On Place Claude Arnoult, our gourmet place, where 22 trees cut into cones and lit up for the occasion flourish, 10 chalets await you, with family or friends, to enjoy local or more distant specialties, but always in the spirit of Christmas.
Snails, foie gras, oysters, platters and kebabs, local cheeses or even pasta with a wheel of Parmesan will delight your taste buds, accompanied by mulled wine, white or red, Christmas beers (to be consumed with pleasure and moderation), hot chocolates. The list is too long to list, it’s up to you to find out everything. A pagoda will host musical entertainment, where the atmosphere will be pleasantly heated by a gigantic brazier.
Walking through the pedestrian streets you will discover skies of lights and other luminous decorations, concentrated this year in the hyper-centre.
You then arrive from rue du Mersch and rue du Luxembourg, in place Anne Grommerch, dedicated this year to children. This playful village set up around the purple beech adorned with lights offers various “sweet” food stalls, to the delight of the little ones. A carousel of Christmas flying chairs awaits children aged 3 to 10, to bring them closer to Santa Claus. Also worth discovering is the teddy bear chalet and Santa’s mailbox. Entertainment is also provided on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays in December for older children.
Your wandering will lead you, according to the roofs of lights and 3D Christmas decorations in a completely natural way, towards the Place au Bois. There, an enchanted forest will guide you into the heart of a huge magical bubble 8 meters in diameter. By transparency, this giant ball invites young and old to daydream and marvel at its dreamy animations and decorations: welcome to the magic of Christmas! But there’s nothing better than exploring the inside of this enchanted bubble, with its gourmet house, gingerbread men, automatons, bears and other magical forest animals, Christmas balls and decorations bright. Santa Claus will make several appearances there, welcoming the children and taking their gift orders.
Also worth discovering is the Christmas tree on the esplanade of the Town Hall and the gigantic Advent calendar on the facade of the Town Hall: every day there are gifts up for grabs offered by the merchants of Thionville and the APECET.
A craft market is also organized on the first 2 Sundays of December at the Belfry. Come and discover the works of these extraordinary Lorraine artists. Also at the Belfry, the local craft markets will take place from 13 to 23 December. Enough to end your Christmas gifts with original ideas.
Christmas concerts are also scheduled every Saturday and Sunday in December at aperitif time, Place Claude Arnoult, under the large pagoda. Even children will find what they are looking for, with the presence of creative and make-up workshops every Wednesday afternoon.
The highlight of this 2023 Christmas market is December 4, which starts at 3pm with the Christmas concert by the Philharmonic Orchestra in the Saint-Maximin church. This concert will be followed from 4.30pm by the traditional Saint-Nicolas parade through the streets of Thionville. Accompanied by his 12 floats, brass bands and elves, our patron saint will distribute sweets to well-behaved children and receive the keys to the City from the Mayor.
