Martigues Christmas Market

In December, Martigues keeps the charm that earned it the nickname of the Provençal Venice: three districts linked by bridges, canals slicing the town into sections, and colourful façades mirrored in the water. Martigues Christmas market sets up its chalets on the Esplanade des Belges, in the Jonquières district, a few minutes from the famous Miroir aux Oiseaux. Around twenty artisans offer santons, treats and gift ideas, while the illuminations dress the quays and video mapping lights up the old houses on Quai Brescon. With the Étang de Berre on one side and the Caronte channel on the other, the town has kept the soul of a fishing port, with its moored pointus (traditional fishing boats) and summer water jousting. You come for the market and stay for the light on the water, the very light that held Ziem, Corot and Dufy.

The chalets on the Esplanade des Belges, in Jonquières

The village stands on the Esplanade des Belges, along the Jonquières canal, one of the town’s three historic districts along with L’Île and Ferrières. Around twenty wooden chalets are set up here, packed close together, in a format you can explore without rushing. You go from decorations to food stalls in a few steps, and local artisans take pride of place: santons from Maison Jacquet with its new character of the year, textile creations from the Venise martégale label, handmade leather goods, even cases for pétanque balls. Children’s rides turn for free nearby, and town-centre parking is free during the festivities, which makes a family visit easier. The climate helps too: December in Martigues stays mild, and you walk the aisles in a jacket rather than bundled up in three layers.

The setting around it is worth the trip in itself. From Jonquières, a few minutes’ walk takes you to Quai Brescon, in the L’Île district, where the Miroir aux Oiseaux lines up its boats and brightly coloured fishermen’s houses. This little harbour, protected since 1942, has inspired generations of painters: Ziem, to whom the town dedicates its museum, but also Corot, Delacroix and Dufy. Legend has it that vine branches stretched above the water served as perches for birds, whose reflection gave the spot its name in the 1930s. On the weekends before Christmas, video mapping projected onto these façades turns the stretch of water into a moving painting in the evening. A guided walk through the lanes of L’Île completes the picture, with Provençal nativity scenes and santons displayed in the windows, as far as the church of La Madeleine and its listed organ.

Treats at Martigues Christmas market

Martigues cooking blends Provence and the Mediterranean, with a maritime accent that sets it apart from the hinterland. The quiet star is Martigues poutargue, salted and dried grey mullet roe nicknamed the caviar of Martigues. Rare, briny and powerful, it is eaten in thin slices on buttered bread or grated over pasta, and makes a gift that impresses at the Christmas Eve aperitif. The town has made it its speciality since the 18th century, when fishermen on the Étang de Berre caught mullet in autumn: a craft still kept alive today by a handful of workshops on the Côte Bleue. Around it, the chalets offer foie gras, confectionery, fritters, Corsican and Breton products, not forgetting the thirteen Provençal desserts that end the gros souper, the Christmas Eve supper: black and white nougat, calissons, dried fruit, quince paste and fougasse made with olive oil. The raclette sandwiches and smoked fish at some stalls warm up late afternoons, and an apple, verbena and cinnamon infusion keeps you company on your stroll when the mistral picks up.

Spiced mulled wine is part of the ritual, served steaming between chalets. If you want to keep the atmosphere going at home, a good mulled wine recipe with cinnamon and orange is all it takes to recreate the scents of the market. The local vineyards hold their own too: the nearby Coteaux d’Aix and Côtes de Provence supply plenty for the festive table, and an olive oil producer from the neighbouring Vallée des Baux often rounds off the display of local flavours. Those preparing Christmas Eve leave with ideas and a full shopping bag, while the merely curious give in to a warm paper cone of fritters, eaten by the canal.

• Martigues poutargue, dried mullet roe nicknamed the caviar of Martigues, a rare local speciality to grate or enjoy in slices.
• The thirteen Provençal desserts: nougat, calissons, dried fruit, quince paste and olive oil fougasse, the full gros souper tradition.
• Nativity santons, including creations from Maison Jacquet and the brand-new character it unveils every year.
• Foie gras, confectionery, Corsican and Breton products to fill your bags before Christmas Eve.
• Spiced mulled wine, your best friend on evenings of illuminations along the canals.

Martigues Christmas market: opening times, access and events

Entry to the market is free: you only pay for what you eat or take home. For the 2025 edition, the chalets were open from 11 to 24 December, 10am to 7pm on most days, with afternoon-only opening on some days and early closing at 5pm on the 24th. The town’s festivities continued into the very first days of January. For winter 2026, the exact dates have yet to be confirmed by the town and the tourist office, which usually publish the programme in autumn. Around the market, the Martigues programme is packed: the switching-on of the lights on Place de la Libération with pyrotechnics and a parade, mascot parades on Place Jean Jaurès, a big musical parade setting off from Jonquières, video mapping at the Miroir aux Oiseaux on the weekends before the holidays, and a show of more than two hundred light drones in the sky to close.

By train, Martigues station connects to Marseille and the Étang de Berre, and leaves you a fair distance from the centre, although a bus or taxi makes the last stretch more comfortable. By car, the town is reached via the A55 from Marseille in about forty minutes; town-centre parking is free during the holidays, but spaces go fast on December weekends, so it is best to arrive early. The Esplanade des Belges is flat and easy to get to, including with a pushchair or wheelchair, and the quays in the centre stay pedestrianised during the season. Allow one to two hours to tour the chalets, more if you carry on to the Miroir aux Oiseaux and a walk along the canals. The best time: late afternoon, when the illuminations come on and the market slips into the evening light, with a mulled wine to fend off the chill rising from the water.

What to see around Martigues Christmas market

The town is worth visiting well beyond the chalets. The Musée Ziem, free to enter, brings together the painter’s canvases and a fine collection of Provençal art and archaeology, to see in the warm between two showers. The L’Île district, with the church of La Madeleine and its narrow lanes, keeps the soul of a fishing village, marked by the tradition of pointus and Provençal water jousting when summer comes. The Caronte lift bridge, which lets cargo ships pass between the lagoon and the sea, is a reminder that Martigues is still a working port, between the industrial heritage of Lavéra and the unspoilt coves of the Côte Bleue. On the Étang de Berre side, the winter light draws the reflections that made the site famous, and the waterside restaurants serve sea urchins, shellfish and fish when the season allows. A guided walk in the footsteps of the painters, run by the tourist office, links the viewpoints that inspired the canvases hanging in the museum.

Martigues’s location also makes it a good base for exploring. Marseille Christmas market is less than an hour away, with its chalets on the Old Port and its santon fair. Aix-en-Provence Christmas market spreads its chalets along the Cours Mirabeau, and Salon-de-Provence Christmas market rounds off a weekend in Provence, less than forty minutes’ drive away. Enough to take in the traditions of the South without ever straying far from the canals.