Christmas Morning on the Champs-Élysées
You step out early on December 25 and the avenue is almost yours. Hundreds of lit trees run in a straight line from Place de la Concorde to the Arc de Triomphe, still glowing from the night before, and the pavements that were packed with shoppers a week ago are quiet enough to hear your own footsteps. This is the trade Christmas Day makes in Paris: the markets and the grands magasins pull their shutters, but the lights stay on, the churches open their doors, and the city hands you its grandest stage without the crowds.
Start with what is reliably there. The Christmas lights across Paris illuminate the grand avenues and squares from late November into early January, so Christmas Day falls squarely inside the season. Beyond the Champs-Élysées, walk Avenue Montaigne for its elaborate display strung alongside the luxury boutiques, then cut across to Place Vendôme, where illuminated trees stand among the column and the classical façades. Faubourg Saint-Honoré, Bercy Village and the streets of Montmartre all carry their own displays, and the themes change each season, so the route is never quite the same twice.
Markets and Windows, and How to Work Around the Holiday
Paris fills its neighbourhood squares with wooden chalets from late November through December. They sell ornaments, gifts, regional foods, hot chocolate and vin chaud, and the largest of them all is at La Défense, with dozens of stalls. Smaller markets set up near Notre-Dame, at Saint-Germain-des-Prés and at Gare de l'Est. Note the calendar: December 25 itself is not a market day, so plan your browsing for the days on either side and keep Christmas Day for the streets, the churches and the table.
- Gare de l'Est — the Alsatian Christmas Market specialises in eastern French foods: gingerbread, kougelhopf, Munster cheese, charcuterie and Alsatian wines.
- Square René Viviani, near Notre-Dame — artisans sell ceramics, jewellery and textiles.
- Boulevard Haussmann — Galeries Lafayette and Printemps unveil elaborate animated Christmas windows each November, running through December. Galeries Lafayette also raises an enormous Christmas tree beneath its glass dome. Le Bon Marché, Samaritaine and BHV Marais produce their own seasonal windows and interior decorations, and each store develops a new theme annually.
Christmas Concerts in the Historic Churches
This is what Christmas Day in Paris does best. Concerts fill the city's historic churches throughout December, and Christmas Eve and Christmas Day bring added holiday performances, continuing through the final week of December and on into New Year's Eve. The repertoire runs to Vivaldi, Mozart, Bach and Handel, alongside Christmas carols and traditional music, performed by orchestras, choirs, soloists and organists.
- Sainte-Chapelle — evening concerts beneath the stained-glass windows.
- La Madeleine — orchestral and choral programmes in a church built like a temple.
- Saint-Eustache — a vast interior that suits large-scale voices and organ performance.
Book ahead for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day; these are the dates that fill first.
What to Eat, and Where the Season Keeps Going
Christmas Day dining in Paris leans on the grand tradition: restaurants prepare special menus for the holiday period, and the cabarets stage special performances. For the days around it, eat your way through the market stalls — gingerbread and kougelhopf at Gare de l'Est, charcuterie and Alsatian wine alongside, and vin chaud and hot chocolate from the chalets to keep your hands warm between stops.
If you are still in the city after Christmas, the season does not end on the 25th. The Festival du Merveilleux runs from December 26, 2026 to January 3, 2027 — nine days at the Musée des Arts Forains in the Pavillons de Bercy, 12th Arrondissement, housed in former wine warehouses. You wander decorated rooms, gardens and courtyards past antique carousels, fairground games, mechanical music machines, theatrical sets and fairground attractions from the 19th and early 20th centuries, with magicians, musicians, acrobats and dancers giving short performances throughout the day.
Two other December fixtures worth building a day around: the Salon du Cheval de Paris at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles in the 15th, running December 4–6, 2026, with three days of show jumping, dressage, western riding, vaulting and equestrian performances, plus La Nuit du Cheval, an evening spectacle of horsemanship, choreography, costumes, music and theatrical lighting. And if you would rather see the lights from the water, Seine dinner cruises pass Notre-Dame, the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower, with multi-course dinners and champagne at midnight on December 31.
New Year's Eve, If You Stay On
December 31 brings the crowds back to the Champs-Élysées, gathering for the midnight countdown near the Arc de Triomphe. Cabarets stage special performances and restaurants prepare December 31 menus. Seine dinner cruises time their champagne service to midnight. Guided tours of Versailles and the Louvre, food and wine experiences, and day trips beyond Paris round out the final days of the year.
Planning Your Christmas in Paris
Build the day around what actually opens: the lights on foot in the morning, a Christmas concert in the afternoon or evening, and a holiday menu at a restaurant that has announced one. Then use the days on either side of December 25 for the markets at La Défense, Gare de l'Est, Saint-Germain-des-Prés and Square René Viviani, and the animated windows along Boulevard Haussmann. Keep the last week of December free for the Festival du Merveilleux at Bercy, and decide now whether you want to see in the new year on the Champs-Élysées or from a boat on the Seine.