France
Avignon's Christmas market sits before the Palais des Papes (the popes' 14th-century palace), with Provençal santons and Châteauneuf-du-Pape.
Famous for
The Palais des Papes — the popes' palace — and a Provençal Christmas market in the shadow of it.
Avignon is the Rhône's papal city — the seat of seven popes in the 14th century, with the enormous Palais des Papes (the largest Gothic palace in Europe) rising above the old town. Its Christmas market, on the Place de l'Horloge and into the Palais square, sells santons (hand-painted Provençal nativity figurines), Calisson d'Aix almonds, and Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the famous wine from just north of here. The broken Pont d'Avignon stretches halfway across the Rhône — you can walk out on it. Most Rhône sailings stop here for a full day.
Dates: Late Nov – Dec 31
Vibe: Provençal and papal — a market square before a palace.
Local tip
Buy a santon — they're the signature Provençal Christmas craft, and a small one makes a perfect souvenir.
France
Strasbourg, the self-proclaimed 'Capital of Christmas,' hosts France's oldest market (since 1570) across its UNESCO old town.
Late Nov – Dec 30
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Paris's Christmas markets along the Champs-Élysées and Tuileries, with the Eiffel Tower sparkling on the hour, anchor Seine sailings.
Mid-Nov – early Jan
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Rouen, where Joan of Arc was martyred, hosts a Christmas market around its Gothic cathedral (painted 30+ times by Monet).
Late Nov – Dec 31
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Honfleur's Vieux-Bassin harbor, painted by Boudin and Monet, hosts a small Advent market in one of Normandy's prettiest ports.
Advent weekends
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