If you are planning a European Christmas, Strasbourg Christmas Markets in France is one of those magical travel bucket list holidays to experience with the tribe.
Travelling with children is a little bit daunting. The extra packing, the additional costs, finding something to do that suits both the oldest and youngest. The challenges are endless but so are the rewards. Our three are just like any others – full of energy (unless they have to walk anywhere or look at anything history related), always hungry and super cheeky but we decided to go for it and explore the Christmas Markets in Strasbourg, France.
We agreed that driving was the easiest way for us, as we usually do, and once again, it was. We packed up the car in the early hours of the morning, transferred the children from their beds into their car seats and set off on our journey. The drive itself was picturesque. Each French village scattered throughout the countryside was so beautifully coloured and each had a church in the centre.
We made it to Strasbourg at 3pm and decided to chill out at our Airbnb for a while first. Oh my goodness… our Airbnb was beyond awesome! The ad had said it was close to Strasbourg Cathedral and the Christmas Markets but it was seriously right in front of it! The view was fantastic and the location meant that we could easily retreat for some downtime and warmth as needed without leaving the action of the Christmas markets behind.
I’m just going to add a quick history lesson in here… Strasbourg Cathedral was built on the site of a Roman temple and was initiated in 1015 but was unfortunately destroyed by a fire. The second wave of construction started in the early 12th century and wasn’t completed until 1439. It is 142m tall. The picture below of the Cathedral (the one without any people) was taken at 12:30am… thats how long I had to wait until the streets around it were empty! It’s simply incredible.
So, back onto our holiday. The first afternoon (which felt like night time as the sun sets at 4:30pm), was like a dream come true. As soon as we stepped outside, it started snowing!
The downside of travelling with children in a very busy city is that not many restaurants accommodate large groups – meaning a family of 5! So we grabbed the children hotdogs, bacon and cheese pretzels and of course some crepes and headed back for the night. For us, we ordered in – and of all things, Vietnamese!
The next day we walked the streets of Strasbourg until we all turned into walking icicles. The kids were complaining until they realised that a great way to warm up was to have a giant, cream topped hot chocolate. That evening we went to see the beautiful Christmas tree in Place Kleber, which was perfectly decorated and lit.
On Sunday, we all woke to Nicholas shouting out “snow, it snowing!” And sure enough, that glorious sky magic was floating down. We got dressed and spent the next hour having so much fun throwing snowballs, trying to catch it in our mouths and just enjoying the beauty of seeing snowfall whilst in France, at the Christmas Markets. We walked towards Petit France, a lovely little section with real German influence.
Monday morning popped up before we knew it. Boo! We packed up our things, loaded the car and then spent a bit more time enjoying what Strasbourg had to offer. Milos took the children to the carousel so I could leisurely wander the Christmas Markets. They are just like the pictures I’d seen. Pretty little handmade ornaments, vin chaud, gingerbread cookies and honey cake galore. There was so much to choose from. So much so that I couldn’t decide on what to buy so came away with nothing more than 2L of Jus de Pomme Chaud (hot, mulled apple juice – perfect for the non-drinkers like myself!).
When we got back to the car, my wonderful husband, Milos surprised me with a Christmas snow globe and a porcelain house. Yep… I’m a lucky lady!
We are currently on our way back and have hardly heard a peep from our kiddies. Perfect holiday for everyone, both young and old.
GUEST TRIBE ~ Yasmina Nadine is an Australian photographer living in London. To see more of her beautiful work, click here.
