Christmas Markets: check out this fairytale city in France

Pirates, it's that time of year to start thinking about Christmas Markets -- you get to wrap up warm in snuggly jumpers and scarves, eat lots of food and drink wine like it's nobody's business.

We've been hunting high and low for the prettiest Christmas market we could find and we think we've found the winner: Colmar in northeast France, not too far from the border with Germany.

The city has a uniquely Gothic feel in the old town with stunning fairytale half-timbered houses and during the festive season, it's lit up with all sorts of colours, lights, ornaments, snow-covered trees and decorations.

The city was allegedly the inspiration for the village in the Disney film The Beauty and the Beast and you can see why,

Scroll down for some info on how to get there.

Details

• Colmar Christmas markets run 23 November – 29 December

• The city is in northeast France near the border with Germany

• Nearby airports in Basel in Switzerland and Strasbourg in France

How to get there

By car

If you fancy it, it's about a 10-hour journey from London in the car. It is a long way but it means you can stick everything you need in the car and off you go. Plus, no waiting around in airports for flights or for transfers.

By train

You can get the Eurostar to Paris and then hop on some local French trains in just under seven and a half hours.

By plane

Probably the best option for most people, you can fly non-stop from London to Basel in about 95 minutes. When we last checked, we found direct flights from £49 in December.

Where to stay

Hotels

If you want to stay in a hotel or chalet, we recommend you get booking as it is a really popular destination. You can find some hotel options here.

Airbnbs

There are quite a few apartments on Airbnb to choose from, so it's really down to budget and preference. We found some options here that we like, with stays starting from as low as £43 per night.

Additional Information

We might be Pirates, but we’re an honest bunch. We check all our deals when we review them to make sure everything is available. Here’s the catch: with deals this hot, things change quickly: flight prices fluctuate, hotel rooms sell out, currencies yo-yo. Mainly, demand for the best deals means the lowest prices don’t last long. But, if you’ve missed out this time, don’t worry: we’re working on more great offers.