Christmas in Paris

Bored with the idea of sitting at home like a stuffed turkey this Christmas? In Paris, twinkling lights and gourmet pleasures await.

Shopaholic’s Christmas in Paris
While it might be something to dread at home, le shopping for Christmas in Paris is a chic, chilled-out affair that doesn’t set the tills ringing until November. Dramatic window displays at the Galeries Lafayette and Printemps on the Boulevard Haussmann will leave you wide-eyed and open-mouthed. This being Christmas in Paris, you can count on the giant Christmas tree at Galeries Lafayette being decorated by a couturier. Stock up on gifts or just warm up with vin chaud at Christmas Markets dotted around Paris, from La Défense to the Champs-Elysées.

Foodie Christmas in Paris
The French celebrate with their blow-out meal the day before Christmas. In Paris, fresh oysters and creamy foie gras are on the festive menu, with delicate smoked salmon and hearty chapon (roast chicken), turkey or goose. Leave room for some chocolatey Bûche de Noël (Yule log) washed down with champagne.

Romantic Christmas in Paris
A thousand sparkling fir trees provide the backdrop for your amour at Christmas in Paris. Stroll Champs-Elysées which twinkles with Christmas lights from late November until January, weave along the rue de Rivoli in the medieval Marais, drop by leafy Montmartre, or strut your stuff along smart boulevard Saint Germain. Kiss in the light of the Eiffel Tower or illuminated bridges over the Seine.

Family fun at Christmas in Paris
Merry-go-rounds appear in every arrondissement over Christmas in Paris. Take a twirl on a colourful manèges de Noël of wooden horses in Place de l'Hôtel de Ville or Place Saint-Sulpice. Or take the kids to an early ‘midnight’ mass – 6pm at Notre-Dame-de-Paris and 7pm at Montmartre’s Sacré-Coeur.

Traditional Christmas in Paris
In need of a spiritual uplift after all that shopping over Christmas? In Paris, a midnight mass must is the Eglise de la Madeleine (finishing at 12.45, you can still catch the last metro home). Or see the Christmas crèche at the oldest church in Paris, the pretty Eglise St-Germain-des-Prés, dating from the 6th to the 11th century.

Skating at Christmas in Paris
Take your partner by the hand and glide across the large ice-rink that is frozen every Christmas in Paris over the cobbled courtyard of the Hôtel de Ville.