Christmas season in France: The best things to do & see

_{Written by: Marina Marcout
Translation: S. Castlemilk
Date : 04-12-2023}

No need to head to the North Pole to experience the magic of December celebrations! To help you plan your Christmas holidays, we’ve asked a few elves to fill Santa’s sleigh with ideas of places and activities to celebrate Christmas and the New Year in France. Ho ho ho let’s go!

• Chantilly: Christmas magic in a castle
• Provence: Celebrate the Holidays in a perched village
• Normandy: A little History and sea bathing to celebrate the New Year
• Alsace: A tour of the traditional Christmas markets
• Pays Basque: Meet the other Santa
• Haute-Savoie: Chic and cosy atmosphere in the mountain
• Paris: Go out and party for the Holidays

Hauts-de-France: Once upon a magical Christmas time in a castle

How tempting to turn back time especially when a new year is just around the corner. Located in the Oise department (40 minutes from Paris), the Chantilly Castle will allow you to travel through French history starting in the XIth century.
For the Holiday celebrations, the magnificent Renaissance castle and its gigantic (115 ha) park have dressed up to the nines.
The list of events imagined to dazzle visitors seems as endless as your letter to Santa who is scheduled to make some surprise appearances!
Judge for yourself: enchanting ornaments, an equestrian show under the dome of the Great Stables, guided and narrated tours, a historical investigation led in the halls of the Chateau, the choir of the children of the Chantilly music school in the main courtyard and a mini-market to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate.
Impress your future guests by taking part in the Chantilly cream workshop. In an hour, you will master this ancestral recipe, emblematic of French culinary art. *

For more information: https://chateaudechantilly.fr/en/ (from December 2nd to January 7th 2024)
Bonus info: The Castle is located only 20 minutes away from the Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport (Paris-CDG)

Luberon: Celebrate the Holidays in a perched village

Do you know the 13 Christmas desserts, a sweet tradition from Provence? Head to Bonnieux, in the Vaucluse department, to re(discover) them! Perched on the heights of the Petit Luberon, this village is a concentrated delight of all you can expect from the region: panoramic views on magnificent natural sites, steep alleys with lavoirs and fountains and a market selling local products. Enjoy the winter season which attracts fewer tourists than summer and discover the Provençal Christmas traditions.
At nightfall, by lantern light, you will explore this charming town and applaud the talented street artists after having treated yourself to the tasty delights traditionally served for the Holiday celebrations. To make your experience complete, step in the Saint-Sauveur church, a listed historic site, and admire the nativity scene in its impressive crèche. Several hundred nativity figures are installed in a décor built using vegetation and stones picked up in the area. It is unique and a reminder that the Christmas spirit is where you want to find it.

Information: https://en.luberon-apt.fr/"

Normandy: Medieval Christmas and sea bathing for the New Year

Destination: the Calvados department for cultural, historic, culinary, unfamiliar and iodised celebrations! Start your Norman adventure by visiting Bayeux, a 2h20min train ride from Paris. The mediaeval city has put on its best attire: decorated half-timbered houses and Christmas music aired in the charming shopping streets. Don’t miss its famous and eponymous tapestry, listed by UNESCO. Children will like this giant comic book about William the Conqueror.
At dusk, the cathedral magically lights up and inside you will be able to watch an immersive sound and light show (free and without reservation from December 20th to January 6th). On New Year’s eve treat yourself to a seafood platter, from the sea to your plate in the blink of an eye! Then enjoy a long and contemplative walk on Omaha beach, one the biggest and most important beaches of the 1944 Landing. On June 6th 2024, ceremonies will take place there to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day. And if you are up for it, on January 1st at 1.00 pm, head to Hermanville –sur-Mer. The bravest and boldest Frigodèmes will take their traditional first swim of the year in the Channel!

More information: https://www.calvados-tourisme.co.uk/

Alsace: A tour of the Christmas markets in Colmar

If Strasbourg is called the Christmas capital of France, Colmar, its little sister of the Haut-Rhin is not less deserving when it comes to celebrating the Holidays. This winter, in this town located at the heart of the Alsatian vineyards, you will spend tasty and cosy moments all the while discovering its cobbled streets lined with colourful houses with apparent beams. You’ll feel transported in a Christmas special in this Little Venice dressed up like Santa’s workshop! Wrapped up in your warm coat, lulled by the smells of cinnamon, you will begin your tour of the 6 traditional markets. Each has its own speciality: local craftsmanship, culinary products, tree ornaments, toys and merry-go-rounds. Rue de la Montagne verte, in one of the market cabins, you will savour the regional dishes prepared by a chef or restaurateur. As soon as you’ve tasted the choucroute and Kougelhof, you’ll start planning next year’s return visit!

Information: https://tourisme-colmar.com/en/

Pays Basque: meet the other Santa

Type “Cité des corsaires” (city of privateers) in your GPS and you will end up in St Jean de Luz, located in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques.
This picturesque fishermen’s harbour is a well-kept secret and the perfect place to spend the Holiday season. Spared from the summer crowd, the seaside resort can also be savoured in December. After a few vivifying walks along the Atlantic, a spiritual halt in the church Saint- Jean-Baptiste where Louis XIV’s wedding was celebrated in 1660, overindulging on Adam macaroons created especially for the royal wedding, stop on the place Louis XIV. The square is the city’s epicentre where most of the end-of--year events take place: story telling in French and Euskara, a firework and musical show, the feu des sorcières (the witches’fire), traditional song choirs, a parade of giants, dancers and jugglers… Around its 12 metre high Christmas tree you will meet Olentzero, called the Basque Santa. According to regional mythology, the collier comes down from the neighbouring mountains during the winter solstice to announce the return of the sun. A luminous and joyful message that, we hope, you will carry with you during the entire year to come.

Discover the full program of the festivities: https://www.saint-jean-de-luz.com/en/

Haute-Savoie: Chic and cosy festivities in the mountains

On your wish list feature: snow, evenings by the fireplace, comfort food, wooden cabins, ski slopes and a good dose of winter magic. If there is no guarantee of a white Christmas, all your other wishes can come true!
Head off to Megève, the first ski station of the French Alps. This mountain village of Savoy is about to celebrate its 110th anniversary and has lost nothing of its authenticity all the while developing elegant and dynamic art de vivre.
During the Holiday season, the town, protected by the Mont Blanc, puts on its shiniest coat and lights up its gigantic Christmas tree. This year, Megève has scheduled a myriad of events and activities: a white parade, a Christmas sweater competition, dinners under a yurt, cocktails in an igloo after an afternoon of snowshoeing, a gourmet supper in the middle of nature or a Gospel concert. And to bid 2023 farewell, a free New Year’s party is organised on the village square with a live DJ. The end of the year promises to be unforgettable and festive!

Information: https://www.megeve-tourisme.fr/en/

End of the year celebrations in Paris: 4 unmissable outings

How could we not suggest spending the Holiday season in the City of Lights? The shop windows of the Parisian department stores shining with a thousand lights, street illuminations competing in creativity and the multitude of events organised for Christmas festivities. Paris gives its all! To satisfy everyone’s desire, we have selected 4 activities:

1. A hilarious and so French one-man show!
   Book your tickets to How to become a Parisian in one hour? This show in English will allow you to discover the talent and international humour of the actor Olivier Giraud who will make you laugh -always tenderly- at the odd habits of Parisians.
    
2. Sliding on ice next to the Louvre
   Put your skates on and try a double axle (or more modestly simply not to fall) on the Christmas ice ring of the Jardin des Tuileries. Its 500m² and special protected area for younger children will be open from November 18th to January 7th 2024.
   6€ per child and 10€ for adults.
   Metro station: Tuileries
    
3. Pyrotechnics, midnight and Paris!
   If you don’t dread crowds and you want to be at the heart of the action, on December 31st 2023, you will want to be avenue des Champs-Élysées and around the place de l’Etoile. At 10 pm, a sound and light show will be projected on the Arc de Triomphe. You will then count down to midnight and welcome 2024 with amazing fireworks.
   
   Bonus info: Public transports are free from 5 pm on December 31st until noon on January 1st and a part of the network will stay open all night.
   More information: https://www.iledefrance-mobilites.fr/en
    
4. For the younger (and older!) public
   Like every year, all the amusement parks of Paris and its area have set their clock on North Pole time to create an atmosphere worthy of Santa Claus.
   Take your children to the home of Mickey Mouse in Disneyland Paris (32 km from Paris) where you will experience enchanted moments. If you prefer a more Gallic atmosphere, set course for the Parc Asterix (35 km from Paris) and its snow-covered menhirs. If you wish to stay within Paris, try one of the 42 attractions of the Jardin d’Acclimatation.
   Don’t miss it! For the first time, the only amusement park inside the capital welcomes the “Dragons and Lanterns” Festival in collaboration with Shanghai’s Yuyuan Garden (from December 15th 2023 to February 25th 2024).

Don’t leave without us!
Don’t board your sleigh without proper travel insurance to protect you and your loved ones during your stay in France, particularly if you need a visa to enter the country.

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

You might find these articles useful:

• Places to visit around
• Paris Safety tips to travel to France
• Do you need a visa to enter France?