Christmas shopping in France

      For anyone looking for a good reason to travel to France, a Christmas shopping trip can provide the ideal excuse. Paris and other French cities are places that go to great lengths to make sure that the Christmas shopping experience is something to be remembered - a gala of lights, sounds and old seasonal traditions. And with the Euro currently competitive against other currencies including the dollar, the pound and the Swiss franc, there are plenty of bargains to be had.
     As is the practice throughout Europe, retail prices displayed always include tax; i.e. French sales tax does not have to be added to the price displayed.

CHRISTMAS SHOPPING IN PARIS -

   In Paris, the most popular Christmas lights are those decorating the Champs Elysées; but they are just the icing on the cake. The streets and the big shops in all the shopping areas, notably the department stores such as Printemps and Galeries Lafayette, in the Boulevard Haussmann area, vie with each other to produce the most elaborate Christmas decorations and Christmas windows.
   Big stores and stores selling up-market French luxury goods such as fashionwear or perfume and cosmetics can be guaranteed to put on particularly lavish and impressive window displays ; however bargain hunters should not expect to find a lot of really good buys, as winter sales in France cannot start before the first week of January.

Christmas markets in Paris:

    The French capital offers a number of "traditional" Christmas markets - Les Marchés de Noël - offering a wide array of art and craft products, as well as local specialities and special gastronomic delights for the Christmas dinner table. The main Christmas markets in Paris are located on the Champs Elysées ( Christmas village - 19th November - 24th December 2011), in the 6th arondissement at Saint Germain des Prés (Santa's village, from early December), and at St. Sulpice (from around 10th December - crafts and traditions). Others can be found at in the Trocadero Gardens (mid to end December 2011) Montparnasse, the Gare de l'Est and the Place de la Nation (from Dec. 1st).
    There is a Christmas Market specialising in arts and crafts over a long weekend before Christmas (Thursday to Monday)  on the piazza opposite Notre Dame cathedral.
     
     Click here for a Paris hotel guide .

STRASBOURG 
   The Capital of Alsace, in eastern France, is reputed to be the home of Christmas festivities; and the annual Christkindelsmärik, or Christ-child-market, held around the ancient cathedral in the heart of the historic quarter, is the most famous Christmas market in France, if not in Europe. It was first held in 1570. Today the event draws hundreds of thousands of visitors, who come to wander through the narrow streets, and admire and buy from the hundreds of stalls offering traditional Christmas wares, craft products, and gifts of all shapes and sizes.
    The Strasbourg Christmas Market 2011 runs from 26th November to 31st December 2011 - though parts such as the Craftsmen's village finish on Christmas Eve. Strasbourg can be reached by motorway or by train. Click here for selected hotels in central Strasbourg.   

OTHER FRENCH CITIES -
   All French cities pull out the stops for Christmas, specially those with historic centres, where the Christmas lights traditionally bring in large numbers of shoppers and admirers. The tradition of Christmas Markets has been taken up in many French cities, notably in Eastern France, in towns such as Besançon, Colmar (24th November - 31 December 2011)  and Nancy, which hold big events. But there are also big Christmas markets, open for at least three weeks up to Christmas, in Clermont Ferrand, Bordeaux, Lille (late  November - late December 2011), Metz, Arras and elsewhere; other towns and cities put on smaller, shorter Christmas markets.


Shop opening times in France before Christmas
   In city centres, the pre-Christmas period is the busiest time of year for shopping in France; many shops extend their opening hours, notably by staying open at lunchtime, and - during the last three weekends before Christmas, opening on Sunday afternoon. Sunday opening is particularly common in towns and cities that have Christmas markets. Generally speaking, all shops that do a brisk trade in the runup to Christmas stay open until at least 7 p.m.
   Out of town supermarkets and shopping centres tend to remain open slightly longer in the period before Christmas, and in particular are open on Sundays (typically from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m - but it is always important to check locally).
   In Calais, the Carrefour supermarket near the Channel tunnel exit is open 8.30 a.m. to 10 p.m six days a week, and 9 a.m to 8 p.m on Sundays during the pre-Christmas period; there are special Christmas events in Calais, including a Christmas market.

Click for general information on shop opening times in France

TRAVEL

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 French school holiday periods, 2011-2012

Year	Christmas /New year (national dates)	Winter break (3 zones, 2 weeks each)	Spring break (3 zones, 2 weeks each)
2011-2012	17th December 2011 - 2nd January 2012	11th February - 4th March	7th April to 5th May

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