Travelling to France for the Christmas Markets

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, especially in France. The French love their Christmas markets and do them very well, and they make the perfect excuse for a seasonal weekend away.

When travelling between the UK and France we always use LeShuttle which can get you from Folkestone to Calais in just 35 minutes, and from there you are spoiled for choice with lots of Christmas markets dotted across the country. If you are planning a trip in November or December read on for our pick of the French festive fun.

Top French Christmas Market destinations

If you have never visited a French Christmas market before, these are some of the most popular. These are the Christmas markets in France that see tourists and locals revisit them time and time again. Probably because they each offer something a little different from the next, all with that familiar Christmas atmosphere.

Strasbourg Christmas Market

Where in France: Place de la Cathédrale, Strasbourg, Bas-Rhin, Grand Est
Drive from Calais: 621km / 5h 30m

The Christmas market in Strasbourg is one of the oldest and best loved festive celebrations in the country, dating back to 1570. It has a vintage feel, with many traditional craft stalls that will make you think of Christmas celebrations from yesteryear. The city’s historic quarter, known as ‘Petite France’, is a dream to stroll through on a winter’s night, too. Be sure to grab a mulled wine to sip as you wander among 300 twinkling chalets selling festive treats.

Metz Christmas Market

Where in France: Place Saint Louis, Metz, Moselle, Grand Est
Drive from Calais: 633km / 6h 30m

Perhaps the second most popular Christmas market in France after Strasbourg, the Christmas market in Metz is spread across the city in five different areas. You can shop for baubles and tree toppers, delicious festive treats and sensational local wine, plus unique Christmas souvenirs.

Reims Christmas Market

Where in France: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Reims, Reims, Marne, Grand Est
Drive from Calais: 274km / 2h 20m

The stunning cathedral in the centre of Reims is illuminated, adding to the festive glow and magic of the city at Christmas time. You’ll find all the usual favourites at this Christmas market, such as classy glass decorations, garlands, chocolates and roasted chestnuts. How about a steaming cup of mulled wine to keep the cold at bay, or even a cheeky glass of champagne, for which the city is famous?

Amiens Christmas Market

Where in France: Place Gambetta, Amiens, Somme, Hauts-de-France
Distance from Calais: 157km / 1h 39m

Amiens is the capital of Picardy and home to France’s largest Gothic cathedral that gets beautifully lit up throughout December. It’s the perfect backdrop to the Christmas market. The market is one of the largest in northern France with over 130 stalls. This is the place for unusual items like Le Creuset kitchenware and regionally made glass. Local ​specialties include Beauvais chocolate and macarons made in Amiens.

Bordeaux Christmas Market

Where in France: Allées de Tourny, Gironde, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Drive from Calais: 868km / 7h 40m

If you travel further south in France, a trip to Bordeaux to visit their Christmas market is definitely in order. Enjoy a cup of something hot and spicy as you browse the selection of unique gifts from over 150 exhibitors and vendors, including produce from every corner of France. Sample local beers or wine and ensure everyone on your Christmas list gets something special!

Lille Christmas Market

Where in France: Place Rihour, Lille, Nord, Hauts-de-France
Drive from Calais: 112km / 1h 30m

Lille loves to get festive and you’ll find the whole town dons its Christmas lights and decorations during December. Nestled in the city centre, 90 wooden chalets teem with gift ideas, nativity figurines, Christmas decorations and festive food. As well as regional specialities there’s the classic festive treats to enjoy like gingerbread, roast chestnuts and freshly cooked pralines.

Colmar Christmas Market

Where in France: Place Jeanne d'Arc, Colmar, Haut-Rhin, Grand Est
Distance from Calais: 610km / 6h 20m

For a quintessentially ‘French’ experience, visit the Christmas market in the picturesque Alsace town of Colmar. Place Rapp in Colmar’s market has a huge, 800 square-meter ice rink and Christmas-themed rollercoaster. Listen to the children’s choir as they float along the canals lined with half-timbered houses as you shop for locally crafted gifts and souvenirs.

Toulouse Christmas Market

Where in France: Place du Capitole, Toulouse
Drive from Calais: 962km / 9h 20m

Held in December in the very heart of Toulouse, this is an impressive French Christmas market featuring original gift ideas from local woodcrafts to regional specialities. There’s something for everyone here including toys, pottery, jewellery, candles, clothing and leather goods. Toulouse is France’s fourth biggest city so as well as the market, be sure to stroll around its historic centre.

Arras Christmas Market

Where in France: Grand Place, Arras, Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France
Distance from Calais: 109km / 1h 10m

You can’t miss the fantastic centrepiece of the Arras Christmas market – an enormous Ferris wheel. Take a ride to see views of the surrounding festivities and Flemish architecture. After a restorative mulled wine, browse the market stalls, visit the unique Christmas tree roundabout, or try skating on the natural ice-rink. Foodies should note that Arras is famous for its Gaufres - waffles of Flemish origin that are best served smothered in melted chocolate. Yum!

Other less well-known French Christmas markets

Smaller and less busy, if you need a quieter Christmas shop (but with no less magic) then these are the spots to explore.

Avignon Christmas Market

Where in France: Place de l'Horloge, Avignon, Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur
Drive from Calais: 983km / 8h 47m

Avignon’s grand Christmas Market runs throughout December in Place de l'Horloge, a central square. As well as streets lit up with fairy lights there’s live music and stalls selling crafts and food. A must see is the ‘Chemin des Crèches’, a very pretty walk through the different animated and illuminated nativity scenes, allowing you to discover the fabulous traditional ‘santons’ figures which are hand-painted figurines made from wood or clay.

Mulhouse Christmas Market

Where in France: Place de la Réunion, Mulhouse, Haut-Rhin, Grand Est
Drive from Calais: 666km / 6h 45m

Famous for its textiles, the pretty Alsace enclave of Mulhouse decorates its streets and market stalls with luxury Christmas fabric, which is made each year to mark the occasion. The stalls are within the glow of the church of Saint-Etienne which is lit for the festive season. Around 100 Christmas huts present local culinary specialities including foie gras, gingerbread and Bredeles (small cakes). While you're here, visit one of the town's many museums, including the Musée de l’Impression sur Etoffes (fabric printing museum).

Le Touquet Christmas Market

Where in France: Le Touquet-Paris Plage, Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France
Drive from Calais: 70km / 1h

The stylish and fashionable seaside resort of Le Touquet stages beautiful Christmas celebrations each year. The town and surrounding dunes twinkle with fairy lights and entertainment includes carol singing and a Saint Nicolas parade. The stalls sell everything you need for the perfect Christmas gift including jewellery, hand-made wooden toys, and gourmet specialities including champagne and cheese.

Rouen Christmas Market

Where in France: Place de la Cathédrale, Rouen, Normandy
Drive from Calais: 274km / 2h 45m

Rouen has dubbed its Christmas event ’Rouen givrée’ (Frosted Rouen), and sees the whole town undergo a magical transformation. At the Christmas Market, held in front of the stunning cathedral, over 70 wooden chalets sell all manner of local fayre, such as cheeses, wines and sweets, traditional arts and crafts and Christmas decorations. Warm yourself up with a mulled cider or hot Calvados and honey before taking a turn on the ferris wheel on Place du Vieux Marché.

Licques Christmas Market

Where in France: Place de la Marie, Licques, Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France
Drive from Calais: 21km / 30 minutes

This is one of the more unusual Christmas markets in France and only runs for three days. Because the town is known for its exceptional poultry, there is a Fête de la Dinde, which is a live parade of turkeys through the town centre, followed by local dignitaries and organisations. Licques Christmas market is where you can buy lots of festive treats to eat as well as traditional crafts and decorations. As the closest Christmas market to our Calais terminal, why not include Licques in a festive day trip to France?

What is the most Christmassy town in France?

It’s hard to say, but festivities in France don’t come much twinklier than in Strasbourg, which calls itself the ‘Capital of Christmas’. As well as the Christmas market itself, which spills out over large parts of the city’s old town, Strasbourg plays host to carol singers, a children’s Christmas village and the tallest decorated Christmas tree in Europe. But smaller towns like Colmar perhaps offer something cosier, and if it's Christmas twinkle you want, you can’t beat the City of Lights itself, Paris.

What is one unusual Christmas tradition in France? 

There are lots of similarities with how Christmas is celebrated in the UK, but perhaps the biggest difference is that for some French families, December 6th is the day that presents are exchanged. This is because it is the feast day of St Nicholas, the patron saint of children, who helped inspire the figure of Father Christmas. Children leave out shoes for St Nicholas to fill with presents (but only for the good children). This is a Christmas tradition strongest in north and north-eastern France.

When do Christmas markets start in France?

Christmas markets in France usually start towards the end of November and run through December, and some even remain open until the first week of January. If it’s your first time to a French Christmas market, here are five must dos, and some other ideas to help get you feeling festive in France.

Thanks to Le Shuttle for providing the background to this blog.

For everything you need to know about French property visit www.clefrance.co.uk

Beware the Christmas Cannibal of France

How a whip-wielding butcher became St. Nick’s sidekick.

A Butcher, a man with a whip, and a jolly bishop walk into a bar. This is not, in fact, the opening line of a twisted joke—it’s preparation for the biggest day of the year in Nancy, an elegant city in France’s Lorraine region.

St. Nicholas Day is celebrated across many European countries on December 6 or the weekend following it. Each evening in Nancy from late November till early January, a lights display projects a story onto the opulent façade of the Hôtel de Ville. The expectant crowd watches as three children knock on the door of a local butcher, only to be chopped up into little pieces and left to cure in a salting pot. Falling snowflakes are replaced with chunks of veal.

You might be wondering what this gruesome scene has to do with St. Nicholas, who is the predecessor of Santa Claus. Often throughout Europe, St. Nicholas is said to be accompanied by an evil nemesis designed to frighten children into good behaviour. Germany has Hans Trapp, Holland has Zwarte Piet, and Austria is best known for the Krampus, a horned beast that charges the crowd with threatening roars.

In the Lorraine region of France, St. Nicholas’s companion is called Père Fouettard, meaning Father Whipper or Father Flog. He has a bit of a kinky vagabond look, wearing ragged clothes, donning a straggly black beard, and carrying a whip and chain. He’s also a butcher, and he attempts to eat children.

How did St. Nicholas get paired with a whip-wielding cannibal? The answer starts over 1,500 years ago with the origin of Santa Claus and evolved over the centuries thanks to a miraculous medieval battle in France, a heavy sprinkle of rumours, and some extraordinary embellishments.

It’s widely believed that St. Nicholas was from present-day Türkiye. He was likely the bishop of Myra, born towards the end of the 4th century in Patara. It’s said he performed miracles as an infant and during his life. The bishop died on December 6, 343. It was believed his body produced an oil that held healing properties, which scientists think was actually water from the damp tomb. In the 11th century, merchants from Italy launched a quest to retrieve his body. They were successful: The bishop’s remains were exhumed and brought to Bari.

Word spread, and people all over Europe wanted a piece. During the first crusade (1096–99), a lord of Lorraine raided St. Nicholas’s tomb in Italy, severed the tip of his finger, brought it back to his French homeland, and built a church to house the relic in Saint-Nicolas-de-Port. The saint therefore became highly revered throughout Lorraine.

A few centuries later, St. Nicholas is thought to have saved the people of this region during battle. In 1476, Charles the Bold laid siege to the city of Nancy. Charles had been overtaking much of France, so it should have been an easy win. Food within the city was running out, and many citizens resorted to eating rats. “It’s thought many of the inhabitants turned to cannibalism during the siege, out of desperation,” adds Nadia Hardy, a historical guide in Nancy. But René II, Duke of Lorraine, prayed for victory over St. Nicholas’s severed phalange, now over a millennium old. Miraculously, Nancy won the battle. St. Nicholas became the hero of the story and the region’s patron saint.

But what of his whipping, child-eating nemesis? The story of Père Fouettard comes from another battle in Lorraine. In 1552, Charles V, King of Spain and Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, laid siege to the neighbouring city of Metz. Citizens created a grotesque effigy of Charles V, which they paraded through the streets before publicly burning it. Made by whip weidling tanners, the effigy became known as Père Fouettard (Father Whipper), an enemy of St. Nicholas.

At some point along the way, the figure gets mixed in with a sprinkle of cannibalism. Another legend tells of a butcher named Pierre Lenoir (or Peter Black), who chopped up three unfortunate children. He left them to marinate in a barrel for seven years before he received a knock at the door, and a surprise visitor: a hungry St. Nicholas, who the butcher recognised instantly. Loathe to feed human flesh to such a holy man, he claimed he had no food left. St. Nicholas placed three fingers on the salting barrel and resurrected the children, who, far from experiencing any profound trauma one might expect, felt as though they’d been awoken from a deep slumber.

“It’s likely that the stories of the butcher and Père Fouettard merged over time,” Hardy explains. Today in Nancy, the two characters are inextricably intertwined. Every December, not only is there, a projection of the tale, the townspeople also reenact the story.

“I’ve watched the St. Nicholas parades ever since I was a child,” says the man playing Père Fouettard this year. (The performer asked to remain anonymous “to preserve the magic,” as he says.) “I want my character to disgust people, not scare them.” The actor rubs dirt all over his face, attaches a long and dark beard, blackens out some of his teeth, and adorns a hooded brown cape. He makes a guttural growl like a dog and heads out to the festivities.

After the butcher, Père Fouettard, and St. Nicholas drink their pre-parade beverage (after all, it’s cold in Nancy in December), the event begins in town. During the reenactment, three local children visit the butcher and are depicted as being sliced, quartered, and salted. Salvation appears in the form of St. Nick astride a brightly lit carnival float, who resurrects the children. The butcher then morphs into Père Fouettard, doomed to follow St. Nicholas and dole out punishments to naughty children. He springs up in the crowd with his whip, giving out coal or sometimes turnips and potatoes.

St. Nicholas then climbs to the balcony of the Hôtel de Ville to greet the crowds. The mayor of Nancy presents him with a set of keys to the town, and the Christmas tree and Art Nouveau street lights crackle to life again. The butcher and Père Fouettard have both been overcome and must wait another year to scare the children of France into behaving.

Article thanks to Anna Richards for Atlas Obscura..

For everything you need to know about French property visit www.clefrance.co.uk

Markets are forward-looking beasts

By saying that, I mean they not only react to current news but also try to anticipate news before it occurs.

Which is why I wanted to touch on what’s happening right now.

Futures markets are pricing in a bunch of interest rate cuts in 2024.

Good news for borrowers, but a mixed bag for currencies.

At the moment, markets are expecting the EU to slash rates by around 1.5% next year, the US to cut by 1.25% and the UK by 0.75%.

As currencies weaken with lower rates, any difference in the size of the cuts would trigger a good dose of currency volatility.

If all remains unchanged (a big if), the Pound should benefit relative to the Euro and Dollar.

A lot could & will happen between now and then, but that is the current consensus thinking across the medium term.

In the short-term we have had a bit of profit taking in Pound Sterling after its stellar run recently.

Both GBP/EUR and GBP/USD have drifted down over the past week.

There’s just over 2 weeks to go in 2023...

So what next, what should you do?

Get ahead of the game and read our Guide to Foreign Currency Exchange.

Download the Guide Here - with no obligation of course.

If you have a currency requirement and want the peace of mind of securing a rate now, please get in touch.

You can speak to us on 01872 487 500.

Or to find out our latest rates, click below.

Benefits of using Key Currency:

1. Great exchange rates
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Current rates: 

Wednesday 13th December 2023 at 10.00

£1.00 GBP = 1.1610 EURO

£1.00 GBP = 1.2524 USD

£1.00 GBP = 1.9107 AUD

£1.00 GBP = 2.0542 NZD

£1.00 GBP = 1.7025 CAD

£1.00 GBP = 1.0973 CHF

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Santa’s Naughty Partner: Come Meet Père Fouettard!

He sees you when you’re sleeping

He knows when you’re awake

He knows if you’ve been bad or good

So be good for goodness sake!

Image courtesy of 'le blog marievie'.

Christmas tomorrow, so that means there are only 24 hours to right your wrongs from the past year to make sure you end up on Santa’s nice list.

In many countries, good little boys and girls wake up to presents under the tree and stockings filled with goodies. The rotten apples get a gift from the man in red, too, but it’s in the form of coal. What are you supposed to do with un morceau de charbon (a lump of coal)? Well, I suppose you could harness its energy  for electricity or apply enough energy to transform it into a diamond, but that’s for another blog.

While coal was on the lips of many American politics this past political season, it certainly was not on any kid’s wish list. And while bad kids in France also receive coal, they have another thing to worry about that anglophone kiddies get to avoid: Père Fouettard (Father Whipper)!

We all know the story of the Christmas patriarch Saint Nicholas, the Bishop of Myra who was the inspiration behind Santa Claus. Nicholas came from a wealthy family and spent much of his life sharing his wealth with those less fortunate than he. Santa is a very nice man to the kids all around the world, but homeboy works alongside Father Whipper, who takes care of the naughty kids.

So what’s this punisher’s story? His first appearance dates back to the 12th century. A local innkeeper (in some variations, he’s a butcher) and his wife capture 3 wealthy children who were on their way to enrol in a religious boarding school. The couple rob the children, murder them, and cook them in a stew. Saint Nick was not happy and showed up at the innkeeper’s door. The innkeeper was transformed into Father Whipper and became an eternal partner with Saint Nick. Personally, I don’t see that as much of a punishment since the innkeeper continues to torture children, but I’m but a mere blogger.

On Saint Nicholas’s Day (le 6 décembre), Père Fouettard travels around and gifts coal and spankings. He’s pretty easy to recognise, too. Our cultures show Santa Claus the same way: a jolly fat man in a red suit with a big white beard. There are different representations of Father Whipper, but he’s easy to spot. Sometimes you’ll see him in dark robes carrying a bag with switches on his back. Other times, he’s wearing teh same suit as Santa, but it’s black. He has a darkened face from all the soot in the chimneys (and alas, sometimes, you’ll still see people playing him in blackface) and his beard is unkempt.

So you better be good whatever you do

cause if you’re bad, I’m warning you

you’ll get nothing* for Christmas

Alors, as-tu été sage cette année ?

So, were you good this year?

* = except coal and whippings

Blog submitted by: Alex at The French Property Network - Cle France.

This blog was originally posted on The French Language Blog pages.

For everything you need to know about French property visit www.clefrance.co.uk

So how do the French celebrate Christmas?

From tomorrow we are going to start the 'Clé's Countdown to a French Christmas', each day we will publish an article about Christmas in France, how it differs from the UK and America as well as other European cultures. Some of the quirks as well as the religious and traditional festive activities, we hope you like our 12 days of a French Christmas countdown.

In France, Christmas is a time for family and for generosity, marked by family reunions, gifts and chocolates for children, gifts for the poor, Midnight Mass, and le Réveillon.

We still arrange and meet with clients during December and over the holidays for property viewings in France, vendors still want to sell their house in France and you may have some time off work to visit France to look at some lovely French Houses BUT make sure you give us enough notice as it can be a busy period and of course most of our offices will have periods of closure over the festive period.

The celebration of Christmas in France varies by region. As you would expect most regions celebrate Christmas on the 25th of December, which is a bank holiday. However, in eastern and northern France, the Christmas season begins on 6 December, la fête de Saint Nicolas, and in some provinces la fête des Rois* is one the most important holidays of the Christmas season. In Lyon, 8 December is la Fête de lumières, when Lyonnais pay hommage to the virgin Mary by putting candles in their windows to light up the city.

*Epiphany (la fête des Rois) is usually celebrated the 6th of January, but in some places in France it is celebrated the first Sunday after January 1st.

French Christmas Traditions

French children put their shoes in front of the fireplace, in the hopes that Père Noël (aka Papa Noël) will fill them with gifts. Chocolate, fruit, nuts, and small toys will also be hung on the tree overnight. In some regions there's also Père Fouettard who gives out spankings to bad children (sort of the equivalent of Santa giving coal to the naughty). Pere Noel, like Santa, has a long, white beard, but wears a long, red robe that is trimmed with white fur and hooded. He is also portrayed as being thin, rather than fat.

AND shopping in France is as big an event as in the UK and eslewhere of course.

In 1962, a law was passed decreeing that all letters written to Santa would responded to with a postcard. When a class writes a letter, each student gets a response.

Le Réveillon

Reveillon is a huge traditional feast that takes place over the holiday season. It is eaten late at night, following Christmas Eve mass. What is served largely depends upon which area of the country you live in. This is probably one of the best reasons to visit France during Christmas. Although fewer and fewer French attend la Messe de Minuit on Christmas Eve, it is still an important part of Christmas for many families.

Le Réveillon is a symbolic awakening to the meaning of Christ's birth and is the culinary high point of the season, which may be enjoyed at home or in a restaurant or café that is open all night. Each region in France has its own traditional Christmas menu, with dishes like turkey, capon, goose, chicken, and boudin blanc (similar to white pudding). Examples of some the dishes served are oysters, pâté de foie gras, turkey, goose, salads, fruit, a Yule Log and, of course, wine.

Throughout the French Christmas season, there are special traditional desserts:

• La bûche de Noël (Yule log) - A log-shaped cake made of chocolate and chestnuts. Representative of the special wood log burned from Christmas Eve to New Year's Day in the Périgord, which is a holdover from a pagan Gaul celebration.
   
• Le pain calendeau (in southern France) - Christmas loaf, part of which is given to a poor person.
   
• La Galette des Rois (on Epiphany) - round cake which is cut into pieces and distributed by a child, known as le petit roi or l'enfant soleil, hiding under the table. Whoever finds la fève - the charm hidden inside - is King or Queen and can choose a partner.

French Christmas Decorations

The sapin de Noël is the main decoration in homes, streets, shops, offices, and factories. The sapin de Noël appeared in Alsace in the 14th century, decorated with apples, paper flowers, and ribbons, and was introduced in France in 1837.

Another important aspect of French Christmas celebrations is the crèche filled with santons, which is displayed in churches and many homes. Living crèches in the form of plays and puppet shows based on the Nativity are commonly performed to teach the important ideas of Christianity and the Christmas celebration.

Mistletoe is hung above the door during the Christmas season to bring good fortune throughout the year.

After Réveillon, it's customary to leave a candle burning in case the Virgin Mary passes by.

Is that Carol singing?

Some traditional French Christmas carols include "Un Flambeau", "Petit Papa Noel", "La Marche des rois", "Venez Divin Messie", "Nouelle Agreable" and "C'est la jour de la Noel."

Blog submitted by: David at Cle France.

For everything you need to know about French property visit www.clefrance.co.uk