Start at the Windows on Rue de Rivoli
It is just past five on a November evening and the pavement outside 52 Rue de Rivoli is packed three deep. The shutters roll back, the first bars of music start, and a row of animated scenes lights up along the BHV Marais facade. This is the unveiling of the BHV Marais Christmas windows, which for 2026 begins on 4 November at 5pm and runs through 31 December. The theme is "The magical world of Disney," with music and animations built into the displays. You are standing directly across from the Hôtel de Ville, so when the crowd thins you can turn around and walk straight into the Christmas market that operates on the square. Métro Hôtel de Ville puts you at the door.
Paris takes its windows seriously. Le Bon Marché introduced Christmas windows to the city in 1909, other stores followed, and by the 1950s the retailers were competing in earnest. Around 10 million people view them each season, and each store spends up to a year designing and building its display. The BHV is one of five grands magasins that stage them, so treat it as the opening act of a route rather than a single stop.
Walk the Grands Magasins Circuit
Two of the five stores sit almost next door to each other on Boulevard Haussmann, both a short walk from Métro Chaussée d'Antin–La Fayette, so you can pair them in one outing.
- Galeries Lafayette Haussmann (40 Boulevard Haussmann, Paris 9) runs 12–31 December 2026. The windows are designed by illustrator Jeanne Detallante and feature elves, gifts and fantastical creatures. Inside, the Art Nouveau stained-glass dome — over 140 feet of it — carries a giant Christmas tree with 20,000 lights, a glass walkway and a sound and light show. Crowds are densest around noon and late afternoon into evening, so come in the morning or mid-afternoon.
- Printemps Haussmann (64 Boulevard Haussmann, Paris 9) starts 5 November at 5pm and runs to 31 December, with the theme "Printemps Express" — a train journey whose passengers wear clothing made from recycled fabrics.
- Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche (24 Rue de Sèvres, Paris 7, Métro Sèvres Babylone) unveils on 7 November at 4:30pm. Four windows face Rue de Sèvres, filled with colourful creatures and Parisian scenes, and the displays continue inside the store. It is the only Left Bank store of the five and the oldest department store in Paris, a short walk from Luxembourg Garden.
- La Samaritaine (19 Rue de la Monnaie, Paris 1) opens 6 November at 6pm and runs to 4 January, with an enchanted winter garden of luminous creatures and gigantic plants.
Windows across the five stores typically appear in early November and stay up through late December or into early January.
Fill the Rest of the Evening in the Marais
The BHV's position on Rue de Rivoli makes it the easiest of the five to build a whole night around. After the windows, cross to the Hôtel de Ville market for the seasonal stalls and the smell of food cooking outdoors. Then head north into the Marais itself, where the boutiques and the jazz clubs on Rue des Lombards are nearby. If you are still going after the Haussmann stores, you can extend the walk to the Paris Opera House and the Christmas lights along Faubourg Saint-Honoré and Boulevard Haussmann.
Time Your Visit
Early November gives you the unveilings themselves — BHV on 4 November at 5pm, Printemps on 5 November at 5pm, La Samaritaine on 6 November at 6pm, Le Bon Marché on 7 November at 4:30pm — when the crowds gather for the first lighting and the atmosphere is at its most charged. Mid-November through December is easier to navigate, and the displays are all running. Note that several 2026 dates are still listed as to be confirmed, so check before you build a trip around a specific unveiling. If you want the Galeries Lafayette dome without the crush, go early in the day.
Plan Around the Windows
Book your stay near the Hôtel de Ville or along Boulevard Haussmann and you can reach four of the five stores on foot or by a single Métro ride. Give yourself one evening for the Marais and the BHV, one for the Haussmann pair and the dome, and one for the Left Bank at Le Bon Marché, with Luxembourg Garden for the walk back. The windows run from early November into the new year — pick your dates, watch for the confirmed schedules, and let the city's coldest, brightest season do the rest.