Arras – French Christmas Market

Arras Christmas Market (62 Pas-de-Calais, Hauts de France) runs 24 November – 30 December 2023

Arras, with its impressive squares (places), holds a spectacular Christmas market on the Grand Place. This market has about 50 mini wooden chalets offering offer a wide selection of arts and crafts, as well as local delicacies such as “Les Coeurs d’Arras” (a heart shaped biscuit with ginger and cheese flavourings.
Craft exhibits(2010) from Poland, Vietnam, Morocco, Indonesia and Africa; regional food and drink from the Auvergne, Savoy, Holland and Southwest France as well as the local region.

From late November and throughout December one of Arras’ most prestigious squares – the Grand’Place – will be transformed into a winter wonderland as the Christmas Village comes to town. In one of the most enchanting and extensive markets north of Paris, more than 80 exhibitors will gather in the splendid square with its ornately sculpted Flemish-Spanish baroque façades. Visitors can browse stalls selling present for all the family from traditional wooden toys and fun fashion accessories to gifts for gourmands such as champagne and foie gras.

Local flavours

To protect against the chilly evenings, warm yourself with a mug of chocolat chaud and sample some roasted chestnuts or fluffy Flemish waffles, a local speciality. The Christmas market will form just part of the spectacular seasonal celebrations as shoppers are entertained by performers, jugglers, clowns and an orchestra.

If you fancy a break from shopping, get your skates on and glide around the 600m² ice rink, accompanied by festive tunes. Or take a night-time tour of historic Arras. As darkness falls the façades the town’s classical buildings, churches, squares and monuments are floodlit, casting a magical spell and offering a completely different experience to a daytime discovery of Arras.

For more info see www.ot-arras.fr/

Built by the English in 1929, Hotel d’Angleterre is an elegant building converted into a 4-star hotel. Located in central Arras, the hotel is situated in front of the railway station and only about 5 minutes walk from the Grand’ Place