Self-declared Capitale de Noël since 1570, and the title is deserved: half-timbered Petite France under fairy lights, a market spread across a dozen squares and a cathedral rising pink and improbable above it all. Drink vin chaud beside the canals, eat choucroute in a centuries-old winstub and take the Alsace wine route to Colmar for a second helping. Book accommodation months ahead for December — the secret is comprehensively out.
Featured in Ten cosy winter city breaks for two · Romantic