Roubaix Christmas Market

Roubaix has turned its textile past into a festive backdrop. Roubaix Christmas market sets up its chalets on the forecourt of La Piscine, the former Art Deco swimming pool that is now a museum of art and industry, a stone’s throw from the converted spinning mills. The promise here fits in one word: sustainable. Some sixty committed designers and craftspeople unpack handmade, local gifts built to last, in a town that has made giving materials a second life its signature. The mood is that of a big northern city in December: warm, a little noisy when the music joins in, and seriously indulgent as soon as the mulled wine starts flowing.

A Christmas market on the forecourt of La Piscine

The market takes place opposite La Piscine museum, on Rue de l’Espérance. The venue is worth the trip on its own: a 1930s Art Deco swimming pool designed by Albert Baert, turned into a museum where sculptures are reflected in the water. Stepping out of the galleries to find the chalets lit up in the winter light is the kind of sequence that gives this edition its character. All around, the town tells its story of factories and spinning mills, with La Manufacture close by, a former textile site that has become a place of workers’ memory and workshops.

The forecourt is easy to explore without getting lost. You move from one stall to the next and take time to chat with the person who sewed, turned or shaped what they are selling. Jewellery, home decor, accessories, small ceramic pieces: every exhibitor is there because they make things, so you often leave with the story of the object thrown in.

The common thread of the event is its environmental commitment. The gifts on offer focus on local, reclaimed and repairable. In a town that is home to one of France’s major hubs for the circular economy and zero waste, this stance is no window dressing: it matches Roubaix’s identity. The result is gift ideas well off the beaten track of the big chains, with the satisfaction of knowing where the things you give come from.

Ch’ti and Flemish treats at Roubaix Christmas market

The North takes its food seriously, and the market’s snack stalls follow tradition. You will come across the waffle filled with vanilla or vergeoise (brown beet sugar), the one Meert made famous over in Lille, soft sugar tart, and speculoos biscuits whose scent reaches you well before the stall does. For a more serious appetite, Flemish carbonnade slow-cooked in beer is proper winter fuel, and Maroilles cheese finds its way into a piping-hot tart or flamiche.

In your glass, mulled wine remains the companion of winter evenings, alongside a local Christmas beer or a genever, the grain spirit typical of Flanders. The merveilleux, a cake made entirely of meringue and whipped cream born in the North, ends the meal on a sweet note. These flavours tell the story of a border region straddling Ch’ti traditions and Flemish cooking, where people love generous dishes and treats that stick to your fingers.

• Filled waffle with vanilla or vergeoise, a Lille speciality adopted across the whole North.
• Sugar tart and speculoos, the two great classics of a Ch’ti afternoon snack.
• Flemish carbonnade and Maroilles for a proper seasonal meal in the warm.
• Genever and Christmas beer, to be enjoyed in moderation under the fairy lights.
• Meringue merveilleux, the dessert that melts anyone with a sweet tooth.

Entertainment, opening hours and getting there

The market runs at weekends, Friday to Sunday, from late November to 24 December. Previous editions opened in the early afternoon on Fridays and until the end of the day at weekends, with extra opening days in the very last days before Christmas. The programme mixed a festive late opening on one Saturday in December, concerts and a DJ set, a Christmas music quiz and afternoons with Father Christmas for children. The dates and details of the 2026 entertainment are to be confirmed by the organisers, and they usually come out in the autumn. Allow one to two hours to wander round at an easy pace and grab a bite on the spot.

Roubaix is very well connected. By train, Roubaix station drops you in the centre, and the Lille metropolitan metro (line 2) links Lille to Roubaix in a few minutes, with a Grand-Place stop a few streets from the museum. By car, several car parks surround the La Piscine area, and the A22 motorway runs along the edge of town. Entry to the market is free, and the forecourt is step-free and accessible to people with reduced mobility. A good tip: come in the late afternoon, when the fairy lights come on and the mulled wine stalls fill up.

What to see around the Christmas market

The visit carries on effortlessly. La Piscine museum is well worth stepping inside for its collections of painting, sculpture, ceramics and textiles, a direct tribute to the town’s industrial past. La Manufacture, a former textile site, completes the picture with weaving looms in operation and its weaving workshop. As Christmas approaches, the town also takes care over its illuminations and sets up family entertainment around the Grand-Place.

For a trip over several days, Lille Christmas market and its big wheel on the Grand’Place are just a metro ride away. Further south, Douai Christmas market and Arras Christmas market, with its ice rink on the Grand-Place, let you put together a lovely tour of the Nord and Pas-de-Calais. With Roubaix as your base, you can easily hop from one town to the next thanks to the metropolitan transport network.