Even more accessible Christmas markets in Alsace

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First arrived, first served. Since 6 am this Tuesday, October 1, SNCF tickets at reduced prices for the Christmas holidays have been on sale. And some woke up very early to benefit from it. “We got up at 6 am this morning and then here, my husband reserved it. And 10 minutes later, it had already increased a little”explains a passerby.

We carried out the test: for a Paris-Colmar train on December 15, it takes between 50 and 87 euros, against a hundred usually. Attractive prices, with a novelty this year: from the end of November, 29,000 additional places per week will be offered to Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin) and Colmar (Haut-Rhin), what to take advantage of Alsatian Christmas markets. An Alsatian resident is delighted with this initiative: “There are regular ticketing offers cheaper for summer, for the holidays. Why not for Christmas markets? It’s good for Alsace.”

The benefits are already felt. A hotel located near Strasbourg station, used to refueling at the end of the year, sees its reservations accelerating. “We already have some impacts. We are already starting to have phone calls, etc. so we know it anyway. And if we had missed this information, given the reservations movement, there is something”, says Sébastian Costa, director of the Vosges Best Western Hotel First Collection.

Same enthusiasm on the side of local trade. Michel Schmidt, manager of the Geeking Dome store, specializing in video and company games, hopes to attract new customers: “For me it can be good. The Christmas market is a period when you can triple or even quadrubit the turnover since we open on Sundays.”

Last year, 1.7 million tickets were sold in one day.