Paris Christmas Lights...Crowds?

Old Aug 18th, 2015, 06:07 PM
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Paris Christmas Lights...Crowds?

I'm trying to narrow down exactly when in November I'm going to book my tickets for, and I was reading that the Christmas lights in Paris around the Champs Élysées go up the 3rd Thursday in November, and that large crowds show up for it.

Does anyone have experience traveling around that time frame? If I flew in the next day (Friday morning) and was staying through the weekend, is that an insanely busier weekend than normal, or do people just come in for the initial lighting and not stick around?

I thought if the crowds weren't ridiculous, it would certainly be pretty to be able to see all of the Holiday lights. Thanks as always for any help.
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Old Aug 18th, 2015, 07:55 PM
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We were in Paris over US Thanksgiving a few years ago. The Christmas Market at the bottom of Champs was open (and fun) and there were lights up both sides of the Champs.

However, unless I missed something, there was no huge concentration of lights. Not much different than the holidays lights that go up any major boulevard in the US.

Maybe large crowds do show up for the turning on of these lights, and the lights themselves were nice, but not spectacular. They do go the length of the Champs, so that might be cool to see them come on.

I can't wait for a Parisian to answer this. It's an interesting question.

In any case, Paris crowds early last October were much worse than any we saw over Thanksgiving weekend.
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Old Aug 18th, 2015, 08:27 PM
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The only place where the Christmas decorations are "over the top" are the department stores on Boulevard Haussmann.
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Old Aug 19th, 2015, 03:41 AM
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Thanks for the responses thus far. Any further input is of course appreciated as well.

So from what I'm gathering so far, that weekend wouldn't be any busier than any other weekend? The flights do seem to be a bit cheaper for those weeks, which is also a plus.
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Old Aug 19th, 2015, 03:47 AM
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The lights on the Champs-Elysees have been seriously toned down ever since President Hollande took office and decided to save money. Last year they were a little better, since everybody was complaining about them, but they were nothing like they used to be. There's always a celebrity who pulls a switch, but it's no big deal, since the lights aren't, either. There's no big Christmas tree, for example, just lights in the trees along the avenue. But the lights go on November 14th this year.

Some people are crazy about the Christmas Market, but there's really nothing to buy there except "vin chaud" and junk food. We have been avoiding it for a couple of years, instead going to look at the big department store windows - some of which are animated and a lot of fun. Most stores decorate for the holidays, and the big hotels are fun to have a look at, as well.

The Champs-Elysees is always massively crowded, all year long and pretty much all the time. There is simply no way to avoid this, unless you arrive in the early morning before people go to work and the shops open.
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Old Aug 19th, 2015, 05:04 AM
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The lights have not been "toned down" for any sort of monetary reason other than the fact that they are all LEDs now and use 70% less electricity than in the days of incandescent bulbs.

Here is an example of the department stores and their Christmas windows from 2013: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCDCXxdxfs4
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Old Aug 19th, 2015, 06:11 AM
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We've been there twice since 2009 just before Christmas. There were no obscene crowds on the Champs Elysees, and the booths sold many interesting things - sweaters, foie gras, chestnut, etc. The only huge crowds were in the evening around the Dept stores mentioned by kerouac. We couldn't get near the store windows - so we went early the next morning to see them.

Stu Dudley
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Old Aug 31st, 2015, 03:43 PM
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The department stores and hotels' decorations sound fun to look at...when do those usually go up? Do they get them up as early as they do here in the States?
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Old Aug 31st, 2015, 05:01 PM
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The Champs Elysees lights look like something from the Jetsons. OK but not that great. We were there over Thanksgiving a few years ago and the Champs Elysees was in full force.

The department store windows are pretty cool. You would also want to go inside Galleries Lafayette to see their suspended upside down Christmas tree.

They will likely be in full force when you are there...check Printemps and Galleries Lafayette for info on when their displays open.
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Old Aug 31st, 2015, 06:08 PM
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I bought furry fleece boot liners at the Christmas Market and some nice costume jewelry for gifts. We ate tartiflette, which may not have been the world's greatest tartiflette, but wasn't junk food. There was also lots of candy.

I enjoyed the Christmas Market at the bottom of the Champs.
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Old Aug 31st, 2015, 06:36 PM
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I wanted to see the Christmas windows, but I think I may be in Paris in late October now (the flights are a lot cheaper), so I'm assuming the windows aren't up that early?
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Old Aug 31st, 2015, 09:33 PM
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The Champs Elysees lights look like something from the Jetsons.

Those lights were retired two years ago.
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Old Aug 31st, 2015, 09:34 PM
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You would also want to go inside Galleries Lafayette to see their suspended upside down Christmas tree.

That was just one year. The tree is totally different every year.
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Old Aug 31st, 2015, 10:43 PM
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The decorations and lights go up in mid-November now. If you come in October, you won't see much of anything in the holiday spirit. Some people like to buy things wherever they go, but it's best not to get your hopes up about what you'll find at the Christmas markets. A good place to visit is the Maison d'Alsace on the Champs-Elysees, which does have nice things worth buying.

The lights on the Champs-Elysees have changed and are more festive than they were during the recent "neon hula hoop" years. Galeries Lafayette used to have a very elaborate exterior lighting grid - like a lace covering made out of lights - which lasted for several years. At the moment, it is very "kawaii" and very pink. Hopefully, this will change in November. As kerouac said, the tree changes every year, as do the window displays, and both are well worth visiting. Everything will be crowded because every year the number of tourists increases. If you haven't been since last Christmas, you will be in for a shock.
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Old Sep 1st, 2015, 01:45 AM
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There is (was ?) also a small Xmas market in La Defense (at the bottom of the Ark).

It was nice and less crowdy.
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Old Sep 1st, 2015, 03:22 AM
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Just a personal note: I most enjoy the decorations in the smaller shops, particularly in the better chocolate shops. There is no set time for those to appear,though I recall them being pretty enticing by the last weekend in November.
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