Carnival of Mulhouse

20 to 22 February 2026

The Carnival of Mulhouse is an institution in the region. It has been celebrated for a very long time and attracts hundreds of carnival-goers around the cliques and the “Guggamusik” (music played by carnival bands). The highlight of the show? The big international cavalcade on Sunday afternoon!

Each year, the Carnival is organized around a new theme. In 2025, to celebrate the anniversary of the city of Mulhouse, the theme is “Let’s, celebrate the 800th anniversary of the city!”. The program of these 3 days of festivities in Mulhouse is dense and offers many possibilities to celebrate with family, friends and in costume, of course! The “Mülhüser Waggis” (Mulhouse’s “naughty” boys) and the other carnivalists invade the city with their colorful costumes and floats.

You will find all the components of a Rhineland carnival, as with our friends in Freiburg im Breisgau (Germany) and Basel (Switzerland). By the way, the dates of these 3 carnivals follow each other every year. The numerous cavalcades are always accompanied by “Guggamusik”, the music of the brass and percussion bands that take up in their sauce the Alsatian classics but also the hits of today.
It deserves a little dance step to warm up?

10 good reasons to go to Carnival with children

1. At Carnival time, mostly in February or very early March, the weather is gray. So it’s good to see colorful floats and costumes, including those of the famous “Waggis”, the big-nosed (mostly) rascals who officiate on both sides of the Rhine.

2. You can take some too-cool photos with the “Waggis” (although the little ones are often impressed)

3. You’ll always have an anecdote to tell: “They made me eat confetti!”… “Me, it was the king of a group of “Waggis” who spotted me… and bam, a nice purple line on my forehead!”

4. Dancing with the family to the music of Guggamusik cliques warms up!

5. There are witches, wolves, hedgehogs, pigs, bears, dragons, queens, princesses, firefighters and lots of your kids’ other heroes.

6. There’s candy and cake galore!

7. Carnival is part of Mulhouse traditions and one of the biggest events of the year.

8. It is the only weekend when children, but also parents, can walk around the streets of the city in disguise without attracting attention.

9. It’s a chance to have a family outing and enjoy brunch, lunch or snacks at a downtown restaurant.

10. It feels so good to laugh, have a good time and get covered in confetti!

Recipe idea for Carnival

In Alsace, to celebrate Mardi Gras and Carnival, we make “Schankalas”. These greedy doughnuts keep the belly warm so as not to let the winter cold get to you!

Ingredients:

125g almond or hazelnut powder
250g sugar
4 eggs
125g melted butter
500g flour
1 liqueur glass of kirsch (optional)

The recipe:

Mix the sugar, almonds and eggs. Then add the melted butter and kirsch. The alcohol is optional of course.

Then pour in the flour a little at a time until the resulting dough is fairly firm. Let it sit for a few hours in the fridge to harden.

Then shape small finger-sized sticks and cook them in hot oil. When the schankalas come up, it means they are cooked just right. But still remember to turn them over so that they are golden brown all over and evenly.

After they come out of the oil bath, dip them in a sugar/cinnamon mixture (or sugar only) for even more deliciousness!

Now all that’s left to do is enjoy!