Christmas in Paris 2026: A Guide To Markets, Lights & Holiday Experiences
The Hôtel de Ville Christmas village and carousel – Ville de Paris
Christmas in Paris brings together festive lights, Christmas markets, seasonal concerts, decorated streets, and special experiences across the city. This guide highlights what deserves a place on your itinerary, from Christmas dinners and evening cruises to holiday food tours and seasonal performances.
Reserve the most popular experiences well before you arrive, especially for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and the week between Christmas and New Year. Alongside our recommended tours, cruises, and seasonal performances, you'll also find practical advice on Christmas markets, festive lights, holiday traditions, and what to expect during the Christmas season in Paris.
Top Christmas Experiences in Paris
Holiday Dinner Cruise on the Seine
A dinner cruise passes beneath the illuminated Eiffel Tower
A Christmas dinner cruise combines an evening on the Seine with one of the city's classic dining experiences. Bateaux Parisiens serves a multi-course French dinner as the boat passes the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame, the Louvre, the Conciergerie, and the illuminated bridges along the river. Live music accompanies the cruise throughout the evening.
The dinner bateau departs from Port de la Bourdonnais beside the Eiffel Tower, with several Christmas departures each evening during December. The combination of the route, food, service, and atmosphere makes this the Seine dinner cruise we recommend most often. Reservations for Christmas week often sell out well in advance.
See the Christmas Lights from a Classic Citroën
A classic Citroën 2CV beneath the Christmas lights on Place Vendôme
A vintage Citroën 2CV turns an evening drive through Paris into part of the Christmas experience. Wrapped in blankets, you'll travel past illuminated avenues, decorated squares, and many of the city's best-known landmarks while your driver shares stories and local history. Hotel pickup and drop-off are included within central Paris.
This private tour follows a flexible route through the city, so your driver can adapt the drive to traffic, the Christmas illuminations, and your interests. The open-roof Citroën, festive lights, and quieter streets after dark make this one of the most distinctive evenings of the season.
Moulin Rouge Christmas Dinner & Cabaret
Feathered costumes fill the stage during the Féerie revue at the Moulin Rouge
The Moulin Rouge Christmas dinner begins before the curtain rises, with a festive gourmet menu accompanied by the cabaret's live orchestra. After dinner, the lights dim for the Féerie revue, with elaborate costumes, large-scale stage sets, and the French Cancan that has been part of the Moulin Rouge for generations.
The Christmas dinner and show is offered from December 21 to December 30. It's one of the season's signature evenings in Paris and regularly sells out well before Christmas, so early reservations are essential.
Saint-Germain-des-Prés Holiday Food Walk
Noël pastries in Saint-Germain-des-Prés
The pâtisseries, chocolatiers, boulangeries, and fromageries of Saint-Germain-des-Prés are filled with seasonal specialties in December. This guided walking tour introduces French Christmas traditions through tastings of bûche de Noël, gingerbread, nougat, candied fruit, marrons glacés, chocolates, and other holiday treats, together with hot drinks along the way.
Your guide shares the stories behind many of the foods served at Christmas in France, while visits to artisan food shops introduce some of the neighborhood's best-known producers. Limited to eight participants, this small-group tour is best reserved before the busiest weeks of December.
Masterpieces of the Louvre
The Winged Victory of Samothrace at the Louvre
A guided tour is the best way to visit the Louvre during the busy Christmas season. With reserved entry and an expert guide, you'll follow a carefully planned route to the museum's best-known masterpieces, including the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, and the Winged Victory of Samothrace, while learning the stories behind the masterpieces.
After the two-hour tour ends, you can stay in the museum and continue exploring at your own pace. That combination of expert guidance, reserved entry, and free time afterwards makes this an excellent introduction to the Louvre for a Christmas visit.
Eiffel Tower Reserved Access & Guided Tour
The Eiffel Tower in the morning fog - Mark Craft
The Eiffel Tower is at its busiest during the Christmas season, making a guided visit with reserved access a practical way to reach the second floor or summit. Along the way, your guide explains the tower's construction, history, and engineering before you continue to the observation decks.
From the observation decks, Paris stretches out in every direction, with the Seine, the Louvre, Notre-Dame, and the city's broad avenues below. Summit access is limited in December, so booking ahead gives you the best choice of dates and times.
Champs-Élysées Christmas Lights & Holiday Tastings
Christmas lights on the Champs-Élysées - Ville de Paris
The Champs-Élysées glows with thousands of Christmas lights in December, and this guided evening walk pairs the festive displays with stories of French Christmas traditions. The route continues along Avenue Montaigne to the Arc de Triomphe, with views of the Grand Palais, Pont Alexandre III, and Les Invalides.
Along the way, you'll stop for seasonal treats, including traditional Alsatian gingerbread, festive cookies, Parisian chocolates, and macarons from Maison du Chocolat. With a maximum of 15 participants, the tour is worth reserving early for the busiest weeks before Christmas.
Holiday Flavors of Montmartre
Christmas evenings in Montmartre
Montmartre's cobbled streets, neighborhood food shops, and Christmas market provide the setting for this festive walking tour. Along the way you'll sample French cheeses, charcuterie, pastries, chocolates, mulled wine, and other seasonal specialties while your guide shares the neighborhood's history and holiday traditions.
The route begins near the Moulin Rouge and finishes at Sacré-Coeur, with stops at artisan food shops and the Christmas market along the way. The combination of neighborhood food shops, holiday specialties, and Montmartre's Christmas market gives this tour a distinctly seasonal feel.
Christmas at Vaux-le-Vicomte
The entrance to Vaux-le-Vicomte at Christmas
Vaux-le-Vicomte glows at Christmas with candlelit rooms, towering Christmas trees, garlands, and illuminated gardens that transform the château for the season. This chauffeur-driven excursion from Paris includes hotel pickup, admission, and plenty of time to explore the château and gardens.
Often compared with Versailles, Vaux-le-Vicomte is smaller and easier to explore, with Christmas illuminations filling the château and gardens. Candlelit rooms, decorated salons, and illuminated pathways extend throughout the estate.
Christmas Markets
The Trocadéro Christmas market
Paris Christmas markets range from small neighborhood squares to larger markets with rows of wooden chalets, skating rinks, children's rides, and seasonal food stalls. Browse handmade gifts, ornaments, regional specialties, mulled wine, roasted chestnuts, and crêpes while streets and public squares fill with Christmas lights.
Each market has its own character. The Tuileries Christmas Market is the largest, while others at Notre-Dame, Saint-Germain-des-Prés, and La Défense offer different settings, food, and shopping. Our guide covers the major markets, opening dates, and what makes each one worth a visit.
Read our guide to Paris Christmas Markets →
Christmas Lights & Decorations
Christmas lights on the Champs-Élysées
Christmas lights appear across Paris from mid-November, but a handful of streets become destinations in their own right. Walk the Champs-Élysées beneath rows of illuminated trees, continue through Place de la Concorde, or head to Avenue Montaigne and Place Vendôme, where luxury boutiques decorate their façades with elaborate seasonal displays.
The department stores along Boulevard Haussmann create some of the city's most elaborate Christmas displays. Animated window displays at Galeries Lafayette and Printemps draw crowds throughout the season, while the soaring Christmas tree beneath the dome of Galeries Lafayette has become one of the best-known holiday sights in Paris.
Holiday Concerts, Ballet & Opera
December is one of the best times of year to hear music in Paris. Historic churches, concert halls, and the city's opera houses present Christmas concerts, ballet, opera, chamber music, and orchestral performances throughout the season. Many take place in landmark venues such as Sainte-Chapelle, La Madeleine, Saint-Eustache, the Palais Garnier, and Opéra Bastille.
Popular performances sell out well before Christmas, particularly evening concerts in smaller churches and seasonal ballet productions. Check the current program before your trip to see what's on during your stay.
Christmas concerts, ballet & opera →
Christmas Day in Paris
Christmas decorations on a Montmartre café
Christmas Day in Paris rewards a little planning. Many restaurants serve special Christmas lunches and dinners, churches hold Christmas Mass throughout the day, and a selection of museums, monuments, and Seine cruises remain open. Public transportation also continues to operate, although some services run less frequently than usual.
Reserve Christmas lunch or dinner well ahead of time, confirm opening hours for any attractions you plan to visit, and book activities before you arrive. Our guide explains what is open, what is closed, and how to plan Christmas Day in Paris.
Plan your Christmas Day in Paris →
Continue Planning Your Christmas in Paris
Celebrate Christmas in Paris →
Christmas Markets in Paris →
Things to Do in Paris in December →
Christmas Day in Paris →
New Year's Eve in Paris →
Things to Do in January 2027 →
Noël FAQs
WHEN DO CHRISTMAS LIGHTS GO UP IN PARIS?
Christmas lights begin appearing in mid-November. Department store windows, the Champs-Élysées, Avenue Montaigne, Place Vendôme, and many shopping streets are decorated through late December and into early January.
DO I NEED TO BOOK CHRISTMAS ACTIVITIES IN ADVANCE?
Yes. Dinner cruises, Moulin Rouge performances, Eiffel Tower tours, Christmas concerts, and popular restaurants often sell out weeks before Christmas. Book as early as possible if you're visiting in December.
ARE CHRISTMAS MARKETS OPEN EVERY DAY?
Most Paris Christmas markets are open daily during their seasonal run, although opening dates and hours vary by location. Some markets close shortly after Christmas, while others continue into early January.
IS PARIS A GOOD PLACE TO SPEND CHRISTMAS?
Paris is especially appealing during the Christmas season, with markets, seasonal decorations, concerts, holiday menus, and illuminated streets across the city. Many attractions remain open throughout December, including on Christmas Day.
Find Your Paris Hotel: Choosing The Right Area
Wake up near the cafés of Saint-Germain, the streets of the Marais, or the village lanes of Montmartre. Find a Paris hotel in the neighborhood you want to call home.