Unterlinden Museum Christmas Light Show: Once Upon a Night

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Included and Not

Your ticket gives museum access from 4:00 PM onwards, the cloister show, and a visit of the entire museum. It is valid for all screenings on the chosen day. Not included are audio guides, which cost €3 at the museum, and any food or drink.

Confirm the final list on the booking page before you pay.

Dates, Money and Rules

The dates that matter: the show runs 25 November to 3 January, skipping Tuesdays and 24, 25, 31 December and 1 January. Children under 12 enter free. There is no minimum age and the venue is wheelchair accessible.

Bring nothing bulky, since no bag rule is stated but you will be moving through galleries. Dress warm for the walk between the museum and any market.

Booking Terms

You can reserve now and pay later, and you can cancel free up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund. That matters around the holidays, when the closed-day list makes rescheduling harder. If your evening is fixed, book early and cancel without cost if plans change.

On Foot or By Car

Free and paid public car parks lie within 200 m of the museum, and the nearest station is 1 km away. During the markets, 23 November to 29 December, the old town is closed to all vehicles during opening hours. Covered car parks at Rapp and Gare/Bleylé are open 24/7.

On busy weekends the park and ride at the Parc des Expositions costs $5.57 (€5) per day and includes a free return bus.

The Bleylé Shuttle

A free Bleylé shuttle runs from Parking Bleylé to the Théâtre Municipal every 13 minutes, Monday to Friday 9:30 to 19:30, from 25 November to 29 December. There is no service 25 and 26 December. Note the shuttle ends 19:30 on weekdays, so for a 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM show and a walk to the Gourmet Market afterwards, check your return plan, since the last shuttle back to the car park leaves before the market closes.

The Season

Once Upon a Night runs from 25 November to 3 January. It plays every day in that window except Tuesdays. It also skips 24, 25 and 31 December and 1 January.

The Colmar markets themselves run 23 November to 29 December, so the show outlasts the stalls and continues into the first days of January, when the Gourmet Market, the ferris wheel and Place Rapp stay open to 3 January.

Screening Times

Museum access starts at 4:00 PM. Screenings run every 15 minutes from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM and each show lasts about 10 minutes. The museum closes at 19:00.

One ticket covers every screening on your chosen day, so you can watch the show twice if you like. For the last screening at 6:30 PM, arrive at least 5 minutes before it starts to enjoy it in full.

Your Evening Step by Step

You arrive at Musée Unterlinden at 1 Rue des Unterlinden. From 4:00 PM your ticket lets you into the whole museum. At any point between 5:00 PM and 6:30 PM you take in a screening of Once Upon a Night in the cloister.

Each screening lasts about 10 minutes and they repeat every 15 minutes. You can leave after one show or stay for the museum until it closes at 19:00. For the 6:30 PM screening, arrive 5 minutes early.

Pairing It With the Markets

The market stalls in the old town close at 19:00 Monday to Thursday, and at 20:00 Friday to Sunday. The show window of 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM fits before those closures on both schedules. A practical plan on a weekday is the 5:00 PM or 5:15 PM screening, a short museum visit, then the Gourmet Market at the Plateau sportif de la Montagne Verte, which runs daily from 11:00 to 22:00 until 3 January.

That market has 9 cabins, 9 chefs, a standing bar and a cooking show.

Colmar Markets and Their Hours

The Christmas markets in Colmar run 23 November to 29 December, with about 180 stalls across six markets. Daily hours are 11:00 to 19:00 Monday to Thursday and 10:00 to 20:00 Friday to Sunday. Markets close exactly at the stated time for security.

On 24 December they run 11:00 to 17:00, and on 25 and 26 December 10:00 to 20:00. Place des Dominicains holds about 60 chalets and Place de l'Ancienne Douane about 50, both within walking reach of the museum.

What Stays Open After the Show

The Gourmet Market and the ferris wheel on the Plateau sportif de la Montagne Verte run daily 11:00 to 22:00 until 3 January, closing 17:00 on 31 December. The ferris wheel costs $11.13 (€10) for adults and $8.90 (€8) for children under 1.20 m. Place Rapp keeps the same dates and hours, with an illuminated ice rink.

If you want someone to lead you through the old town stalls instead, the Secrets of the Colmar Christmas Markets walk covers them in 2 hours from $23, and for food the Colmar Alsatian Food Tour runs 3.5 hours with tastings from $89.74.

The Collections

Musée Unterlinden covers nearly 7,000 years of art inside a 13th-century convent, extended in 2015 by the architects Herzog & de Meuron. Its best-known work is the Isenheim Altarpiece by Grunewald. The cloister where the show plays is part of that old convent, which is why the projections work so well on its walls and arches.

Hours Compared and Practical Extras

Outside the event, the museum opens Wednesday to Monday 9:00 to 18:00 with last entry at 17:30. It closes on Tuesdays, and on 24 and 31 December it runs 9:00 to 16:00. It is closed 25 December and 1 January.

The event slot of 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM therefore buys an hour after the usual 18:00 close. Audio guides cost €3 at the museum and are not part of the ticket. A cafe, Cafe Schongauer, serves the museum, but no food or drink is included in the $9 price.