Colmar Christmas Markets: Wine Tasting & 3 Villages at Night

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/3

Duration9h

GroupUp to 7

LanguagesEN · DE +2

PickupAt your hotel

What the evening light does to a half-timbered village strung with garland

You're picked up near Colmar in the afternoon, driven through vineyards to a wine cellar for tastings, then taken to three Christmas markets—Eguisheim and Riquewihr in daylight, Kaysersberg at night. You explore each village at your own pace, with time to shop and eat, and return to your hotel after dark. Bottled water and the driver's knowledge of the route are included.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Christmas markets and wine tasting

Depart from Colmar
Pass through vineyards
Taste wine at cellar
Visit Eguisheim Christmas Market
Visit Riquewihr Christmas Market
Visit Kaysersberg Christmas Market at night

The Experience

Hands wrap around a warm glass of mulled wine, steam rising into the cold air, and it takes a moment to realize those are your hands—you're standing in the middle of Eguisheim's Christmas market, surrounded by wooden stalls selling ornaments and roasted chestnuts, the kind of scene that looks photoshopped until you're actually there. The minivan picks you up near your Colmar hotel in the afternoon, and the driver takes the route through the Alsatian vineyards first, stopping at a wine cellar where you taste the region's whites and reds before the markets even open. By the time you reach the first village, the sun is already low, and that's when the decorations start to matter—not in daylight, but in the way the lights catch the old stone and the narrow streets turn into something from a storybook.

Eguisheim comes first, during the day, which sounds like it might be the weak part of the tour until you realize the point: you get to move through it without the evening crowds, see the market stalls properly, taste what you want without being jostled. The village sits in concentric circles around a castle, and the Christmas market fills the central square with vendors selling everything from handmade ornaments to local cheeses. You have time to explore at your own pace—nobody is herding you toward a bus. Then Riquewihr, another village, equally decorated, equally old, but different in layout and character. Two villages in daylight means you actually see them, not just photograph them. After that, the minivan takes you to Kaysersberg as the evening deepens, and this is where the tour becomes what people book it for: the same market, the same half-timbered houses, but now lit from below and above, the Christmas lights reflecting off the wet cobblestones if it's rained, the whole place transformed into the version of itself that exists only in December.

The wine tasting happens early enough that you're not drinking on an empty stomach—there's time to eat at the markets, and the driver knows the route well enough that the transitions between villages don't feel rushed. Bottled water is included, which matters more than it sounds when you're moving between three places in one afternoon and evening. The minivan itself is the format that makes this work: small enough to navigate the narrow village streets, large enough that you're not crammed in, and the driver doubles as a guide who knows which markets are open that particular year (the opening dates shift village to village, so the exact itinerary can change). If your accommodation is far from the standard pickup point near Colmar, you can contact the operator to arrange something else, but most hotels in the center are covered.

What’s included

Hotel pickup and drop-off near Colmar, minivan transport with a driver-guide, wine tasting at a local cellar, bottled water, and access to three Christmas markets in Eguisheim, Riquewihr, and Kaysersberg. Food and market purchases are not included.

Good to know

Easy physical levelStroller friendlyInfant seats availablePublic transport nearby

Operated by Alsace Original Experiences

Is this one for you?A good fit if you want to see three decorated Alsatian villages in one day without arranging transport or navigating between them yourself—the minivan and fixed route are what fit all three into a single afternoon and evening. Plan for a full day out, starting mid-afternoon and ending after dark.