My wife and I will be in Paris the second week in December. She understands there is a nice holiday market in Strasbourg and would like to go there. Since it is some distance from Paris I was wondering about the value of the trip to Strasbourg versus spending that time in Paris. We will already have 6 nights in Paris.
Thanks for your recommendations and thoughts about Strasbourg.
|||
How odd.
My wife and I will be in Germany the second week in December visiting friends and Christmas Markets prior to going to England. We%26#39;re wondering if it%26#39;s worth going out of our way to see Paris. Paris is lit up different for Christmas. This will also be our last chance to visit some friends in Paris prior to their moving to the Alsace in 2007. If you haven%26#39;t seen a German Christmasmarket, Strasbourg is worth a visit if you%26#39;re in the area. If you want more, cross to the east of the Rhine.
|||
I went to the Strasbourg Christmas Market last year. Was in France for 7 days---spent 6 nights in Paris and 1 night in Strasbourg. It is a 3 1/2hr to 4 hr. train ride. The TGV train may be running by then...not sure if it was scheduled to start this spring or spring of 2007...That will decrease the trip to about 2 hrs. Strasbourg is a charming town to see and the market is nice but nothing to rave about...it is large market and most of the stands are food(cheese, gingerbread and other pastry type food specific to the area) and christmas decorations. There are a few nice craft type booths. Choose a hotel near the cathedral if you go. I would recommend Hotel Suisse 2/4 rue de La Rape, a comfortable and charming boutique hotel which was 80-120 Euro including breakfast.
We attended a concert in the Cathedral on Sunday afternoon which was awesome.
It depends on what your interests are. I am glad I went but did not think it was worth the travel time just to see Strasbourg. I think it would be better to go in warmer weather and travel thru. the area to some of the other towns.
There is a lot to see and do in Paris and day trips which are closer than Strasbourg.
|||
Unfortunately the TGV Est will not be in operation until next year - late spring/early summer, I believe.
In the interim, I think the 4 hour train trip each way in the middle of winter could be deadly dull. The scenery on this route isn%26#39;t great at the best of times.
I do like Strasbourg and Alsace, but I%26#39;d much rather visit in the summer/early fall than in the depths of winter, when I don%26#39;t think you will see either the city or the surrounding area at their best. That said, I have never seen the Christmas market in Strasbourg...
Paris is beautiful in its Christmas finery, and the store windows are a delight. You might want to check out what is going on at somewhere like Vaux-le-Vicomte over the Christmas period. The chIateau is magnificent and IIRC it is specially decorated for Christmas.
|||
It will be VERY cold in Alsace. I have been to the Christmas market in Strausbourg twice. There are also markets in the villages on the wine road as well as Colmar. If you like Chrismas decorations this is the place to go. It is truely incredible. A wonderland. There is a street with Baccarat chandeliers hanging above the street the whole length of the street. The xmas tree is huge. The market wanders all about the city center. I L O V E it but I have a thing for xmas as my mom always made it very special.
|||
I went to Strasbourg this last december. We went early morning and caught the last train back to paris that same day...ugh!! Although we had a good time I would much rather have spent the time in Paris. The christmas market was nothing special, more or less a crowded flea market...just my 2 cents.
|||
My thanks to all for your insights. I have felt there is so much in Paris and the surrounding area that I was hesitant to make the trip to Strasbourg. I will probably wait until another time for that experience.
|||
-:- Message from TripAdvisor staff -:-
This topic was inactive for 6 months and has been closed to new posts. We hope you'll join the conversation by posting to an open topic or starting a new one.
To review the TripAdvisor Forums Posting Guidelines, please follow this link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/pages/forums_posting_guidelines.html
We remove posts that do not follow our posting guidelines, and we reserve the right to remove any post for any reason.
Removed on: 10:15 am, August 14, 2009
No comments:
Post a Comment