Montluçon Christmas Market

Montluçon hangs its Christmas Village on Place Jean-Jaurès, below the medieval old town and its castle of the Dukes of Bourbon. The wooden chalets crowd at the foot of the half-timbered houses and the sloping lanes that climb towards the Notre-Dame church, while the Cher flows below and the lights reflect off the old façades. The Montluçon Christmas market mixes craft chalets, a food quarter and an ice rink, in a Bourbonnais town that keeps the memory of its industrial past, metalworking and the Dunlop tyre factory, while offering one of the finest old towns in the Auvergne. Mulled wine in hand, you go from the stalls to the lights of the castle without ever leaving the historic heart.

The Christmas Village on Place Jean-Jaurès, below the old town

The Village takes shape on Place Jean-Jaurès, one of the big squares of the centre, a few minutes from the ramparts and the steps that climb to the castle. For the 2025 edition, around twenty chalets brought together artisans and producers, with a weekend given over to crafts in mid-December. The food quarter, for its part, held out much longer, until the first days of January, enough to carry the party on after the makers’ chalets had gone. You pass from handmade jewellery to Auvergne cheeses in a few metres, between the smells of crêpes and roasted chestnuts.

The ice rink set up on the same square keeps families busy for a good part of the afternoon, at a modest price per skater. A carousel turns for the youngest, and the fairground rides take their place a little further off, on Avenue Marx Dormoy. The programme fills out as the weekends go by: craft workshops for children, carol concerts, street shows and visits from Father Christmas give the days their shape, without the crowds ever becoming heavy. The setting owes everything to the town itself: the cobbled lanes, the Renaissance houses and the Saint-Pierre church set an old-city mood that makes a change from markets on the plain. Montluçon lived for a long time to the rhythm of blast furnaces and rubber factories, and that working history can still be read in certain districts, a few steps from the chalets.

The castle of the Dukes of Bourbon and the MuPop, in the old town

What sets Montluçon apart is the castle that crowns the old town. That old quarter is also home to the MuPop, the museum of popular music, housed in the Charnisay and Méchain mansions joined by a contemporary extension. You follow two centuries of music there, from the hurdy-gurdy and the Bourbonnais bagpipe to electric instruments, with hundreds of listening points and close to two thousand objects on show. Over the festive season the castle is dressed in fairy lights and runs craft workshops and lantern tours, an event apart that makes the climb to the top worthwhile.

The climb takes a little effort, the lanes are steep, but every turn holds a half-timbered façade, a watchtower or a view over the roofs and the Cher valley. The Notre-Dame church, the Saint-Pierre church and the remains of the ramparts mark out the route. The Berry canal, which once linked the town to the river network, can be followed down below for a quieter walk. This double reading, medieval town and popular music, gives the Montluçon Christmas market a shade all of its own in the Allier. Moulins, the former capital of the dukes, plays the card of costume and its museum; Vichy goes for Belle Époque spa elegance; Montluçon has its signature in the half-timbering of the old town and the bagpipes kept at the MuPop.

Bourbonnais specialities and treats at the Montluçon Christmas market

The food quarter sets the tone: this is the Bourbonnais, on the edge of the Auvergne, and the plate follows. The pompe aux grattons, that savoury brioche made with pork crackling, traditionally served at celebration drinks, is eaten warm at the counter. Potato pie, a creamy tart born in the countryside of the Allier, holds a place of honour, as do the truffade and the patranque that come from the neighbouring Auvergne mountains. The Auvergne cheeses, Saint-Nectaire, Cantal and Fourme, fill the sacks, along with poirat, that pear tart, for the sweet note.

In the glass, the wines of Saint-Pourçain, made some sixty kilometres to the east, go with festive meals and are happily tasted at the stall. It is one of the oldest vineyards in France, long served at the tables of kings, and its light reds and lively whites stand comparison with better-known names. Mulled wine steams between the chalets, and if you want to keep the mood going at home, a good mulled wine recipe with spices and orange already does most of the work.

• Pompe aux grattons, the savoury Bourbonnais brioche served warm, a speciality of celebration drinks in the Allier.
• Potato pie, a cream tart born in the Bourbonnais countryside, a local classic.
• Truffade and patranque, melting dishes from the nearby Auvergne mountains.
• Auvergne cheeses, Saint-Nectaire, Cantal and Fourme, to take home for the festive table.
• Saint-Pourçain wines and spiced mulled wine, to go with the walk between the chalets.

What to see around the old town

Montluçon is well worth visiting beyond the chalets, and winter has the merit of making the castle and the museums all the more welcoming. The MuPop fills a good half-day: the themed rooms tell the history of popular music, from the bal musette to punk, with a reconstructed instrument maker’s workshop and headphones at every stage. Children often take to it more than you would expect, between the instruments you can handle and the sound clips. The contrast between the old mansions and the extension of glass and metal is part of the pleasure too, with its nod to the town’s metalworking past. On the way out, the terrace of the old castle offers a view over the lower town and the valley.

The old town can be walked in under an hour, going up the Grande-Rue and coming down through the alleys towards the Saint-Pierre church, whose roof timbers and capitals are worth pushing the door for. The Notre-Dame church, lower down, completes the heritage walk. To catch your breath, the course of the Cher and the old Berry canal lend themselves to a quiet stroll, with landscaped banks and a few footbridges. That river and industrial legacy, between yesterday’s rubber factories and today’s redeveloped quays, tells the story of a town built on work before it became a cultural stop in the Bourbonnais.

Opening times, getting there and practical details

Entry to the market stays free; you only pay for what you eat or take home. The ice rink is paid for per skater, at around four euros per adult and a little over three euros for children at the previous edition. In 2025 the Village opened from Sunday to Thursday from 2pm to 8pm, and on Fridays and Saturdays until 9pm, closed on 25 December and 1 January. For winter 2026, exact dates are still to be confirmed by the town and the tourist office, which usually publish the programme in the autumn.

By train, Montluçon station leaves you about fifteen minutes’ walk from Place Jean-Jaurès, with links to Bourges, Clermont-Ferrand and Paris via Vierzon. By car, several car parks ring the centre, but spaces go quickly on December weekends: arrive early or aim for the end of the day. The square and the food quarter stay step-free; the climb to the castle and the cobbled lanes of the old town, on the other hand, call for good shoes and a bit of effort with a pushchair. Allow one to two hours for the round of the chalets, more if you add the ice rink and a visit to the lit-up castle.

Montluçon also slots into a weekend straddling three regions. Clermont-Ferrand Christmas market and Vichy Christmas market are a little over an hour away to the south and east, while Bourges Christmas market, to the north, opens the door to the Berry and its Gothic cathedral. Enough to combine medieval towns and good food over two or three days.