Mont-de-Marsan Christmas Market

The prefecture of the Landes, set where the Midou and the Douze meet to form the Midouze, Mont-de-Marsan brings out its chalets in December on Place Charles-de-Gaulle and under the Halles. Mont-de-Marsan Christmas market takes place in a town of rugby and course landaise, between bridges over the three rivers and façades of brick and stone. Around fifteen food chalets, Father Christmas’s house and workshops for children make up a compact Christmas village, where the Gascon accent and Landes foie gras set the tone. People come with a mulled wine in hand, between two rounds of end-of-year shopping, to taste Gascony on a plate.

The Christmas village, between Place Charles-de-Gaulle and the Halles

The event is spread over two spots in the town centre. Outdoors, on Place Charles-de-Gaulle, around fifteen food chalets and Father Christmas’s house form the heart of the village. Under cover, at the end of the week, the Halles host La Taverne de Noël, a food area where you sit down in the warm for a Gascon dish and a drink. The format stays on the scale of a Landes prefecture: you go round the stalls without rushing, children move from craft workshops to meeting Father Christmas, and weekends step things up with concerts, entertainment and parades through the illuminated streets. Splitting the village between the open air and the Halles changes how you experience it: outside, you spot the food chalets from a distance and the queue in front of Father Christmas’s house; inside, the covered market hall keeps warm those who want to sit down when the westerly wind picks up over the Landes. The stallholders stick to the line set by the town, local craftspeople, producers and designers, with local, festive or sustainably made products, which makes for a market rooted in its land rather than a string of interchangeable stands.

The setting carries Mont-de-Marsan’s identity. The town nestles in a loop where the Douze and the Midou meet, which earns it its nickname, the town of three rivers: bridges, banks and quays punctuate the walk between two stalls. A few minutes from the chalets, the Lacataye keep houses the Musée Despiau-Wlérick, the only French museum entirely devoted to figurative sculpture from the first half of the 20th century, built around local sculptors Charles Despiau, once a carver in Rodin’s studio, and Robert Wlérick. Its sculpture garden slopes down to the Midou. The Landes pine forest is never far away, and the town’s bullfighting soul, that of the arenas and of course landaise during the Fêtes de la Madeleine, shows in the locals’ attachment to their land.

Food at Mont-de-Marsan Christmas market: Gascony on your plate

This is foie gras country through and through, and you can feel it from the first chalets. Duck reigns supreme: Landes foie gras, magret, confit and farmhouse preserves fill the basket for festive meals. Free-range Landes chicken, Label Rouge and raised outdoors under the pines, sits alongside asparagus and kiwis from the Adour depending on the season. On the sweet side, Gascon tourtière, a flaky tart flavoured with armagnac and apples, takes centre stage next to floc de Gascogne, the local aperitif, part grape juice and part armagnac. Armagnac producers offer their vintages, the oldest wine brandy distilled in France, to take home for the holidays or taste by the glass. Don’t leave without a jar of duck rillettes or a tin of confit: it is the kind of purchase that lasts the winter and brings back the Gascon table long after the market. And to go with your stroll between the chalets, spiced mulled wine steams in the cups: a good mulled wine recipe with cinnamon and orange easily recreates the atmosphere at home.

• Landes foie gras, duck magret and confit, the Gascon trio that fills Christmas Eve tables.
• Label Rouge free-range Landes chicken, raised outdoors in the pine forest, a local point of pride.
• Landes tourtière, a crisp flaky tart scented with armagnac and apples.
• Floc de Gascogne and armagnac, to taste at the producers’ stalls before leaving with a bottle.
• Spiced mulled wine, served steaming hot beneath the lights, your best friend on December evenings.

Opening hours, getting there and entertainment: practical information

Entry to the market is free: you only pay for what you eat, drink or take home. The 2026 edition opens from 5 to 24 December, 10am to 7pm, with an early closing on 24 December (chalets cleared by 6pm); in 2025, the market stayed open until 8.30pm on Saturday 20 December. The detailed programme of events is still to come. Weekends are the busiest for entertainment: concerts, parades, craft workshops for children and La Taverne de Noël under the Halles for a warm meal. Father Christmas’s house draws families in the late afternoon, when meetings with the old man in red follow one after another and the light fades over the square. If you are coming with young children, this slot is worth it: the workshops are running, the parade goes by, and the atmosphere warms up as the garlands come on.

By train, Mont-de-Marsan station drops you a short distance from the centre, on the line to Morcenx with connections towards Bordeaux and Bayonne, which makes a car-free day out doable. By car, several car parks ring the town centre, but spaces become scarce on December Saturdays: aim for the morning or the end of the day, when the lights come on over the square. The centre, partly pedestrianised, is easy to explore on foot, though the quays and bridges call for an eye on the pushchair. Allow one to two hours to go round the chalets, longer if you move on to the workshops and a meal under the Halles.

What to see around Mont-de-Marsan Christmas market

Mont-de-Marsan has plenty to see beyond the chalets. The Musée Despiau-Wlérick, housed in the medieval Lacataye keep and a Romanesque chapel, brings together a collection of figurative sculpture that is rare in France, with a garden that drops down to the Midou: a ready-made indoor visit between two showers. The historic centre unfolds its Romanesque houses, bridges and riverbanks along the three rivers, pleasant to explore even in winter. The Plumaçon arena recalls the town’s passion for bulls, the temple of course landaise during the Fêtes de la Madeleine, the summer event where écarteurs and sauteurs take on the Landes cow without bloodshed. Around the town, the Landes forest, the largest forest in Western Europe, offers long walks under the pines for those extending their stay, and Stade Montois keeps alive the rugby fervour so dear to the South West.

If you stay longer, Mont-de-Marsan’s location makes it a good base for exploring the South West. Pau Christmas market and its view of the Pyrenees are an hour’s drive away, Bayonne Christmas market mixes Basque chocolate and half-timbered façades by the Adour, and Bordeaux Christmas market spreads along the Allées de Tourny for a more urban festive weekend.