Christmas in Paris may not boast the winter-white scenes that often come with the holidays, but the city glows with thousands of lights as it transforms into the ultimate winter wonderland, complete with an ice skating rink below the Eiffel Tower and more than a dozen Christmas markets scattered across the city. You can feel the holiday spirit everywhere from the iconic Champs-Elysées to the gardens and famous squares, which are decked out with thousands of light displays and Christmas trees galore. Each grand magasin (department store) tops the next with whimsical holiday window displays that have earned Paris a place among the best in the world—and that includes NYC. If you thought Paris went all out with its Olympics celebrations, just wait until you see how the city fêtes the holiday season. If you’re considering a trip to Paris in December, you’ll find no shortage of festive ways to celebrate the holidays—but these 10 are among the top things to do and see during Christmas in Paris.
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Every review on this list has been written by a Condé Nast Traveler journalist who knows the destination and has visited that activity. When choosing things to do, our editors consider landmarks and experiences that offer an insider’s view of a destination, keeping authenticity, location, service, and sustainability credentials top of mind. This gallery has been updated with new information since its original publish date.
Visit Christmas markets at the Tuileries Gardens, Notre Dame, and Saint-Germain-des-Prés
While there won’t be a Christmas market lining the Champs-Elysées, there are plenty of markets and Christmas villages popping up in other places around town—the largest being La Magie de Noël in the Tuileries Garden, stretching from the Louvre to Place de la Concorde, which remains open until January 1. There, you’ll discover hundreds of wooden cabins selling small gifts and seasonal treats; a selection of stands run by French artisans, from glass blowers to woodworkers; and designers from the Paris Chamber of Commerce presenting their crafts. On the Square René Viviani, directly across from Notre Dame (which reopens in early December), you’ll find an intimate market with some 30 exhibitors selling regional food, hot chocolate, and handmade crafts. On the Left Bank, the Saint-Germain-des-Prés Marché de Noël unfolds along the namesake boulevard, next to the church, with wooden chalets and gourmet stands serving up everything from caviar and foie gras to Savoyard favorite tartiflette (a reblochon cheese and potato gratin) and sweet and savory pretzels.
Dig into the best Bûche de Noël and other sweet treats of the season
More than the decorated avenues and elaborate window displays, it is the Bûche de Noël (yule log cakes that may or may not be shaped like logs) that takes the lead as the ultimate holiday essential during Christmas in Paris. While most cakes are prepared and sold for take-away, there are a few spots to linger over tea and an individual slice of the indulgent Christmas cake. At Butterfly Pâtisserie, the Hôtel de Crillon’s boutique and tearoom, pastry chef Matthieu Carlin’s exquisite selection of seasonal pastries, including his selection of Bûches de Noël, can be enjoyed on-site with a cup of tea or a thick hot chocolate, or taken to-go.
Ritz Paris is toasting to this year’s centenary of Surrealism and famous past guests like poet André Breton and artist Salvador Dalí with a month-long celebration in December. After indulging in pastry chef François Perret’s Santa Claus-shaped Bûche Père Noël, topped with airy coconut mousse and filled with passion fruit, mango, and lime compote, at Ritz Paris Le Comptoir, sample the lavender- and rosemary-tinged Surrealist cocktail next door at the Ritz Bar. On Christmas and New Year’s Day, the Salon d’Été hosts a decadent holiday brunch complete with Champagne and a live singer.
And on the Left Bank, palace hotel Lutetia Paris is also getting creative with its yule log that pastry chef Nicolas Guercio reimagined in the shape of a snowflake with a tangy blackcurrant confit spiced with Timut pepper that’s topped with a meringue coated in smooth chestnut mousse.
See the best holiday displays in the world
There’s a theme for every taste: The Samaritaine has been transformed into an enormous greenhouse playing on the notion of an enchanted winter garden. With the help of Thoiry Lumières Sauvages’ illuminated lantern sculptures, the grand magasin has been filled with all sorts of fantastical creatures and foliage, from huge butterflies to snails and mushrooms. Over at Printemps Haussmann, behind the Opéra Garnier, the department store decorated its windows with more than 130 characters crafted from recycled materials for this year’s Christmas train-themed displays.
At Galeries Lafayette, holiday cheer doesn’t end at the sidewalk—the Christmas tree and holiday displays beneath the store’s Art Nouveau dome is an annual event, comparable to New York City’s Rockefeller Center tree lighting. Always vibrant and impressive, visitors who venture into the atrium of the shop this season will find a towering tree, 15 meters high, done up in whimsical masks, celestial creatures, and sparkling garlands. From the 30-foot-long Glasswalk footbridge, on the third floor of the store, you can catch an even better view of the tree—and snap a few photos.
Go ice skating in iconic locations
After a five-year hiatus, the Grand Palais des Glaces is back this season with the world’s largest indoor ice rink unfolding beneath the freshly renovated Grand Palais’ glass-canopied nave, which transforms into a dance party in the evenings complete with a DJ, disco balls, and light show. . Equally as impressive a setting, slip on skates and spin around a 300-square-meter rink in the heart of the Christmas village at Trocadéro—one of Paris’ largest Christmas markets—where you’ll have a direct view of the Eiffel Tower. In the Tuileries Garden, an even larger rink is set up between the Marché de Noël’s light-filled wooden chalets.
Dine on a decadent Christmas dinner at Moulin Rouge
The Moulin Rouge’s legendary French cancan cabaret performance is a highlight any time of the year when visiting Paris. But the dancers’ lavish costumes adorned with sequins and rhinestones feel all the more festive when you’re dressed up yourself on Christmas night for a gourmet feast followed by the iconic Féerie revue show. Get ready to sip Champagne in true style in one of the prime seats on the private balcony perched over the stage, where you’ll have some of the best views of the dancers and their flurry of feathers.
Catch a classical concert in Sainte-Chapelle, one of Paris’s most stunning churches
Dating back to the mid-13th century, Sainte-Chapelle was once a royal chapel constructed to house the precious Crown of Thorns relic. Today, it’s admired for a different reason: the 15 stained-glass windows—comprised of 1,113 panels—are some of the most impressive in France, let alone all of Europe. Combine sightseeing with an experience only taking place during the holiday season listening to the music of Mozart or Franz Schubert during a classical concert within the chapel’s Gothic nave.
Sip hot chocolate from the best
Nothing warms up locals and visitors like hot chocolate. For the most well-known, head to Angelina on the rue de Rivoli for its thick, decadent Chocolat Chaud Africain that will leave you wondering if they just melted an entire chocolate bar into your cup. If the line snakes around the block, take it à emporter. For a sit-down experience, give yourself the gift of chocolatier Jacques Genin’s pure and simple hot chocolate, made from whole milk and dark chocolate pistoles, or make a beeline to Café Pavane, a tea salon from Manon Hévin across from the Luxembourg Gardens. Her chocolatier-pâtissier father, Jean-Paul Hévin, supplies both the pastries and the decadent hot chocolate worth a special visit.
Experience high luxury at Place Vendôme
Place Vendôme was initially intended to rival Place des Vosges when Louis XIV enlisted the same architect as the Palace of Versailles to dream up the square’s design in the early 18th-century. Place Vendôme is just as iconic today for the bronze spiral column crafted from cannons collected in battle that looms large in the square’s center as for glamorous residents like high luxury jewelry boutiques and the Ritz Paris hotel that surround it. Storefronts glitter year-round, but Place Vendôme really shines in Christmas, when four large fir trees towering more than 30 feet high frame the famous column and illuminated holiday decorations drape down the side of shop facades. Start your Christmas-lit stroll at the tip of shopping street Rue de la Paix, eyeing the over-the-top light displays as you pass Tiffany’s, the Park Hyatt Paris, and Cartier. Pop into the square and continue out the other side past Louis Vuitton’s Peter Marino-designed flagship boutique—another spot that pulls out all the stops at Christmas—before passing through the Tuileries Garden for a warm mug of vin chaud (mulled wine) at the Christmas market.
See the Jardin des Plantes illuminated in a new way
It isn’t the sparkle of holiday lights that transforms the grounds of the Jardin des Plantes into an illuminated wonderland each night from late November, but rather the glow from hundreds of large scale lanterns in the shape of plants and animal species common to tropical forests. Put on by the National Museum of Natural History, the walk takes guests throughout the park and its menagerie to discover the biodiversity of the tropical rainforests spanning four continents with a themed exhibition that kids and families will love. Advanced booking required; runs through January 19, 2025.
Lindsey Tramuta is a contributing writer for Condé Nast Traveler. Based in Paris for more than 16 years, she is the author of the bestselling books The New Paris: The People, Places & Ideas Fueling a Movement and The New Parisienne: The Women & Ideas Shaping Paris. She regularly contributes
