Saverne Christmas Market

Saverne Christmas market plays out in front of the château: some fifteen wooden chalets lined up at the foot of the Château des Rohan, that long pink sandstone façade nicknamed the little Versailles of Alsace. You arrive along the Grand'Rue, the garlands form a tunnel of light above your head, and the pink outline of the château closes off the view. For a northern gateway to Alsace, it's quite an opening act.

Saverne Christmas market at the foot of the Château des Rohan

The chalets set up on Place du Général-de-Gaulle and carry on up the Grand'Rue, right in front of the château. You're a long way from the Strasbourg crowds: the pace here is calmer, and you take your time wandering from one stall to the next. Local artisans run a good share of the stands, with wooden decorations, pottery, textiles and small gift ideas that make a change from mass-produced goods.

The château's pink sandstone façade, 140 metres long, provides a permanent backdrop. In the late afternoon, when the lights come on around 4pm, the pink of the stone and the gold of the garlands play off each other. That's when the market really comes into its own, so time your visit for the end of the day if you can.

Around the chalets, the programme is family-oriented: Christmas treasure hunts for children, storytelling walks through the streets of the centre, and nativity scenes set up all over town. The Northern Vosges are close by, and you can feel it in the crafts on offer, closer to handmade work than the mass-produced goods you see elsewhere.

Dates, opening hours and ice rink for Christmas 2026

For the 2025-2026 edition, the Féérie de Noël ran from 28 November to 4 January. The 2026 calendar hasn't been published yet, but the town keeps the same period every year: late November to early January, to be confirmed on the tourist office website in the autumn.

The chalets open on Thursdays and Fridays from 2pm to 7pm, Saturdays and Sundays from 10am to 7pm, and are closed Monday to Wednesday. Aim for the weekend if you want the full atmosphere. A synthetic ice rink is added to the village for children and adults alike, at €3 a session. The illuminations light up the centre from 4pm to 9pm, and entry to the market is free.

For treats, you'll find the Alsatian classics: bredele by the bagful, gingerbread, pretzels, not forgetting baguette-style flammekueche from €4 and the gratinéed pretzel at €2. As for mulled wine, it's easy to make at home once you're back (a good starting point here).

Getting there, parking and making more of your visit

You can reach Saverne without a car: a TER regional train links Strasbourg and Saverne in 25 to 45 minutes, with a departure every 30 to 60 minutes, and the station is five minutes' walk from the market. The train runs alongside the Marne-Rhine Canal, which crosses the town right at the foot of the château, making for a rather photogenic arrival. By car, the town centre has car parks, but they fill up quickly on December Saturdays.

Once there, the market takes a good hour, two if you take time to taste things and go and see the nativity scenes displayed in the Church of Notre-Dame and at the Château du Haut-Barr, up in the hills. Saverne's rose garden, well worth a visit in the warmer months with its 5,000 or so rose bushes in 800 varieties, is dormant in December, but the walk along the canal is still pleasant even in the cold.

If you're putting together an Alsace circuit, Strasbourg Christmas market is only half an hour away by train, and Colmar's deserves a whole day of its own. To leave with ideas for treats to make yourself, have a look at our guide to Alsatian bredele.