Paris on New Years Eve
 

We are going to be in Paris for New Years Eve.

How is New Years Eve celebrated in Paris? Restaurants? Clubs? At home?

Do restaurants put on special meal?

Where would you go for NYE? Jules Verne? Le Ciel de Paris(La Tour Montparnasse)?

Thanks in advance for your suggestions and comments.

Many restaurant will have special and elaborate menus for NYE with or without music and dancing.
Often the menus are published on their websites so that you have an idea.
Of course prices will be higher thatn the normal menus of the restaurant, but if you choose a nice one it may be quite good.
Of course you can also go to the show and dinner of the Lido for instance. This is although there are many tourists a very Parisian institution. I live in France and am often in Paris and I thought it was really a very very good show. But if you are looking for "Haute Cuisine" then don't go to the Lido, although it is nice anough.
Probably it is a bit early to see the menus already, except perhaps for the Lido but I am not sure.

My DH and I spent this past New Years Eve in Paris with dear friends from Edinburgh. We made reservations well in advance at a restaurant we've often frequented because we wanted to be sure of a nice evening/great meal without worrying about overpriced "special" deals (not saying that would be the case in Paris, but is often the case here in Ohio). After a lovely dinner we walked to the Seine and had a few vin chaud outside a cafe just across the street from Notre Dame (many cafes were selling it from windows).

At midnight we crossed the street and joined the HUGE crowd in the shadow of Notre Dame and toasted the new year, our friendship and our great fortune to be able to travel.

I know there were big crowds at the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triumphe and other locations, but we wanted to be at the Seine and it was terrific!

Thanks for the memory!

Oh MelJ, that sounds great and just the sort of thing that would suit us fine - the Seine in the shadow of Notre Dame!
Will you share the restaurant?

ivee - the Lido sounds like a possibility. Thank you. Are there any restaurants that you can suggest?

Paris during New Year's Eve is one of the best experiences.

As others have said the restaurants have special menus and reservations are necessary.

We opted for a tiny but fantastic restaurant where we were staying (Ile St. Louis) called Le Tastevin. It was the best. That was a totally memorable experience with excellent food and attentive service from the owner and her staff.

That year (2004) there were fireworks planned by the Pl. de la Concorde/Tuileries areas and we left the restaurant about ten minutes before midnight to view it from Notre Dame.

We had dinner at Chez Fernand on rue Christine, which is just off the quay in the 6th. Notre Dame is a very short stroll away.

Chez Fernand DID have a special NYE menu, which started with a glass of champaigne and offered a couple of selections for starters, plat and dessert. We've eaten there often, so I can't remember what we had that night, but it was excellent. This is a very small resto, so reservations are necessary.

I found this website which lists the special New Years Eve menus for 2007 with price (renaging rom about E85 to E800 per person). It is kind of fun to look them over. The Lido is E560 per person.

http://www.bestrestaurantsparis.com/...?menus_fetes=1

That sure is expensive (The Lido).

If you're looking for the "big crowd" at midnight, it is on the Champs Elysées, which is closed to traffic. In past years, it could get quite rowdy and unpleasant, but those days appear to have passed. If it is not a rainy night, you can count on 300,000-500,000 people there.

Clueless tourists still gather at the Eiffel Tower, thinking there will be fireworks there. There are no fireworks there except for special occasions. The two last times were 1999 (the millennium) and 1989 (100th anniversary of the Eiffel Tower). Not really expecting them to come up with any new reason for another 5 or 10 years. Fireworks just don't do the trick in northern Europe in the dead of winter -- too high of a possibility of freezing rain, a snowstorm or other annoying weather conditions.

bookmarking

Wow I did not know that the rates for the Lido are that steep for New Year's eve. I have seen that this includes a very elaborate menu and super wines and after the show dancing w<ith an orchestra but still....
I have never been on New years' eve and the normal rates are: menus+show + half a bottle of champagne per person: 140 or 190 Euro and the show without dinner but including the champagne 100 Euro,so that's an entire different story, perhaps better for one of the other nights !!!

Thanks for the website, Robjame. I realize it's from last year, but like you, I'll be there this year and was looking for information. I appreciate the post :)