New York City has several Holiday/ Christmas Markets that are currently running, but did you know this year there is one straight from France? It’s the Christmas Market of Strasbourg, Colmar and Mulhouse. This was the first year this market was held in the city.
This market was sponsored by the cities of Strasbourg, Colmar, and Mulhouse. The Alsatian tourist board set up the market that included 30 chalets brought over from the French region of Alsace. The city of Strasbourg actually holds the oldest Christmas market in France.
Location
This market was located in Bowling Green Park in front of the entrance to the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian in Lower Manhattan at Broadway and Whitehall Streets.
What Was Available
This market had a variety of foods and crafts from the Alsatian region of France. Unfortunately today was the last day. It ran from December 5-22nd. Drinks included mulled wine and other alcoholic drinks such as champagne. Other food items included jams, chocolates, pastries, chestnuts, soup, and tarte flambƩ among other things.
Tarte flambƩ is an iconic Alsatian dish. It had a very thin crust with a mixture of cream and soft, smooth cheese. You could choose to have onions and bacon on it or cinnamon apples. This was wood fire grilled in an outdoor oven. Everyone who bought it seemed to be very pleased with this offering. This booth had a long line.
Santa was available in a tent. Most of the people I saw posing with him were adults. Most of the items in the market were geared towards adults, however, I did see some families with children who seemed to be able to go outside the box on food choices.
They did have a seating area near where the alcoholic drinks were served with tables.
Payment
This market only accepted credit cards. That was a disappointment for me as I like to pay cash. I feel others need to be aware of that.
This market was a nice way to have access to another culture and its offerings. It was a good way to experience a European Christmas market on a small scale. Let’s hope this one returns or another region from Europe brings in their own products and experiences next year. For those of us who have always wanted to experience the European Christmas markets, but are unable to go, this was a nice introduction.
Sharon's Iconic Travel Photography Blog 
Strasbourg is famous for its Christmas market so how lovely to find a small slice of it in Manhattan!
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Definitely a scaled down version of it, but a nice taste of it nonetheless. They may see additional tourism to their region as a result.
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Iām sure that was why they did it.
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There’s a general trend towards pushing people to go cash-free, and I don’t like it. I feel you can’t appreciate the value of something unless you’re handing over cold, hard cash (and that makes you think if you really want/need something). Hey ho! Lovely pics.
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I wasn’t going to buy anything because of that , but broke down and bought food. I don’t like this going cashless trend either. It is easier to overspend that way. I did prevent me from buying other items and I told the vendors that. If they return, they need to consider doing both. I’m sure in some ways it was much easier for them. Not sure what kind of tax deals NYC gave them.
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They may feel safer-less of a theft target-going cash-less. No one steals a box of credit card receipts!
How did you find out about the market? Lovely pictures!
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Something popped up I think online. Maybe a Facebook ad. I did not know about it until the end unfortunately. I am sure criminals can figure out some way to mess up credit card sales for the user or the store. But less likely someone walking up and robbing them.
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