Plombières-les-Bains Christmas Market

Tucked into a wooded valley in the southern Vosges, Plombières-les-Bains still wears the colours of its heyday as a spa town: Belle Époque façades, covered arcades, steaming springs frequented in their day by Napoleon III, Montaigne and Voltaire. When December comes, the little resort swaps its hot waters for fairy lights, and Plombières-les-Bains Christmas market brings back its old-time setting in the lanes of the centre. It is in fact known as the old-fashioned Christmas market, and the name fits: here, wooden chalets line up between stone and timber houses, beneath ornate balconies, with the feeling of stepping back a century.

An old-fashioned Christmas market in the heart of the spa village

Craft chalets and pop-up shops take over the town centre over the four weekends of Advent. The route follows the main streets, from the neo-Gothic church of Saint-Amé and its 61-metre spire topped with an imperial crown, to Square Gury, where a large illuminated lantern stands every year. The route is compact: you move from one stall to the next in a few steps, beneath cast-iron balconies and old shop signs that set the tone of the old-time market. It is the kind of market where you leave with an exhibitor’s name in your head, because you chatted with them for five minutes in front of their stand. The 80 or so chalets bring together all kinds of trades: a wood turner, a beekeeper, a jewellery designer, a jam maker. Each runs their stall at weekends, and the line-up changes from year to year, which leaves room for surprise on every visit.

What gives this Christmas market its character is the care taken over the setting. Residents and volunteers create a new scenography for each edition, and each weekend has its own theme: 1900s re-enactment, the legend of Saint Nicholas, illuminations. The 29th edition took place in 2025, proof that the tradition has held strong since the late 1990s. The setting counts for a lot. Plombières-les-Bains has kept its look of a Second Empire spa town, with its covered arcades, cast-iron balconies and ochre façades climbing up the valley. Under the glow of the fairy lights, all this spa heritage looks like an old postcard, and the market blends in without ever feeling tacked on.

Vosges treats at the market

When it comes to food, the market goes all in on regional flavours. You will find the tastes of the Vosges mountains, the ones that warm you up after a walk in the cold valley. Hot tartines with bacon and Munster are the classic here, and the smell of roast chestnuts follows you from one end of the route to the other. Munster, the soft cheese of the mountains, comes in every form, melted on toast or as a piece to take away. There is something comforting about finding these local products at a Christmas market: nothing exotic, just what the Vosges do well, served hot in the December cold.

• Tartines with bacon and Munster, melting and served piping hot on country bread.
• Gingerbread and honey from Vosges hives, to take home and make the festive spirit last.
• Hot chestnuts, freshly pressed apple juice and hearty country soups to warm up.
• Brimbelle bilberries and Vosges sweets, as jams or tangy boiled sweets.
• Spiced mulled wine, to sip with a lantern in hand, probably the visitors’ favourite stop.

If the mulled wine tempts you and you want to make it at home afterwards, a good homemade mulled wine recipe takes about twenty minutes with cinnamon, cloves and a strip of orange zest. And for a local food anecdote: plombières ice cream, the frozen dessert with candied fruit and kirsch, takes its name from the town. Legend has it that it was created in honour of Napoleon III and his guests during a diplomatic meeting in Plombières. It is a summer treat you won’t find in the winter chalets, but it is part of the town’s food history.

Entertainment, opening times and getting to Plombières Christmas market

Each Advent weekend brings its own entertainment. Horse-drawn carriage rides often open the first weekend, the legend of Saint Nicholas is told near the giant lantern in Square Gury, and a small travelling farm with its animals delights children. On the music side, a Christmas brass band livens up the streets and gets visitors dancing between the chalets. Street shows and workshops for younger children complete the programme over the weekends. None of it is on a grand scale: this is a village event, designed for families and for anyone looking for a warm break a stone’s throw from the baths. The programme changes every weekend, so a visit in late November is nothing like a visit in mid-December. The Saint Nicholas weekend, in early December, remains one of the highlights in Lorraine: the patron saint of schoolchildren parades and hands out sweets to children, a tradition rooted throughout the region.

Opening times follow a regular pattern: Saturdays from 2pm to 8pm, Sundays from 11am to 7pm, over the four weekends before Christmas. The dates of the 2026 edition have yet to be confirmed by the town hall and the tourist office, as the market usually runs from late November to Christmas Eve. Entry is free, and you should allow one to two hours for a relaxed tour of the chalets, a little longer if you linger over a mulled wine and a tartine.

Plombières has no active passenger station: the nearest is in Remiremont, about twelve kilometres away, connected to the TER network via Épinal (a few TGVs run daily between Paris and Remiremont without a change). By car, the town is about thirty minutes from Épinal, through the valley. The centre becomes pedestrianised and compact during the market, with parking right on the edge of the village. The gently sloping route remains accessible with pushchairs and wheelchairs, although the old cobbled streets call for a little care in wet weather.

What to see around Plombières Christmas market

A visit to the market goes well with a wander through the spa heritage. The Roman Bath, the covered arcades and the 19th-century façades are worth a look, even in the December chill. In its day the resort welcomed Montaigne, Voltaire and then the court of Napoleon III, and that history can still be read in the holiday architecture along the main street. Plombières-les-Bains is listed as one of the Petites Cités de Caractère, a label that rewards precisely this care for old buildings. Once night falls and the lights come on, the setting is ideal for photos. If you stay over, the valley offers lovely winter walks, and the Vosges summits are only a handful of kilometres away for anyone who wants to combine a Christmas market with snow. A stay of one or two days is enough to combine the market, a break at the baths and a meal of local specialities at one of the village’s restaurants.

To make a weekend of it in the Vosges, Plombières Christmas market pairs well with others nearby. Gérardmer Christmas market adds a lake and mountain atmosphere about forty kilometres away, while Épinal Christmas market sets up in the nearby capital of the Vosges department. Further afield, the big Nancy Christmas market and its Saint Nicholas celebrations make an urban stop to round off a tour of Lorraine.