France isn't really well known for having superb Christmas markets, even the French themselves would probably concede the title of best christmas country to their neighbors to the East, being Germany. However, the residents of Strasbourg have boldly self-proclaimed their city as la Capitale de Noel, suggesting that one of the best places to celebrate Christmas is actually in France (albeit only since WWII most recently as Strasbourg has switched owners several times over history). As such, we felt it would be appropriate to give it a go!!
One would think getting to Strasbourg would be easy from London. Au contraire my friends. There are very infrequent direct flights to Strasbourg airport so if you want to fly, its Ryanair into Baden, Germany. Another option is to take the Eurostar into Paris, then the TGV to Strasbourg, but that is both time consuming and quite expensive. As we had to pay only taxes for the flight, we choose the Ryanair option, flying out of Stansted airport, which is a 45 minute train ride from Liverpool Street station. Once we got to Baden, it was all aboard a little shuttle that took the 45 minute bus ride across the border into France. Joel, our friend from Ireland, joined us as well, literally sprinting across the airport to make the connecting flight, but as he reassured, "I'll make it, you forgot who you're dealing with, Big Joel!" We all made it and let me stress that when we arrived at our Hotel in Petite France, all the hassle in getting there was gone, the city is beautiful and absolutely oozes Christmas cheer.
We went to two different bars after arriving at 10:30pm both near the Cathedral. The latter, Les Freres Botham, was amazing, offering three kinds of Chouffe (I would claim as my favorite beer) on tap. We had two pints of the 10% N'ice Noel, paying for it the next day.
The city at night is really beautiful, with the massive, largely cobbled pedestrian-only zone with the typical German chalet-style timbered houses and christmas lights illuminating nearly every street. Petite France is perfection!
The next morning we rolled out of bed and began to hit the Christmas markets. With over 10 markets in the city, definitely consult the website dedicated to the markets and print a map and brochure. The most crowded market is definitely the one around the cathedral, but it was extremely crowded. Despite the crowds, the setting is remarkable with the cathedral towering above the stalls. There is also an impressive market near the Opera, a Russian-themed market near the Cathedral, and a really cute little one in Petite France, just a stones throw from our hotel. We had a nice lunch at Au Petit Tonnelier after a few markets, then around sunset went to the top of the cathedral to take in some spectacular views!
The markets themselves had pretty standard fare with many repeats, but all in all it had a nice mix of food, mulled wine, commercial ornaments, "handmade" crafts and kids stuff. We had lots of mulled wine, got a christmas market mug, two ornaments, one handmade by an artist that was selling his goods at his booth and a couple gifts for family at a little Christmas store in Petit France.
This one is for Monique, they had all sorts of cool old maps in French...
I think this market and the one in Prague had the best Christmas vibe, with the only drawback being the lack of german sausages! This had more authentic crafts on sale when compared to Prague, however. The mulled wine was also the best at any market we've been to, especially a week after having some terrible mulled wine at a stand in the Borough market in London. As you can see below, the setting is perfect.
After a power nap we set out for dinner, at Au Brasseur a brewpub that serves up excellent Flammkueche, an Alsace speciality that is essentially a ultra thin and crispy pizza with onions, cheese, sometimes with ham and sauerkraut. The beer was good, but not outstanding (better than the brewpub in Tallin that we went to with Betch, that's for sure). Following dinner we went for a walk and to two more bars, Les Aviateurs and L'Acedemie de Biere. The latter had dancing to go along with an outstanding selection of beers.
After a long night, Joel left early on Sunday morning to make a flight to Dublin so Erin and I strolled around the city all day, going into the Cathedral and marveling at the grandeur of it all, including a really cool astronomical clock dating back hundreds of years. The church itself was completed in the 1400's and was for a time the largest structure in the world. Construction on the new church began in 1176, spanning over four centuries. Needless to say they went through several master builders.
After some more mulled wine, Erin and I hit the road for home, capping yet another great Christmas market experience!!
