Molsheim Christmas Market

Molsheim Christmas market sets up around the Metzig, the Renaissance building put up in the 16th century by the butchers' guild, whose scrolled gable and sundial overlook Place de l'Hôtel de Ville. The chalets tuck in at the foot of this pink sandstone façade, on the upper floor of the Metzig itself and in the courtyard of the Espace Saint-Joseph. You are twenty minutes from Strasbourg by TER regional train, in a small capital of the Alsace wine country that was also the birthplace of Bugatti.

Over the Advent weekends, the town strikes a balance between good food and heritage. You drift from a chalet of bredele to a gingerbread stall, cup in hand, against a backdrop of architecture that tells the story of an Alsace of guilds and winegrowers.

What makes Molsheim Christmas market so endearing

The Metzig is both setting and landmark. Built in 1554 for the butchers' guild, it now hosts around fifteen exhibitors on its first floor over the festive season, sheltered beneath the vaults. Downstairs, about ten chalets line up on Place de l'Hôtel de Ville, and a good ten more fill the courtyard of the Espace Saint-Joseph, just round the corner.

The atmosphere is more about crafts than crowds. Turned-wood decorations, candles, ceramics, jewellery, sewing: gift stalls sit alongside local producers. For something sweet, you will find the regional classics, from gingerbread to little Advent biscuits, washed down with a cup of steaming mulled wine. To recreate the drink at home, the Alsatian mulled wine recipe gives you the right balance of spices.

Molsheim carries two legacies that rarely meet in a Christmas setting anywhere else: the Wine Route, for which the town is one of the northern gateways, and the Bugatti factory that Ettore set up here in 1909. The brand still has its headquarters here, and the name still lingers in the streets as you head up towards the Bruche valley.

Dates, opening hours and practical info

The town hall has not yet confirmed the dates of the 2026 edition. The JDS listings site announces the market on Saturdays and Sundays from 28 November to 20 December 2026, with the Noël d’antan on Sunday 13 December, to be confirmed by the town. In 2025, the market ran from 29 November to 21 December, on Saturdays from 2pm to 8pm and Sundays from 2pm to 7pm, over the four Advent weekends. Entry is free. The known details are gathered below; check them with the tourist office once the 2026 programme is out.

The train is a real advantage: the Strasbourg-Molsheim line drops you less than a quarter of an hour's walk from the centre, so you do not have to worry about parking on a Saturday afternoon. By car, there are car parks all round the historic centre, but they fill up fast at peak times. Up-to-date information is on the town hall website and that of the Molsheim-Mutzig tourist office.

Entertainment and the medieval Noël d'antan

The highlight is the Noël d'antan (Christmas of yesteryear), a medieval weekend that turns the centre into a camp from another age: knights in combat, parades, fire-eaters and a banquet in the town's historic setting. In 2025 it fell in mid-December. Around it, Father Christmas and Saint Nicholas make their appearances, with a little train, horse-drawn carriage rides and concerts to liven up the afternoons.

Once you have done the market, the town is a pleasure to wander. The ramparts, the Jesuit church and the winegrowers' houses give you reasons to linger between two cups. For a longer stay, you can carry on to the region's bigger events and compare the atmospheres.

If you want to take in more Advent villages, nearby Strasbourg Christmas market plays the big-city card, while Obernai, a little further south on the Wine Route, offers a more intimate, picture-postcard setting. And to go home with the right biscuits in your basket, our guide to Alsatian bredele will help you recognise the recipes behind each stall.