an edition under the sign of the book

With 289 exhibitor chalets, spread over around ten sites in the island ellipse, the 2024 edition of the Strasbourg Christmas market continues the system which welcomed 3.3 million visitors last year. A record after which the municipality of Jeanne Barseghian (Ecologists) is not chasing, aware that the demonstration is on the edge in terms of attendance. “We are not going to tell people not to come. Our goal is not to reduce the number of visitors but to welcome them as best as possible,” specifies the mayor of Strasbourg.

To smooth out the flow as much as possible, Strasbourg Capital of Christmas will begin, for the first time, during the week. Launch on Wednesday, November 27 with a day dedicated to families and children, one of the other axes of the 2024 program, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Advent Village, square Louise-Weiss, at Petite France. Children are invited to decorate the Village trees with musical, tasty and festive activities.

14,000 parking spaces in total

Standing in the heart of Place Kléber, an essential symbol of Strasbourg, the capital of Christmas, scrutinized each year with a plumb line to find out whether it leans or not, the large Christmas tree is up to date on the decoration side. From a giant book opened and placed at his foot, “words fly away, alongside white paper flowers,” the press kit tells us. Less lyrical, Guillaume Libsig, the deputy in charge of the Christmas Capital operation, notes that the proposal from Sigmatech, the company responsible for decorating the thorn tree should be “worth a look”.

From November 27, meet every hour from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. for a “luminous and musical awakening” of the big tree, Place Kléber. Note, at 10 p.m., 11 p.m. and midnight, the big tree lights up and comes alive but without music. It then remains off for the rest of the night, until 4 p.m. the next day.

Although it is obviously necessary to favor public transport, the City plans, as last year, to mobilize all possible and imaginable underground and outdoor parking spaces, i.e. 14,000 in total. But even with this reinforcement, we expect complicated weekends in the run-up to Christmas. With this in mind, the City will offer events during the week to encourage locals to leave the weekends to our visitors. For those who cannot do otherwise, the first two weekends are traditionally the most “zen”.

Chalet opening dates and times: from November 27 from 2 p.m. to December 27 at 9 p.m. The chalets are open from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Except December 24 and 25 from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. On December 25 and 26 – public holidays in Alsace, some stands may be closed, the opening being left to the discretion of the traders.

10 relay car parks at €4.20 per day

In total, 3,000 parking spaces will be added this year during the Christmas market, for a total of 14,000 spaces, both in-built and open-air parking combined, specifies the Strasbourg municipality. Preferred solution for motorists who come to spend the day: the 10 relay car parks (P + R) located on the outskirts and connected to the tram network. Two new P + R will be accessible from Saturday to Sunday: Rhena and Zénith. A shuttle system at the Zénith park and ride facility will be set up, with a bus every 8 minutes (10 a.m. to 8 p.m.), every 10 minutes (8 p.m. to 10 p.m.) and every 15 minutes (10 p.m. to 11 p.m. 30).

A single ticket at an advantageous price, €4.20, allows all occupants to benefit from a round trip by tram and/or bus.

Find all the useful information, including the location of P + R, on the website of the Compagnie des transports strasbourgeois (CTS).