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Xmas in Paris may not be snowy white, but it’s difficult to not be filled with christmas optimism if you’re in Paris in December. The City of Lights lives up to its nickname in a big way, as the trees that line the Champs-Elys?es are amongst the many trees in Paris that get covered with strings of light, and the Eiffel Tower regularly gets the central spot of the nighttime skyline with its shimmering light.

In fact, looking at the christmas lights in Paris is one of the first stuff to do when you’re visiting the city in December. The greatest places to go to check out the Paris christmas lights are all along the aforementioned Champs-Elys?es, all along the Rue Montorgueil and Rue Mouffetard, in the Place Vendome, in the windows of the huge department stores (as well as the renowned Galeries Lafayette), and at the Notre Dame Church. It’s at Notre Dame that you’ll additionally get to check out Paris’ Christmas tree, and even if you’re not a religious character you might do worse than to be present at a Christmas Eve ceremony in the famous cathedral. You can reach all of these sights from Appartment in Paris

Another Christmas tradition in Paris is the short-term ice skating rinks that get set up throughout the city. The locations every year may differ, but there are habitually rinks put up in the open area close to the Paris City Hall, also known as the Hotel de Ville, and close to Montparnasse. They are likely to go up in mid-December and stay open over March, so even if you’re visiting Paris later than Holidays you can however take a spin. Generally speaking, to go ice skating in Paris on these short-term rinks won’t cost you anything, but if you need to hire the ice skates that’ll be some euro.

Attending a ceremony in one of Paris’ many churches can be a really wonderful way to spend Christmas Eve, even if you’re not a super-religious character at home. And you don’t even have to be fluent in French to get the most out of a service – there are numerous English-speeking services throughout the city you can take part in. Unfortunately, the homepage for the Catholic churches of Paris appears to be completely in French – so you may call for some help from a French-speaking buddy to translate it and locate the English services, or you could simply ask the Paris tourism office or in your Hotel in Paris when you arrive in the city. Additionally to attending Christmas mass in Paris’ churches, you may also want to make a visit of the churches during non-service times in order to see the many nativity scenes they’ve erected for the season.

Holidays in Paris, as well as the rest of France, tends to be a family holiday – which means that rather than giong out for dinner and celebrations with friends, Parisians are more likely to be having huge meals in familiar apartments with relatives and partying in private. However, for a traveler, Paris at Christmastime can even now be dreamlike – there’s a sense of calm that you may not find in Paris at any other time of year (although don’t think the streets will be abandoned or anything), and there’s something about the manner a city feels when it’s preparing for a family holiday that makes it feel cozy… No matter what the temperature is outside.

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