Christmas in Paris
 

We will be in Paris for the week before Christmas. Does anyone know where the Christmas Markets are in Paris? Which are the most charming and the most worthwhile to visit? Also, are there any other special Christmas sights to see in Paris?

The principal sights include the marvelous decorations and lights all over Paris, particularly in the large department stores (Galeries Lafayette, Au Printemps, Le Bon Marché), at the Place Vendôme, and in many little shops. There are lighted trees at the Rond Pont on the Champs-Elysées, and a skating pond near the Hôtel de Ville.

The Christmas market fad has begun to wane in Paris, as people prefer to go to cities with authentic Christmas markets. Nevertheless, just before Christmas, they generally fill place Joachim du Bellay (which Parisians call Square des Innocents) and place René Cassin (which tourists call 'the place with the big stone head') with little wooden sheds selling the usual Christmas market stuff.

I don't know about recent years, but just a few years ago, they typically had Christmas markets in front of gare Montparnasse, in front of the skating risk (at place juin 1940), at place de Nationa, and in front of Gare St Lazare. I think some of them were over in the week just before Christmas, though. There was one at plce St Sulpice sometimes, but it was there only a few days about mid-Dec.

You are correct, Christina, but the Christmas markets are more and more fickle these days. I'm sure that no one knows exactly where the Christmas markets will be this year, even the organizers... it's all a question of money.

I've spent several Christmases in Paris and always felt let down on anything special there for the season - not that there's not something but nothing extraordinaire - but like Underhill says the department stores with their display windows displaying re-creating fairy-tale scenes with moving fabled characters is great - and the lights but not nearly as extensive as in the U.S.
Christmas Eve - the long long lines at chocolate shops and for oysters
The traditional family repas after midnight Mass (even though few go i think the dinner is still after midnight, at least my family is even though no one goes to church.
Pastry shops with bouche de Noel (sp?) Christmas logs cakes.
And rarely any snow!

Bûche de Noël = Christmas log. Bouche de Noël = Mouth of Christmas, which is what mines turns into at the beginning of December. All those sweets! Either one would be totally acceptable.

The last few years I believe that there were consistently markets both in La Defense on the Esplanade (quite large) and a smaller one on Blvd. St. Germain just on the block or two closest to the church. Beware, these are a little less 'quaint' than you may be (or at least I was) anticipating. Kind of pre-fab little stalls with a mix of the interesting and the junky. I found them interesting, but they may well fall short of others' expectations.

There was a shabby Christmas market at the Bastille last Christmas time.

David,
Also go to the Christmas Eve Mass at N.D. It is very cool even if you are not religiously inclined.