My family (all adults) will be in Paris over Christmas and New Years and I'm having a hard time figuring out what to do, if anything, on NYD. My current plan is Lunch at Le Baratin (open according to Paris by Mouth) and Père-Lachaise with dinner at our rental apartment.

Is there anything else that will be open? Department stores, maybe? Or perhaps some of the Passages/Galleries? We always love a good walking tour, but will neighborhood shops/cafes be closed?

We spent NYE 2009/2010 in Paris and had a great time. Some things were closed but lots were open.

You can read our trip report here http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...stmas-2009.cfm

And our pics http://www.flickr.com/photos/pug_gir...7636716043473/

Some of the pics are from our anniversary trip a few weeks ago, many are from our NYE trip that year.

Churches, cemeteries, the Eiffel Tower, the Bateaux Mouches, market streets in the morning, cinemas...

And of course any street market scheduled for that day of the week will be operating as usual.

Dept stores aren't open on major holidays, they have labor laws.

I'll be there too over New Year's. If you want another option for lunch, one place that will be open (we ate there on Christmas Day last year and have reserved for Jan 1) is La Cagouille in Montparnasse. High Zagat numbers, excellent seafood not many tourists, friendly staff. www.la-cagouille.fr Just a thought.

Thank you Kerouac, was hoping you would see this. Good to know the market streets will be open. Does that include the shops along Rue Montorgueil and Rue des Martyrs? We're staying near Sq. Montholon so both are an easy walk.

Does the same go for Christmas day re: bateaux mouches and market streets?

Jamikins, it's good to know Eiffel Tower and surroundings were mobbed on 1/1. Will avoid.

Yes, the little food shops will be open for at least part of the day. Same for Christmas day -- these shops do some of their best sales of the year on such days when people are specifically looking for luxury items.

Christina, any store can open on a holiday if it wants to, by paying salary premiums. Sundays are the only days that some stores are forced to close no matter what.

Hooray! Jan 1st is my birthday and I want to eat well even if I'm cooking it myself at our apartment that night.

Also, on the walking tour you put together for the ethnic neighborhoods near Gare Nord, where would you suggest lunch? My brother really wants couscous and I'm obsessed with eating a lot of rotisserie chicken.

I saw a comprehensive list of things open during the holidays on secretsofparis.com.