Reims is 46 minutes from Paris by TGV, and its Christmas market starts about a minute after you walk out of the station.
You can be holding a flute of champagne by the chalets before most people in Paris have finished their coffee.
That alone makes it my favourite Christmas market day trip from Paris.
The market itself is good but definitely not legendary.
It’s a long line of about 150 chalets down a tree-lined boulevard park called the Hautes Promenades, and since 2022 it hasn’t been in front of the cathedral, whatever older guides and photos tell you.
Next to the half-timbered squares of Alsace it lacks a bit of magic, and I won’t pretend otherwise.
But Reims at Christmas is more than the market. There’s champagne by the glass at every other kiosk, the cathedral where 33 French kings were crowned lights up with a free show on Friday and Saturday nights, and some of the most famous champagne houses in the world sit in chalk cellars a short walk away.
Then on the second weekend of December, Épernay, about half an hour down the line, throws a champagne festival of lights on the Avenue de Champagne.
So come for the market, stay for everything around it, and if you can, stay the night. The best parts of Reims happen after dark and the morning after.
Reims Christmas Market 2026 Dates, Hours and Where It Actually Is
The Reims Christmas market runs from Wednesday 25 November to Sunday 27 December 2026.
Entry is free.
| Day | Hours (2025) |
| Monday | 14:00–20:00 |
| Tuesday and Wednesday | 11:30–21:00 |
| Thursday and Friday | 11:30–22:00 |
| Saturday | 10:00–22:00 |
| Sunday | 10:00–20:00 |
| Christmas week | Weekdays open from 11:00 |
| 24 December | 11:00–18:00 |
| 25 December | Closed |
| Last day | Closed at 18:00 |
A lot of websites still send you to the cathedral square. That was true for a few years before 2022, but the market moved to the Hautes Promenades Jean-Louis Schneiter, the long park that starts right outside Reims-Centre station.
The chalets run in one line from the station end to the Porte de Mars, a third-century Roman arch at the far end, and you can walk the whole thing in about six minutes if you don’t stop.
…you will stop.
The city moved it for a few reasons. The cathedral square was getting building works, the weekend queues in 2021 stretched past the tram line and annoyed residents and shops, and stallholders complained they were hard to find.
The Promenades give everyone more room and sit right next to the station and the shops.
Some locals still miss having the cathedral as a backdrop, and I understand that, but the extra space makes the crowds much easier to deal with.
And there are crowds. The market had about 1 million visitors in 2025 and 1.1 million in 2024, with a one-day record of 70,000 people on Saturday 13 December 2025.
Most of them are locals. In 2024 more than half the visitors came from the Marne itself, and the city also counted about 16,400 Belgians and 9,400 Americans, with day-trippers from Paris filling the weekends.
There are bag checks at the entrances, so don’t bring a huge backpack.
At the station end there’s a small producers’ corner of about ten chalets with local food and crafts, and that’s where I’d do my shopping.
For rides, go to the 55-metre Ferris wheel on Place d’Erlon, five minutes south of the market, which in 2025 had 36 heated cabins and cost €8 for adults and €6 for kids.
There’s also a separate funfair, the Foire de Noël et des Rois, on Chaussée Bocquaine from 5 December 2026 to 3 January 2027.
There’s no Christmas ice rink in the centre these days, whatever some blogs say. The nearest one is in Épernay.
What to Eat and Drink (Champagne Counts as Both)
You’re in the capital of champagne, so the market sells it by the flute from little kiosks between the chalets, from local growers as well as the bigger houses.
Expect roughly €5 to €8 a glass. Several stalls pair it with fresh oysters, which is my favourite way to spend twenty minutes at any Christmas market anywhere.
Mulled wine comes in a reusable cup with a little cathedral-in-a-snow-globe design, and you get your deposit back when you return it, or you keep it as a souvenir.
Biscuits roses are the Reims thing to try.
These pink, very dry little biscuits date back to around 1690 and were baked twice in the leftover heat of the bread oven, hence the name (bis-cuit, twice-cooked).
They’re dyed pink with carmine, and the local way to eat them is dunked straight into a glass of champagne.
Maison Fossier has been making them since 1756 and has a shop on Cours Jean-Baptiste Langlet, a short walk from the market.
Reims was also France’s gingerbread capital for centuries. Its gingerbread makers got their own guild in 1571, and Henri IV recognised them in 1596.
Then World War I wrecked the trade and Dijon took over the title. Fossier brought Reims gingerbread back in 2008, so look out for it at the stalls and in the shop.
The savoury side is very Champagne. Jambon de Reims is pork shoulder pressed with parsley and served cold. Pâté champenois is pork and rabbit marinated in marc de Champagne and baked in pastry.
You’ll also see Chaource, a soft local cheese, and ratafia, a sweet fortified wine made from champagne grapes that tastes like Christmas in a small glass.
Add raclette, sausages and roast chestnuts, and nobody goes home hungry.
If you want a proper sit-down glass afterwards, go to Café du Palais, a few minutes from the cathedral, which has been pouring since 1930.
A coupe of the house champagne was €9.50 when I last checked the menu, and they do a “Formule Champenoise” with jambon de Reims, Chaource, pink-biscuit ice cream and a coupe for €38.
It’s closed on Sundays and Mondays.
Regalia and the Cathedral of 33 Kings
Reims Cathedral is the reason this city matters so much to France. Clovis, the first king of the Franks, was baptised in Reims by Saint Remi, and tradition puts it on Christmas Day (in 496 or 498, depending on who you ask).
From then on, French kings came here to be crowned. The city counts 33 sovereigns crowned in Reims between 816 and 1825, including Charles VII in 1429 with Joan of Arc standing in the cathedral.
At Christmas the best way to see it is from the square outside, after dark.
Regalia is a free light show projected onto the whole front of the cathedral, made by Moment Factory, the Montreal studio behind the famous Sagrada Família show.
It tells the story of a coronation day from dawn to the night-time celebrations, with music by the Reims band The Shoes and the cathedral’s own choir.
It lasts about 10 to 15 minutes, there’s no booking, and you just stand on the cathedral square, Place du Cardinal Luçon. Get there a few minutes early for a good spot.
| Regalia winter dates 2026–27 | Time |
| Fri 27 and Sat 28 November | 20:00 |
| Fri 4 and Sat 5 December | 20:00 |
| Sat 12 December (no show on Friday 11th) | 20:00 |
| Fri 18 and Sat 19 December | 20:00 |
| Fri 25 and Sat 26 December | 20:00 |
| Fri 1 and Sat 2 January | 20:00 |
Yes, there’s a show on Christmas Day, which is handy, because the market is closed that day.
Go inside during the day as well. The cathedral is free, open from 8:00 every day, and it’s worth seeing the Chagall windows from 1974 in the chapel at the far end, and the Smiling Angel on the left-hand portal outside.
The building burned in 1914, was rebuilt and reconsecrated in 1938, and still has over 2,300 statues.
At Christmas there’s a nativity scene by the Ardennes sculptor Paul Bialais, and people write prayers on baubles and hang them on fir trees in the nave, which is a lovely thing to see.
In 2025 the Christmas Eve masses at the cathedral were at 19:00 and 23:45, with a mass at 11:00 on Christmas Day. On the 25th the cathedral opens from 9:00 to 12:30 and 14:30 to 19:15.
The music is another reason to go in this year.
The cathedral’s grand organ had been silent since 2018, and it was restored and played again in May 2026, so if there’s a Christmas concert on during your visit, go. In 2025 the cathedral choir’s Christmas concert was in mid-December.
The one disappointment is the Palais du Tau next door, the archbishop’s palace that holds the coronation treasures. It’s closed for works and is being turned into a museum of coronations, due to reopen in 2027.
In 2025 the city ran small light shows on its back wall and on a couple of other old buildings nearby every evening, so keep an eye out for them on your walk back from the cathedral.
Champagne Cellars in December
The big champagne houses are mostly on Saint-Nicaise hill, on the south-east side of town, and the hill, its houses and the cellars underneath have been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2015.
The cellars are old chalk pits called crayères, first dug in the third century and later taken over by the champagne makers.
Some are over 30 metres deep, and they stay at about 10 to 11°C all year, so bring a jacket even though it’s warmer down there than outside.
Most houses run visits in December, but the hours shrink and a few close over the holidays, so book ahead.
| House | Basic visit | In December |
| Pommery | €30 self-guided with audio, or €36 guided | Open daily, closed 25 December and 1–2 January |
| Taittinger | Instant Rosé, €40 (about 1 h 10) | Open every day in December except the 25th |
| Veuve Clicquot | From €60 (about 1 h) | Usually closed on Mondays |
| Ruinart | €90, guided, 2 hours, small groups | Book well ahead |
| Mumm | €30 (1 h 30) | Thursday to Monday until 21 December, then closed until mid-January |
| G.H. Martel | €30 with two glasses | On the hill near Taittinger |
| Lanson | From €32 | South-west of the centre, not on the hill |
If you only do one, I’d pick Pommery or Taittinger.
Pommery goes down 116 steps into 18 km of galleries, and it’s known for the modern art it puts in its cellars. Taittinger’s cellars are in Gallo-Roman chalk pits that were later used by Benedictine monks, and the visit feels like walking through a buried cathedral.
Ruinart, the oldest house of the lot (founded in 1729), has the most impressive crayères, but at €90 it’s a splurge.
From the station, Saint-Nicaise hill is about a 35 to 40 minute walk, or take the bus.
From the cathedral it’s about 25 minutes. Once you’re up there, the houses are only five to ten minutes apart, and the Saint-Remi basilica is right next door.
If you’re short on time, Mumm is the closest big house to the station, about 17 minutes on foot, but remember it closes from 22 December.
More Christmas in Reims
For proper gifts, the market I’d actually plan around is Hyper Noël, a makers’ market run by the local collective Atelier Hyperespace at Le Cellier, 4 bis rue de Mars, a few minutes from the chalets.
In 2025 it had about 60 local makers with handmade gifts at every price, and it opened over the two weekends before Christmas plus the Wednesday in between, from 14:00 on weekdays and 10:00 at weekends.
The 2026 dates aren’t out yet, but expect the same mid-December window.
It’s a very different crowd from the Promenades, and a much better place to find something you won’t see anywhere else.
The rest of the city dresses up too. There’s a big Christmas tree on Place d’Erlon, the long pedestrian square of cafés and brasseries just south of the station, plus a tree outside the town hall that gets lit on the market’s opening night.
In 2025 the city also put up 3D light sculptures in red, green and gold around the centre, and the Ferris wheel turns over all of it.
Don’t skip the Saint-Remi basilica while you’re near the champagne houses.
It’s an 11th-century church, 126 metres long, where Saint Remi, the bishop who baptised Clovis, is buried, and it’s on the UNESCO list along with the cathedral.
The museum next door, in the old abbey, is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00 and costs €5.50, but it’s closed on 25 December and 1 January.
On the Sunday before Christmas in 2025, the diocese walked in procession from Saint-Remi to the cathedral, which tells you how tied these two churches still are.
If you have a car or an extra day, the towns around Reims run their own markets too. These are the 2025 dates, and 2026 should look similar.
| Town | 2025 dates | Worth knowing |
| Châlons-en-Champagne | 28 Nov – 28 Dec | Celebrated its 30th edition in 2025 |
| Laon | 6 Dec – 4 Jan | Has an ice rink, on a hilltop old town |
| Charleville-Mézières | 22 Nov – 31 Dec | Set on the grand Place Ducale |
| Troyes | 28 Nov – 28 Dec | 25 or more chalets in a half-timbered old town |
Épernay and Habits de Lumière
If you can, time your trip for 11 to 13 December 2026.
That’s when Épernay, the other champagne capital, holds Habits de Lumière, its festival of lights, for the 26th time.
It takes place along the Avenue de Champagne, a 1.5 km street of grand champagne houses with nearly 200 million bottles resting in the cellars underneath it.
On the Friday and Saturday evenings the avenue gets light installations, a video-mapping show on the town hall, music, champagne bars and fireworks.
On the Saturday there are chef demonstrations and food and champagne workshops, and on the Sunday hundreds of vintage cars parade down the avenue.
The festival itself is free.
You pay for the champagne, of course, and the paid workshops open for booking in late November.
Épernay is about 35 to 40 minutes from Reims by train, with fares from about €4. Moët & Chandon is the big name on the avenue, with tours from €48, but in December it’s closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so plan around that.
In 2025 Épernay also had a small ice rink and a Santa’s forest for the Christmas holidays.
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Reims
In 2026 Christmas Eve is a Thursday and Christmas Day is a Friday.
The market shuts early on the 24th and stays closed on the 25th, but Reims doesn’t shut down completely.
| What | 24 December | 25 December |
| Christmas market | 11:00–18:00 (2025 hours) | Closed |
| Cathedral | Open, masses at 19:00 and 23:45 (2025) | 9:00–12:30 and 14:30–19:15, mass at 11:00 (2025) |
| Regalia | No show | 20:00 |
| Pommery | Open | Closed |
| Taittinger | Open | Closed |
| Mumm | No visits after 21 December | Closed |
| Musée Saint-Remi | Open | Closed |
So if you’re spending Christmas in Reims, do the market on the 24th, go to a Christmas Eve mass at the cathedral, and keep Christmas Day for a long lunch, a walk and Regalia at 20:00.
The market’s last day is Sunday 27 December, and after that the Regalia shows carry on into the New Year weekend.
Day Trip or Stay the Night?
As a day trip, Reims is about as easy as it gets.
Direct TGVs from Paris Gare de l’Est take 46 minutes, there are around 15 a day, and fares start from about €15 if you book early.
You arrive at Reims-Centre, walk out, and the first chalets are right there.
If you’re flying in, there are also direct trains from Charles de Gaulle airport to the Champagne-Ardenne TGV station outside Reims in about half an hour, and a tram from there into the centre.
The catch is the evening.
Regalia starts at 20:00, the market is at its prettiest after 17:00 when the light goes (sunset in early December is about 16:50), and the last direct trains back to Paris leave in the evening at times that move around from day to day.
Check your exact date before you plan to watch the show and still get home.
That’s why I’d stay the night, ideally a Friday. Arrive around lunchtime, do the market in the afternoon while it’s calmer, have a glass and some oysters, walk to the cathedral for Regalia at 20:00 and dinner after.
The next morning, do a cellar visit on Saint-Nicaise hill, then head back to Paris or carry on to Épernay.
On the Habits de Lumière weekend, just remember there’s no Regalia on Friday 11 December, so do the cathedral on Saturday.
Avoid Saturdays in mid-December if you can, because that’s when the record crowds hit.
Weekday afternoons are comfortable. Dress for cold and grey. December in Reims averages about 7°C in the day and around 1 to 2°C at night, with rain on roughly 11 days of the month and not much sun, and snow is rare.
Is Reims Worth It at Christmas?
Yes, and especially if you’re already in Paris.
Paris has great Christmas windows and lights but fairly average markets.
Reims gives you a proper market three-quarters of an hour away, plus champagne cellars, a coronation cathedral and a light show you won’t see anywhere else. If you’re in Paris for a few days, give Reims one day and ideally one night.
My Paris Christmas market guide has everything for the other days.
If you’re comparing it with Alsace, Strasbourg and Colmar have more charm, more markets and more of that storybook feeling. Reims doesn’t try to compete with that. It wins on champagne, on history and on being so easy to reach, and it’s much less crowded than Strasbourg. If you have the time for both, my Strasbourg Christmas market guide is the next stop, and the rest of the Christmas markets in France are all on the site.
Just don’t come expecting the cathedral square to be full of chalets. And if you go, tell me in the comments whether you dunked your biscuit rose in champagne. It’s practically the law here.
