Roanne Christmas Market

Roanne celebrates Christmas on its freshly redesigned Place de l’Hôtel de Ville, a few minutes from the banks of the Loire. The Roanne Christmas market gathers about ten chalets around a large open-air ice rink, at the foot of an illuminated tree, in a town that cultivates its reputation for good food. Here, gastronomy is no empty word: the Maison Troisgros, based since 2017 in Ouches, 8 km from town, and its three Michelin stars have made Roanne a name food lovers know, and that heritage shows right down to the December stalls. Between a slice of pink praline brioche, a mulled wine and a family skate, the atmosphere stays warm and unpretentious, much like this Loire town long shaped by textiles and knitwear.

Place de l’Hôtel de Ville, the Christmas village’s new setting

The 2025 edition marked the return of the Christmas village to Place de l’Hôtel de Ville, completely redesigned after renovation work. The change of venue gave the event room to breathe: the 200 m² open-air ice rink sits at the centre, at the foot of the big tree, with about ten chalets spread around it. Half of these wooden huts focus on food (hot dishes, sweet treats, drinks), the other half on crafts and gift ideas. The layout is compact, which suits family outings: children go from the ice slide to the crêpe stall in a few steps, and nobody gets lost. At nightfall, when the garlands light up on the town hall façade and reflect on the ice, the square takes on a winter postcard look, with the skaters providing non-stop entertainment.

The event runs for three weeks, with activities livening up the weekends. Three professional companies toured the pedestrian streets of the centre around 20, 21 and 24 December, with 45-minute street shows: aerial dance, a slapstick animal protection brigade, zany characters. An opening night, a DJ evening to close the town’s urban trail race and a meeting with Santa at the tourist office completed the line-up. The square suits this end-of-year buzz, and with the town-centre shops close by, the outing is easy to combine with a bit of shopping. Next to the village, the tourist office runs its own programme: a market of producers and craftspeople from the Roannais one Saturday in December, a meeting with Santa, face painting for children, creative workshops and winter tales. Enough to fill a whole afternoon without leaving the area, between a turn on the ice and a hot chocolate break.

Food at the Roanne Christmas market, the Loire’s gourmet capital

It’s hard to talk about Roanne without talking about food. The town owes part of its fame to the Praluline from Maison Pralus, a golden brioche filled with crushed pink pralines, born here and now the sweet emblem of the Roannais. It’s the kind of treat you take home in your bag or share on a bench, a hot chocolate in hand. The chalets and nearby shops showcase local produce: andouille from Charlieu, matured cheeses, chocolates from Maison Révillon, and wines from the Côte Roannaise, the Gamay appellation that goes well with festive meals. The town claims an epicurean way of life, carried for decades by the Maison Troisgros, a pillar of French gastronomy. That reputation rubs off on the market: Roannais producers hold their own event at the tourist office, and the town-centre food shops get into the festive spirit with gift hampers, regional cheeses and sweets made for the occasion. You leave with your arms full; it’s almost a habit here.

At the drinks stall, steaming mulled wine remains the companion of chilly evenings by the Loire, and the tourist office even offers it free at certain times, with tastings and winter tales for children. If you want to carry the mood home, a good mulled wine recipe with spices, orange and cinnamon easily brings back the warmth of the chalets. Flavours to look out for during your visit:

• The Praluline from Pralus, a pink praline brioche, a Roanne speciality to taste and take home.
• Andouille from Charlieu, a Roannais charcuterie served on festive tables.
• Côte Roannaise wines (AOC), hillside Gamay, to take home or taste by the glass.
• Chocolates and sweets from local houses, with Pralus and Révillon leading the way.
• Spiced mulled wine, served on the square or offered free at the tourist office at certain times.

Hours, ice rink and getting there

Entry to the village is free: you only pay for what you eat, drink or take home. The ice rink costs around €6 a session, an affordable price for real skating on ice in the open air at the foot of the tree. For the 2025 edition, opening hours were 12pm-9pm on Fridays and Saturdays, until 8pm on Sundays, and afternoons on weekdays, with longer hours during school holidays and early closing on 24 and 31 December. For winter 2026, exact dates and hours are still to be confirmed by the town of Roanne and Roannais Tourisme, who usually publish the programme in early autumn.

By train, Roanne station is about ten minutes’ walk from Place de l’Hôtel de Ville, with direct trains from Lyon and Saint-Étienne, so a car-free outing is entirely doable. By car, the centre has several car parks, but the one on the square itself closes during the festivities: aim for the nearby car parks and finish on foot. On the weekends before Christmas, the town bus network runs more often and is free, a real help when you’re coming as a family. Allow one to two hours to go round the chalets and the rink, more if you carry on into the town centre and its shop windows. As the square and its surroundings are pedestrianised and step-free, access with a wheelchair or pushchair poses no particular difficulty, which makes a family visit simpler.

What to see around the Roanne Christmas market

Roanne is worth exploring beyond the Christmas village. The town stretches along the Loire, and its marina, at the start of the Roanne-Digoin canal, makes for a pleasant walk along the quays, even in winter. The Musée des Beaux-Arts et d’Archéologie Joseph-Déchelette, set in a fine 18th-century mansion, holds rich collections of ceramics, paintings and archaeology, an obvious indoor visit between two showers. The garden around it and the house’s grand staircase are worth a look, and admission is affordable for a family culture break. The town’s textile and knitwear past can still be read in its architecture and old factories, a chapter of history that long drove the local economy. Roanne was a capital of knitting and fabric, and that industrial heritage shaped the town as much as its love of food. Heading down to the quays, you’ll come across the Roanne-Digoin canal, where river cruises set off in the warmer months, and the river that long carried timber and coal to Paris.

Roanne’s position, where the Loire meets Auvergne, also makes it a good base for exploring. The Saint-Étienne Christmas market and the Lyon Christmas market are each just under an hour away, both more urban, with big wheels, ice rinks and chalets galore. To the west, the Vichy Christmas market and its spa-town atmosphere round off a festive weekend in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes nicely, between food, heritage and lights. Roanne then becomes a charming stop on the way, quieter than its big neighbours but generous with good restaurants and local produce, a foodie stop that lives up to its promise over the holidays.