Strasbourg Christmas markets: free self-guided walking tour
Quick answer. A free self-guided walking tour through Strasbourg’s Christmas-market squares: 5 stops, about 2.4 km, about 30 minutes of walking plus about 31 minutes of listening. Start at Place Broglie, home of the Christkindelsmärik since 1870, where tradition says the Marseillaise was first heard in public. On Place Kléber, General Kléber lies beneath his statue and the great Christmas tree stands in winter. Walk on to Petite France, the old tanners’ quarter on the channels of the Ill, then to Strasbourg Cathedral, whose spire was completed in 1439. Finish at the Palais Rohan, the prince-bishops’ palace designed by Robert de Cotte.
- Stops:
- 5
- Distance:
- about 2.4 km
- Walking:
- about 30 min
- Listening:
- about 31 min
Two ways to do this walk
Strasbourg with Mappu
Walk Mode, in the free Mappu app
It knows where you are, tells you about everything you pass between the stops, answers your questions and keeps you on the route. Your phone stays in your pocket.
A 2-hour live walk, €4.99.
50 credits from the Starter pack. One-time purchase, no subscription.
Self-guided audio walk. No guide accompanies you. Not affiliated with the sites.
Free: the audio guides
Listen to each stop’s audio guide in your browser and find your own way between the stops.
Walking directions in Google MapsStrasbourg Christmas markets: how long does the walk take?
About 61 minutes in all: about 30 minutes on foot over about 2.4 km, plus about 31 minutes of audio at the 5 stops. Time inside the sites is extra.
Strasbourg Christmas markets: in what order should you visit the stops?
Follow the stops in this order: Place Broglie, Place Kléber, Petite France, Strasbourg Cathedral, and Palais Rohan. The longest stretch between two stops is about 1.0 km, about 14 min on foot.
Christmas markets: walk the old town
In the weeks before Christmas 2026, markets fill the old town’s squares, and this walk passes Place Broglie, Place Kléber, Place Benjamin Zix, Place de la Cathédrale, and Place du Château. Its audio guides tell the story of the squares and the buildings around them, not of the stalls.
Market dates 2026
Place Broglie
November 27 – December 24
Audio guide nearby: Place Broglie
Place Kléber
November 27 – December 24
Audio guide nearby: Place Kléber
Place du Temple Neuf
November 27 – December 24
Audio guide nearby: Place Kléber
Place Benjamin Zix
November 27 – December 24
Audio guide nearby: Petite France
Place Saint-Thomas
November 27 – December 24
Audio guide nearby: Petite France
Square Louise Weiss
November 27 – December 24
Audio guide nearby: Petite France
Place Grimmeissen
November 27 – December 24
Audio guide nearby: Petite France
Place de la Cathédrale
November 27 – December 24
Audio guide nearby: Strasbourg Cathedral
Place du Château
November 27 – December 24
Audio guide nearby: Palais Rohan
Place du Marché-aux-Poissons
November 27 – December 24
Audio guide nearby: Palais Rohan
Official dates: noel.strasbourg.eu · checked on October 25, 2026
Route and map
Indicative route. While you walk, watch where you're going, mind the traffic and follow local signs and rules. The map is an aid, not a safety guide. Terms
Follow Mappu’s map: the route runs along the streets from stop to stop, and the stories keep playing as you walk.
To get to the first stop, or if you’re far from the route, Google Maps has walking directions through every stop.
Stop 1
A famous story ties a house on the square to Mayor de Dietrich, who asked the young officer Rouget de Lisle for the war song that became the Marseillaise.
about 6 min of audio
Next stop: Place Kléber · about 0.4 km, about 6 min on foot
Stop 2
General Kléber, assassinated in Cairo in 1800, was finally laid to rest in 1838 beneath his own statue in the middle of the square.
about 6 min of audio
Next stop: Petite France · about 0.6 km, about 8 min on foot
Stop 3
The name goes back to a hospice for syphilis patients, then called the French disease, which locals nicknamed Französel, little France, before the name spread to the whole quarter.
about 7 min of audio
Next stop: Strasbourg Cathedral · about 1.0 km, about 14 min on foot
Stop 4
Built of pink Vosges sandstone, the cathedral got its spire in 1439, and Goethe described it as a sublimely towering, wide-spreading tree of God.
about 6 min of audio
Next stop: Palais Rohan · about 0.4 km, about 5 min on foot
Stop 5
Built for the Rohan prince-bishops between 1732 and 1742 to Robert de Cotte’s plans, it was meant to look like a great Parisian mansion beside the Gothic cathedral.
about 6 min of audio
The stop stories are AI-generated audio guides and can contain mistakes. Check opening hours and tickets on the official sites.
Before you go
- Check opening hours, tickets and access on each site’s official page before you go.
- Distances and times are estimates: the walking route between stops, from OpenStreetMap, at 4.5 km/h. Your route on the street may differ.
Route checked by Mappu on October 25, 2026. Stop descriptions come from each place’s published Mappu audio guide. Mappu is a Fenutech product.