Ribeauvillé medieval Christmas market: when and how to go

Four days a year, not one more

This is the first thing to grasp: the medieval market takes place only on the first two weekends of December. In 2026 that means Saturday the 5th, Sunday the 6th, Saturday the 12th and Sunday the 13th. Outside those four days, Ribeauvillé remains a decorated village with its shops and cellars, but with no market. Any trip is planned around those dates, not the other way round.

What you actually see

What sets it apart from other Alsatian markets is that the whole town is staged. Traders are in costume, and the market currency, the music and the trades on show all belong to the re-enactment:

• Stalls held by craftspeople in costume: forge, glassblowing, pottery, horn and leather work.
• Continuous street performance: jugglers, fire-eaters, stilt walkers, falconry displays.
• Tavern food served in wooden bowls, rather than the usual mulled wine chalets.
• Period drinks alongside the mulled wine, notably hypocras and mead.
• A re-enactment camp where troops present medieval equipment and drill.

2026 dates and opening hours

Saturday 5 December from 10 to 7, Sunday 6 December from 10 to 6, Saturday 12 December from 10 to 7, Sunday 13 December from 10 to 6. Saturdays therefore close an hour later than Sundays, which makes them the only slot where you see the market after dark. It is also the busiest day: late Saturday afternoon draws both the day visitors and those coming for the lights.

A town sealed with concrete blocks

Across the two weekends the old town is closed and protected by concrete blocks, put in place on Saturday morning and removed on Sunday evening. Access is on foot only, through filtered entry points. No vehicle circulates inside, not even to drop off. You therefore need to allow for the walk from wherever you arrive, which weighs with small children or reduced mobility.

The park-and-ride and the shuttle

A park-and-ride of around 750 spaces operates at Bergheim, a few kilometres away, with a free shuttle to the market every twenty minutes. It runs from 9.50 in the morning to 8.30 at night on Saturdays, and to 7.30 on Sundays. Parking there is charged, in the order of ten euros per vehicle. Parking inside Ribeauvillé itself is wishful thinking on those four days: the few available spaces are taken before 10. A private driver dropping you at one of the entry points removes both the shuttle and the wait for the return, which is the busiest moment of the day.

Dress for four hours outdoors

The market is entirely outdoors, on cobbles, in a valley where the temperature often drops below zero in early December. There is no covered refuge comparable to the Koifhus in Colmar. Two to three hours on site is enough for most visitors, and clothing decides the real duration: thick-soled shoes, several layers, gloves. Mulled wine keeps you warm for half an hour, not for the day.