Christmas Holidays 2026 in France: Where to Go

1. The dates: the same Christmas holidays in every zone

The 2026 Christmas holidays start on Saturday 19 December, after the last school day, and end with the return to school on Monday 4 January 2027 morning. Zones A, B and C have the same dates, and so does Corsica: Lyon, Lille, Strasbourg or Paris break up and return on the same days. The zones only differ in February 2027, for the winter holidays.

Source: service-public.gouv.fr, sheet F31952, checked 13 October 2026. The winter dates were cross-checked with vacances-scolaires.com, which uses France’s Éducation nationale data updated on 24 July 2026.

2. Christmas markets: Strasbourg, Colmar and the cities that open

Strasbourg remains the reference, and also the most crowded. The official site announces an opening on Friday 27 November 2026, with no closing date and no 2026 opening hours published at the time of checking. The hours circulating everywhere, 11:30 am to 9 pm, are those of the 2025 edition.

Strasbourg and Alsace: the reference market, and the busiest

Free access Day trip or weekend Mild winter expected From 27 November 2026

The Strasbourg market, the Christkindelsmärik, sets up in the historic centre. Its official site is the only direct source for the dates: noel.strasbourg.eu.

Highlights

• Free access to the streets and chalets: the budget is decided by transport, accommodation and meals
• More than forty Alsace markets open from the third week of November, across 190 km, according to a travel guide (secondary source)
• A day trip to Alsace’s other markets can be booked for the date, alongside the Strasbourg market

Pixidia tip: go on a Tuesday to Thursday. The Colmar tourist office advises avoiding weekends from 12 pm to 6 pm. In Strasbourg, parking in the Grande Île is practically impossible during the market: use a park-and-ride and the tram instead.

Alsace Christmas Markets Day Tour from Strasbourg €150 per person (based on 2 adults, checked 13 October 2026), departures 19 to 24 December 2026 · ★ 4.6 (48 reviews)

Book my day trip to the markets

Colmar is announced from 23 November to 29 December 2026, based on listings, with no confirmation from the tourist office at the time of checking. Riquewihr (27 November to 20 December 2026, more than forty chalets) is suggested as an alternative to Strasbourg by trade articles.

Only Strasbourg comes from an official source: the table shows how firm each date is.

Sources: noel.strasbourg.eu for Strasbourg; for the other cities, tourist office sites, event listings and local media, checked 13 October 2026. None of these listings had been confirmed by the organisers at that date.

3. Mountains: resorts and ski passes

Resorts open depending on snow: the dates below are forecasts, not guarantees. The mild-winter outlook (section 9) makes this risk real.

Northern Alps: Tignes, Val Thorens, Chamonix, Les Arcs

Season pass: €1,620 (Les 3 Vallées, secondary source) Openings from 21 November Mild winter expected Late November to mid-December

Les Arcs announces 200 km of runs, and 425 km for the whole Paradiski area, according to Guide-ski (secondary source). Its opening on 12 December 2026 is the only date confirmed by the resort itself.

Highlights

• Several high-altitude resorts open before Christmas, according to forecast dates
• The day pass, at €68 or €78 depending on the resort (secondary prices from Guide-ski, not confirmed by the operators: €68 at Alpe d’Huez, €78 at Tignes-Val d’Isère), compares with the season pass (see section 7)

Pixidia tip: book your accommodation after checking the resort’s opening date, and choose free cancellation. We found no reliable 2026 accommodation prices for the resorts.

Source: Skiinfo, opening dates of Northern Alps resorts, checked 13 October 2026; Les Arcs: lesarcs.com, consulted 13 October 2026.

4. Paris: closed museums, lights and New Year’s Eve

Paris is a classic choice for this period, and this is where closures hit hardest. On 25 December, the major Paris museums are closed. On 1 January, the Louvre and Versailles are closed; for the Musée d’Orsay, sources disagree.

Paris: closed museums, open markets and lights

City tax: €2.60 to €15.93 per night Markets from 14 November to 4 January Mild winter expected Disneyland until 4 or 6 January

Paris has options that do not depend on museums: the Tuileries market, the Champs-Élysées market, and Disneyland Paris. The Château de Versailles is also closed on 25 December and 1 January.

Highlights

• Disneyland Paris extends its Enchanted Christmas from 7 November 2026 to 6 January 2027 according to Sortiraparis, and to 4 January according to World in Paris

Pixidia tip: if the Musée d’Orsay is on your list, book your time slot before you leave. Booking has been required since 10 March 2026, according to the museum listing on offi.fr (extract).

The table below groups the closures of the three major Paris museums and Versailles for the two holidays. Rows marked « not settled » are not published as a rule: the sources disagree.

Sources: louvre.fr, opening hours (extract, consulted 13 October 2026); Versailles Grand Parc tourist office (extract); offi.fr, Musée d’Orsay (extract). The Louvre must be cross-checked on its official page before your visit.

Paris has no published 2026 New Year’s Eve programme yet. For the Champs-Élysées fireworks, the reference is the 2025 edition (video mapping around the Arc de Triomphe, fireworks at midnight), described on paris.fr.

5. Provence and the Côte d’Azur: mild weather and southern markets

In the South, France’s Ministry of Culture lists the Christmas celebrations of Provence in the national intangible cultural heritage inventory (record consulted 13 October 2026). Nice announces 27 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, according to a local media outlet to be cross-checked. Aix-en-Provence has only published its 2025 programme: no 2026 dates are given here.

Book the train early in the South too, since sales have been open since 30 September, and check the markets in each town: the dates vary.

6. Lyon, Annecy and Lille: three cities with variable dates

Lyon hosts the Fête des Lumières (Festival of Lights) in early December, probably 5 to 8 December 2026 according to the most consistent sources (France.fr says « to be confirmed »). Its market is announced from 20 November to 24 December 2026, to be confirmed.

Annecy opens at the end of November (26 or 29 November depending on the source) and closes on 3 or 4 January 2027: check the closing date before booking for early January.

Lille announces its market from 18 November to 30 December 2026, according to listings. One of these listings shows a closure on 25 December: have a backup plan.

7. Budget: what is dated and what is not

What is dated

• Tourist tax in Paris (2026): per person and per night, €15.93 in a palace, €11.70 in a 5-star hotel, €8.45 in a 4-star, €5.53 in a 3-star, €3.25 in a 2-star and €2.60 in a 1-star, according to economie.gouv.fr (extract, consulted 13 October 2026).
• New Year’s Eve 2026 in Blotzheim (Alsace): €110 per person on 31 December 2026, drinks not included, on reservation. This is the only 2026 New Year’s Eve price in our sources (extract).
• New Year’s Eve 2025: average menu of €48 on 24 and 25 December, and €78 on 31 December, drinks excluded, according to a survey of the restaurant trade covering 86 responses. These are 2025 figures: do not present them as 2026 prices.
• Ski passes: €1,620 for the season and €84.20 for the day at Les 3 Vallées (Alti-mag, secondary source), €68 for the day at Alpe d’Huez and €78 for an adult day pass at Tignes-Val d’Isère (Guide-ski, secondary sources, not confirmed by the operators).

What is not dated

We found no reliable source for hotel or guesthouse rates at Christmas 2026, or for 2026 museum tickets. Check any figure of that kind on the provider’s site.

A budget logic

• Many markets are free to enter; Vannes is the exception, with its paid big wheel. The real budget is decided by transport, accommodation and meals, and that is where to compare.
• Book the train early: sales have been open since 30 September 2026.
• If you are between 12 and 27 years old, the Avantage Jeune SNCF card can change the sum. Check its 2026 price on the SNCF site, as promotional offers vary.
• For skiing, at the day rate of €84.20, the €1,620 season pass only pays off from around twenty ski days. A few-day Christmas stay should be costed by the day.

8. Trains and travel

Sales of TGV INOUI and Intercités tickets for journeys from 13 December 2026 to 6 January 2027 have been open since Wednesday 30 September 2026, according to several consistent extracts (voyagerentrain.fr and other news relays). The SNCF Voyageurs site could not be read: confirm on sncf-connect.com. OUIGO also has tickets on sale, according to the same extracts.

Some articles still announce a sale opening « within 24 hours »: those texts are old. Prices rise as trains fill up; no reliable source puts a figure on the gap between booking in October and booking the week of departure.

We found no strike notice for December 2026 in our sources at the time of checking; watch SNCF travel information the week you leave. For 24, 25 and 26 December, we found no reliable information on TER and TGV services: avoid tight connections on those days.

9. Weather and conditions

This is not a forecast for Christmas. Météo-France’s first winter trends, reported on 5 October 2026 by Econostrum (secondary source), point to temperatures above normal. Meteo-Paris (secondary source) adds that snow on the plains is unlikely, and cites an ECMWF analysis forecasting below-normal snow cover at low and mid altitudes.

For the mountains, opening dates therefore depend on snow cover: see section 3. Check the weather for the week of departure, not last summer’s.

10. Sample itinerary: a weekend in Strasbourg

One possible way to organise it. It does not replace opening hours, which are not yet published for 2026.

• Saturday 19 December: arrive after school, settle in, then visit the Strasbourg market late in the afternoon. The advice gathered recommends avoiding weekends from 12 pm to 6 pm in Colmar and Strasbourg.
• Sunday 20 December: a day around the Alsace markets, on the date, if you have booked the excursion. It is available from 19 to 24 December 2026, according to the 13 October check.
• Monday 21 December: a quiet morning in the old town and on foot in La Petite France, then head back. For a stay in Strasbourg, we recommend Tuesday to Thursday.

11. Which trip suits your profile

With family

Disneyland Paris is the most obvious option, with its Enchanted Christmas until 4 or 6 January 2027, depending on the sources. Plan a backup: the major Paris museums are closed on 25 December, and the Louvre and Versailles on 1 January.

On a small budget

Many markets are free to enter: the budget goes on the train and accommodation. Book the train now, and keep New Year’s Eve simple: the only 2026 price we found is Blotzheim’s, at €110 excluding drinks.

As a couple

Tuesday to Thursday, in Colmar or Riquewihr, avoids the weekends from 12 pm to 6 pm that the Colmar tourist office advises against. These are recommendations, not attendance measures.

A first trip to France

Plan the Strasbourg market early in your stay, and check each museum’s closures before fixing your visits. For trains, SNCF Christmas sales have been open since 30 September 2026 (extract), and TER bookings open three to five months ahead, depending on the region.

What other guides don’t tell you

Each of these points links to an open, dated source.

• According to an extract of the Louvre’s opening-hours page, the museum is closed on 25 December and 1 January, in addition to Tuesdays. Several guides present it as open every day, or say nothing. The page could not be read in full (louvre.fr): check before your visit (consulted 13 October 2026).
• SNCF Christmas ticket sales have been open since 30 September 2026. Some guides still announce a sale opening « within 24 hours ». The fact comes from voyagerentrain.fr (extract, consulted 13 October 2026).
• The Strasbourg market opens on 27 November 2026, with no 2026 hours published. The 11:30 am to 9 pm hours seen everywhere are from 2025. Source: noel.strasbourg.eu (consulted 13 October 2026).
• The Musée d’Orsay has required a timed-slot booking since 10 March 2026. Several guides do not mention it and present entry as free. Fact noted on the museum listing (offi.fr, extract), to be checked on the museum’s own site.
• Les Arcs opens on 12 December 2026. The resort announces it, while some guides still repeat 2025 dates. Source: lesarcs.com (consulted 13 October 2026).