Kaysersberg Christmas Market 2026: 30 Chalets Below a Castle

Thirty wooden chalets, each crowned with its own painted panel, sit beneath a ruined castle on the vineyard slope. The Kaysersberg Christmas Market is small enough to see in a morning, and a local association picks every stallholder, so the stalls lean towards handmade work rather than imported trinkets. Arrive early on a Friday and you’ll have the lanes almost to yourself before the weekend crowds build.

Kaysersberg Christmas Market 2026

Dates

Status: Confirmed
Kaysersberg dates: 27th November to 20th December 2026 (select days)
Last checked: October 2026

Update: Dates were announced in January. Sign up for our newsletter to be notified of changes.

Source: Verified by Ultimate Christmas Markets via Visit Alsace.

Plan Your Visit

Location and Times

Location: Cour de l’Arsenal and behind Sainte-Croix church. Christmas farmers’ market at Place de la Mairie.
Opening times: Friday to Sunday: 10am to 8pm.
Christmas Day: Closed.

Travel and Accommodation

Recommended Tour: Four villages of Alsace day tour
Christmas Shuttle: Available from Colmar to Ribeauvillé, Riquewihr, Turckheim and Kaysersberg.
Park and Ride: Weekend car parks on the Lapoutroie road and Hinteralspach-Mauffrey, free shuttle every 15 minutes to Place Gouraud.
Travel tip: Market only runs Friday to Sunday, so check dates before visiting.
Where to stay: Hotel KLE is 2 minutes from the event.

Amenities and Attractions

Admission: Free
Lights: Switch on not announced
Santa: No.
Ice skating: No.
Reason to visit: Medieval castle ruins backdrop, wine route location, authentic Alsatian traditions.

Dietary Options

Vegetarian: Yes, plenty of options.
Vegan: Yes, plenty of options.
Gluten free: Yes, but limited.
Specialities: Kougelhopf, flammekueche, Alsatian mulled wine, bredele biscuits.

Accessibility

Accessible: Yes.
Pet-friendly: Yes, but not recommended during busy periods.

Convenient Hotels

To stay near Cour de l’Arsenal, I recommend Hotel KLE, which is popular for its convenient location and warm reception.

Add a day trip to one of these Christmas markets in Alsace.

Read our complete guide to the French Christmas Markets.

Recommended Tours

Eight hours around four Alsatian villages including Kaysersberg, leaving from Colmar. Kaysersberg on its own is an afternoon at most, so stringing it together with the others is the only sensible way to make a day of it. Small group, so you are not trailing a coach into every square.

Visitor Feedback

What Visitors Loved

• The small scale is the draw. With around thirty chalets you can see everything in a couple of hours, and visitors find it far more relaxed than Colmar or Strasbourg.
• The handmade stock sets it apart from the more commercial markets on the wine route.
• After dark, the lit half-timbered facades and the castle above the town get the most praise.
• Eating well is easy, with the town’s restaurants and its tarte flambée (flammekueche) singled out as highlights of the day.

Common Complaints

• Weekend afternoons get very crowded, as shuttles and coaches converge on a small town with narrow lanes.
• Parking fills quickly, and some visitors ended up walking a couple of kilometres from their car.
• Some find prices high, particularly for cheese and other local produce.
• The Christmas shuttle is convenient but tightly timed. Miss your return bus and you may face a cold wait or a slow loop through the other villages.

The Bottom Line

Kaysersberg is at its best early in the day, so see the stalls before lunch and climb to the castle as the crowds build. Pair it with Riquewihr or Ribeauvillé on the same shuttle ticket to make a full day of it.

Event Location

What to Expect

The chalets cluster at the foot of the 13th-century castle ruins. Rather than filling one big square, the market threads through the half-timbered lanes of the old town, which keeps it feeling like a village event.

Break up the browsing with the climb to the castle tower. It’s 122 steps to the top, and the view takes in the town’s roofs, the Weiss Valley, the vineyards and Germany’s Black Forest.

A second, smaller farmers’ market on the town hall square (Place de la Mairie) is where regional producers sell wine, cheese, foie gras and honey.

Regional Specialties

• Bredele: Small Christmas biscuits in flavours like anise, orange and cinnamon, traditionally baked at home and sold in decorative tins.
• Kougelhopf: Alsatian yeast cake baked in a ring mould with raisins, almonds and kirsch (cherry brandy). Savoury versions with cheese or ham are also available.
• Berawecka: Dense fruit bread packed with dried fruit and nuts, sliced thin and better with age.
• Mannala: Small brioche figures shaped like little men, eaten around St Nicholas Day and Christmas, sometimes filled with chocolate or raisins.
• Flammekueche (tarte flambée): Wafer-thin dough spread with cream and topped with onions and bacon, baked fast in a very hot oven.
• Vin chaud (mulled wine): Wine simmered with cinnamon and cloves, sweetened with sugar or honey.
• Alsatian pretzels: Available plain, salted or filled with cream cheese.

Gifts and Souvenirs

• Wooden toys: Carved by artisans with intricate detailing and built to last generations.
• Ceramics: Alsatian pottery made using traditional techniques, often with regional designs.
• Fabric hearts: Stitched cloth hearts, one of the most familiar Alsatian decorations.
• Advent wreaths: Made with local foliage for counting down the weeks to Christmas.
• Blown glass: Hand-blown baubles and stars to replace the mass-produced kind.
• Santons: Hand-painted clay nativity figures from Provence, sold by stallholders who travel up from the south of France.
• Alsatian wine: Local bottles including Pinot Blanc and Gewürztraminer from the surrounding vineyards.
• Embroidered linens: Tablecloths and napkins with festive and regional designs.

Sustainable Travel Tips

• Take the Christmas shuttle (Navette de Noël): Lines 1 and 2 run from Colmar station through Kaysersberg, Riquewihr and Ribeauvillé on market weekends, and one day ticket covers unlimited hops between the villages. Book online, as seats are capped each day.
• Use the park-and-ride: On Saturdays and Sundays, car parks on the edge of town along the road to Lapoutroie link to Place Gouraud in the centre by a free shuttle every 15 minutes, keeping cars out of the medieval streets.
• Buy from the farmers’ market: The producers on the town hall square sell regional wine, cheese and honey, so your edible gifts have barely travelled.
• Check the exhibitor list first: The Noël à Kaysersberg association publishes its list of selected artisans ahead of each season, so you can see who makes what and shop with a plan rather than on impulse.