Greetings,

Well - I am sort of starting to get excited about our Paris holiday - we leave on December 22 - I say sort of because so much has been going on in our lives with finances that it has been hard to get too excited. But the apartment is paid for as is the airfare and I have over 3,000 Euros (don't ask) so off we go!

I REALLY want to find a Church to attend on Christmas Eve.

We are staying in an apartment in the 5th - there are 6 of us going -think Griswald's go to Europe

Any recommendations for a church are most appreciated.

I would choose Notre Dame, I believe there is a Mass that starts at 24:00 H on XMass eve.

www.notredamedeparis.fr/

Well, Notre Dame does spring to mind.... I looked on their web site for you--they have several services starting at 4:30 pm on the 24th up to the midnight mass. The web site is very good:

www.notredamedeparis.fr

There also are smaller churches in the 5th--St. Etienne du Mont, St. Julien le Pauvre, St. Severin and in the 6th, St. Suplice and St. Germain (6th).

I've just listed churches I've been in--there are several others in and around the 5th, I'm sure.

I've just assumed you're fine with Catholic mass. I know there are Anglican churches in Paris and certainly those of other faiths. For those, you'll need to let your fingers do the googling.

Well the Norte Dame it is! How memoriable!!

I did google about and found a cool church through Hillsong - and perhaps will go on another day while there if it works out.

When we were in Paris the first time we attended the American Church in Paris and enjoyed that. They were very friendly and of course, it's in English! Here's their website: www.acparis.org. We also have been to Hillsong in Paris. The music was excellent (our whole family loves Hillsong) but then the message was long because of French to English. Still a good experience. What fun to be there at Christmas!

Personally, not liking crowds, I would pick any of the parish churches other than Notre Dame. Or if you don't want a Catholic service, there is the American Church and/or the American Cathedral. We did Easter once at the American Church because my companion was not Catholic, and we wanted a service in English. It is a non-denominational and the choir and bell ringers were wonderful. St. Thomas Aquinas is right off Blvd St. Germain near rue du Bac; I was there one day for organ practice, and I cried from the beauty of the music. There is also the Chapel of the Miraculous Medal which has Masses. This is very small and personal; don't know if they do midnight Xmas mass. http://www.chapellenotredamedelameda...e.com/EN/a.asp
And, of course, St. Sulpice with its premier organist.

Notre Dame may be really crowded. There are so many in the area, you are sure to find the perfect one. Maybe even while out walking, you will see one you are just drawn to. I would probably go with St. Germain de Pres.

I don't like St. Germain de Pres. I think it is dark and dirty with lots of paint peeling from the ceiling and walls.

I love St. Sulpice and would definitely choose it just to hear the organist Daniel Roth. People come from all over the world to hear him play the St. Sulpice organ.

And Catherine Deneuve may be there....

Miss Thang

The 8:00 pm service at Notre Dame on the 24th is listed as "international" but I didn't see any detail for it.

I'm learning a lot from this thread--new (to me) chapels and churches to see. Thanks!

oh..this is all fabulous! Keep it coming - and yes PW - I LOVE Hillsong as well

I second PWAbott's suggestion for the American Church in Paris. We had our wedding vow renewal ceremony there for our 20th anniversary, and it was simply splendid.

It is located on the Quai D'Orsay, right on the Seine. BTW, the Quai D'Orsay is NOT near the museum. It is some distance downstream on the left bank. Some folks got confused by this, and ended up getting to our ceremony a bit late.

Let us know how it goes, please.

Another vote for St-Sulpice and the wonderful organ; one of my favorite churches. I find Notre Dame too large.

You might also look at St-Gervais/St-Protais, behind the Hotel de Ville. It has beautiful stained-glass windows and supposedly the oldest organ in Paris. I walked in on a concert there last year and it was wonderful. I'm not sure what times their masses are but if you're in the area you can check the postings.

Most catholic churches in Paris seem to have their high Sunday mass at 11, it seems, and Christmas eve midnight mass would begin around 11, I think it is safe to presume.

I like St Louis en l'Ile church, actually, I think it is not too big, and very beautiful and it is the Jesuit style from later on which I like. St Gervais is really grim, I think. I'm not crazy about St Sulpice, either. The Madeleine is very beautiful, I think.

If I had to go somewhere for Christmas Eve, I would probably go to St Louis en l'Ile if I were in that general area, maybe Notre Dame for the experience although it is so big. Depends why you are going.

Another vote for St. Sulpice. I spent most of a Sunday there when I was there in June and the organ is incredible. (The service is kind of long, though.)

I also spent Fete de la Musique listening to two concerts at Notre Dame & they were very good, too - but I'd still pick St. Sulpice.

Hello again MomDDTravel! And if you make it to London you MUST go to Hillsong in London. We've been twice and we all love it. It's at the Dominion Theatre which has the musical "Queen, We Will Rock You" during the week and Hillsong on Sundays. It's the best!

I hope one day to be in London I had looked up Hillsong for when I was going to be there with dd in October but had to cancel the trip.

I love this thread and will print it out to bring with me!

As far as my reasons for going to church on Christmas - it is a sacred Holiday to me. We will go at home but I would LOVE to go in Paris!

We also went to the American Church on the Sunday morning that we were in Paris. PWAbbott is right; the regular attendees were incredibly friendly.

Carolyn - I might go there on Sunday - if we do not go on Christmas Eve. One of my favorite things to do when I travel is visit other churches. I have gone in the Bahamas, Vegas, Hawaii, Thailand... I love it.

We attended Mass at Notre Dame two weeks ago. Granted, it wasn't Christmas Eve, but I was still amazed that it was not at all crowded. We were in the third row!

However, we arrived for the 12:45 service as the 11:30 International was letting out and, boy, was that crowded! So if you're okay with hearing it in French (lovely), my advice would be to avoid the International service and go to the French one.

If you are looking for a Roman Catholic Mass in English, go to masstimes.org and you will be able to locate one. This site will find you church and Mass anywhere in the world.