of Alsace. To stay in Lorraine, Metz Christmas market adds its Ferris wheel and light trails to the loop.