It got cooler, but it also got a hell of a lot merrier in Nantes.

By mid-November, the city was boasting the biggest collection of telehandlers around, and several daunting, giant LEGO-like projects were keeping dozens of employees busy on at least four of downtown’s main squares.

For us pedestrians, it turned into a full-on maze. Cross the street? Two telehandlers are parked on the sidewalk! Don’t cross Place du Commerce—it’s fenced off because reasons.

And then, one evening, the mysterious city-wide project came together.

Colourful lights were switched on, brightening trees, facades, and streets. Holiday- and winter-themed rides opened for kids. And finally, the Christmas market welcomed its first crowds this weekend.

Phew. It almost makes dark, damp November feel fun.

Normally, I never get to see the Christmas market in Nantes. For the past two years, I have flown back to Canada around November 17, so the city’s holiday prep is mostly an inconvenience—I have to make a huge detour to avoid getting lost in the maze of half-assembled cabins when I walk to the train station at 5:30 a.m.

But this year, the Christmas market opened last Thursday, so I got a taste of the French holiday season.

Nantes doesn’t have a long Christmas market tradition—it’s more of an Eastern France thing. It started after I left, maybe around 2005, and people really embraced it. The market spreads across two large squares and stays open until 9:30 p.m. because, let’s be honest, it’s mostly food and wine.

Imagine giant cheese wheels and metal cauldrons—that’s the basics: melted cheese on bread and mulled wine. If you want the fancy version, there’s tartiflette (potatoes, reblochon cheese, lardons, and onion with a splash of white wine), truffade (a thick pancake made with sliced potatoes cooked in goose fat, then mixed with thin strips of tomme fraîche) or aligot (cheese blended into mashed potatoes with garlic). Or maybe some pasta cooked directly inside a hollowed-out cheese wheel?

Yeah… that’s a lot of cheese.

Funny enough, these specialties are not from Southeastern France but from the Massif Central, basically regions with mountains. In Nantes, people just put cheese on their crêpes. That’s okay, though—there’s a crêpe vendor too, if you really miss them.

Other popular foods include what you’d usually find in a funfair—chocolate- or jam-filled donuts, churros and pretzels.

All of this is best washed down with some vin chaud, aka mulled wine, the 100% alcoholic version.

“France is a lot more fun than Canada in November!” Feng sighed when I shared my Christmas market adventures.

“I know… See you tomorrow?”

“I’ll pick you up.”

I only got a preview of French Christmas. Ottawa, here we go again…