3 Days in Paris at Christmas

Paris at Christmas is a city of lights in the most literal sense. From late November, the trees of the Champs-Élysées are wrapped in lights from the Concorde to the Arc de Triomphe, the department stores on the boulevard Haussmann reveal animated windows that draw crowds of children, a giant tree rises under the glass dome of Galeries Lafayette, and small Christmas markets open in front of churches and on squares across the city.

This route uses the season well. Day 1 is the Grands Magasins, the great department stores, for the windows, the tree and the views, with the Palais Garnier next door, and the Champs-Élysées lights from the roof of the Arc de Triomphe at night. Day 2 is the islands and the Marais: Notre-Dame and the Christmas market opposite it, the Île Saint-Louis and the festive streets of the Marais. Day 3 is planned for Christmas Day itself, when most museums close: the Eiffel Tower, which never closes, a cruise on the Seine and a long lunch.

The arrival day is for a first look at the lights. Keep in mind that the 25th changes everything: the Louvre, the Orsay, the Sainte-Chapelle, the Catacombs and the Musée Rodin close on Christmas Day, and many restaurants need booking weeks ahead.

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This route at a glance

Tickets to book before you fly

December is high season: book the Eiffel Tower first, then a restaurant for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Prices start at the figures shown, per person.

Arrival evening: the first lights

Go out after dark to the nearest lit street. Every district dresses its main streets with lights in December, and the bridges and monuments are lit as always. If you are central, walk to the Place Vendôme, where the jewelers compete with their facades and a ring of Christmas trees surrounds the column.

Then book or confirm your Christmas restaurants. In December, the best tables in Paris go weeks ahead, and on the 24th and 25th many restaurants offer only a set holiday menu.

• The Champs-Élysées lights are switched on in late November and stay on until early January.
• Christmas Eve, not Christmas Day, is the main celebration meal in France.
• Day 1 starts at 10:00 at the Palais Garnier.

Day 1: The Christmas windows, the Opéra and the Champs-Élysées lights

Start at the Palais Garnier at 10:00, before the department stores fill up. The grand staircase and the gilded Grand Foyer are the most festive interiors in Paris, and in December they often hold a seasonal exhibition. Allow an hour.

Walk next door to the boulevard Haussmann, where Galeries Lafayette and Printemps open their animated Christmas windows each year, with moving figures, lights and music at child height. Inside Galeries Lafayette, a giant decorated tree rises under the Art Nouveau glass dome, and the eighth-floor terrace looks out over the roofs to the Eiffel Tower. Have lunch in the food halls of either store.

In the late afternoon, walk down the rue Royale past the Madeleine to the Place de la Concorde, and up the Champs-Élysées under the lit trees. At about 18:00, climb to the roof of the Arc de Triomphe: the avenue is a river of lights running straight to the Concorde and the Louvre, and the Eiffel Tower sparkles to the south at the start of the hour.

Stops in order

1. 10:00 · Palais Garnier: the foyer and the grand staircase
   Place Jacques Rouché, 75009, Paris
2. 11:30 · Galeries Lafayette: windows, the tree under the dome and the rooftop
   40 Boulevard Haussmann, 75009, Paris
3. 13:00 · Printemps Haussmann: windows and lunch
   Accès Parking Haussmann - Printemps, 75009, Paris
4. 15:30 · Place Vendôme: the jewelers' Christmas facades
   Place Vendôme, 75001, Paris
5. 16:30 · Champs-Élysées: the lit avenue
   Avenue des Champs-Élysées, 75008, Paris
6. 18:00 · Arc de Triomphe: the Champs-Élysées lights from above
   Tunnel de l'Étoile, 75008, Paris

The numbers for this day

💡 Pro Tip

See the windows on a weekday morning

At weekends and in the evening the crowds on the boulevard Haussmann are several people deep. On a weekday around 10:30, children can stand at the glass and see every animated scene.

Pro tip by: Alesia Vakula

Travel expert and itinerary planning specialist

If it rains: The Opéra and the department stores are indoors; skip the walk along the Champs-Élysées and take line 1 straight to the Arc.

Day 2: Notre-Dame, the Christmas market and the Marais

Start at Notre-Dame, free to enter, where a crib and Christmas music fill the restored nave in December. Across the river on the Left Bank, the Square René-Viviani, by the oldest tree in Paris, has in recent years hosted a small Christmas market with wooden chalets, mulled wine and crafts; check what is on for your dates.

Walk across to the Île Saint-Louis, whose shops and tea rooms are decorated for the season, and on into the Marais. Its streets are among the most festive in Paris in December, with lit facades, chocolatiers at their busiest and shops open on Sundays, which is rare in the city.

In the late afternoon, walk to the Hôtel de Ville, whose square is decorated for the holidays, and end in one of the wine bars of the Marais with a glass of vin chaud, the French mulled wine.

Stops in order

1. 10:00 · Notre-Dame Cathedral: free; a crib and carols before Christmas
   6 Parvis Notre-Dame - Place Jean-Paul II, 75004, Paris
2. 11:30 · Square René-Viviani: Christmas market in recent years; check dates
   Quai de Montebello, 75005, Paris
3. 13:00 · Île Saint-Louis: decorated shops and tea rooms
   Rue Saint-Louis en l'Île, 75004, Paris
4. 15:00 · Le Marais: festive streets, shops open on Sundays
   Rue des Francs Bourgeois, 75003, Paris
5. 17:00 · Hôtel de Ville: the decorated square
   Place de l'Hôtel de Ville, 75004, Paris

The numbers for this day

💡 Pro Tip

Buy chocolates in the Marais, not at the airport

The chocolatiers of the Marais make Christmas boxes in December that they do not sell the rest of the year. They are the best edible souvenir of Paris and travel well in hand luggage.

Pro tip by: Alesia Vakula

Travel expert and itinerary planning specialist

If it rains: Notre-Dame is indoors and the Marais has plenty of covered shops and cafés; skip the outdoor market in heavy rain.

Day 3: Christmas Day: the Eiffel Tower, a long lunch and a Seine cruise

This day is built for the 25th, when the Louvre, the Orsay, the Sainte-Chapelle and most museums are closed, but it works on any day of the holidays. Start at the Trocadéro for the view, then go up the Eiffel Tower, which is open every day of the year. On Christmas morning the city below is quiet, the streets nearly empty, and the view feels like it is yours alone.

Have a long Christmas lunch. Many restaurants and most brasseries open on the 25th with a festive menu, and lunch on Christmas Day is a Parisian tradition; book weeks ahead. Walk off the meal on the Champ de Mars and along the river.

At dusk, take a Seine cruise from the Pont de l'Alma. On a December afternoon it is dark by 17:00, the bridges and monuments are lit, and an hour on the water is the most peaceful way to end Christmas Day in Paris. Check the departure times for the 24th and 25th, which differ from the rest of the year.

Stops in order

1. 10:30 · Trocadéro Gardens: the view of the tower
   Paris
2. 11:00 · Eiffel Tower: open on the 25th
   5 Avenue Anatole France, 75007, Paris
3. 13:00 · Champ de Mars: a walk before or after lunch
   Avenue Bosquet, 75007, Paris
4. 15:30 · Pont Alexandre III: the gilded bridge in winter light
   Promenade des Berges de la Seine - Port des Invalides, 75007, Paris
5. 16:30 · Bateaux-Mouches pier: cruise at dusk; check holiday departures
   Port de la Conférence, 75008, Paris

The numbers for this day

💡 Pro Tip

Book Christmas lunch, not dinner

In France the big meal is on Christmas Eve; on the 25th, lunch is the main event and many restaurants close in the evening. A lunch booking is easier to get and leaves the evening for the cruise and the lights.

Pro tip by: Alesia Vakula

Travel expert and itinerary planning specialist

If it rains: The tower stays open in light rain and the cruise boats have a heated, covered deck.

Departure morning in the holidays

Trains and planes are full in the days after Christmas and around New Year, and taxis are scarce on the morning of the 26th and the 1st. Book your transport to the station or airport the evening before.

If you have a free morning, the January sales start in the department stores in early January, and the galette des rois, the almond cake of early January, appears in every bakery.

• Taxis are scarce on the mornings of the 26th and the 1st; reserve one in advance.
• Leave extra time: stations and airports are at their busiest.
• Allow plenty of time for an international flight.

Which day goes where

The three days can run in any order. Use this table to keep every sight off its closing day.

What is open in Paris on Christmas Day

The 25th is the one day of the year when much of Paris closes. The table shows what to expect at the main sights; always check the opening for your year before you go.

💡 Pro Tip

Put the museums on the 23rd, 24th and 26th

If your trip includes Christmas Day, move the museum days around it. The 24th usually has normal opening with an early close, and the 26th is a normal working day in France.

Pro tip by: Alesia Vakula

Travel expert and itinerary planning specialist

Christmas in Paris: the classics

• The department store windows of Galeries Lafayette and Printemps on the boulevard Haussmann.
• The Galeries Lafayette tree under the glass dome.
• The Champs-Élysées lights, from late November to early January.
• Christmas markets in front of churches and on squares; their locations change from year to year.
• Midnight Mass at Notre-Dame on Christmas Eve; attendance is free and very popular.
• The bûche de Noël, the Christmas log cake, sold by every pastry shop.

More 3-day routes

• Paris in winter: short days used well, from November to March.
• 3 days with Disneyland: the park at Christmas, open every day.
• Luxury Paris: the Golden Triangle and the palace hotels in December.
• Romantic 3 days in Paris: a December weekend for two.
• The best time for 3 days in Paris: December compared with the rest of the year.
• 4 days in Paris: room around Christmas Day for the museums.
• All the 3-day routes, by theme