Christmas shopping in France 2024

Page guide:	Paris	Strasbourg
Shop opening	other cities	travel

 2024 - CHRISTMAS is coming

      A Christmas shopping trip can provide the ideal excuse for a short trip to France. 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 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 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 2024

      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 at....

• Place de la Concorde / Jardin des Tuileries:  The former Champs Elysées Christmas Market  is now established in the Jardins des Tuileries, on the other side of the Place de la Concorde. Runs until 1st January 2025

Other Paris Christmas markets

• Saint Germain des Prés (Latin quarter) Santa's village,   Metro Saint Germain des Prés. Nov 26th - Jan 1st 2025
• Notre Dame cathedral. This small market, specialising in arts and crafts, has about 40 stalls. It takes place on the piazza in front of the Cathedral, a unique setting, and runs from  29th November until 25th December, with evenings on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday.
• Eiffel tower Christmas market. Runs 7th December - 5th January 2025
• Montmartre (Place des Abbesses) -   10 am to 5pm.
  
• Other locations in Paris with Christmas markets include Montparnasse, the Gare de l'Est (an Alsace-themed market) , the Gare Saint-Lazare, and the Place de la Nation .

 
     Click here for  Paris good value hotel guide - a choice of Paris hotels offering best value for money.

 Strasbourg  Christmas market - 27th November - 27th December 2024

   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.
   .
Strasbourg can be reached by motorway or by train. Click here for Strasbourg city and hotel guide.   
     There are many more Christmas markets in Alsace, notably in Colmar (late November - late December ) , in Hagenau (late November - late December) and in some of the picturesque small towns such as Riquewihr (late November - 22nd December).

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, Montbéliard, Colmar  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), 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 in the Cité de l'Europe 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

French wine for Christmas;
If buying in France, check out the About-France.com guide to buying French wine
If not in France, or visiting without a car,  buy online for delivery to the UK or other parts of Europe (except CH, IRL, SE and N) see French wines direct

CHRISTMAS TRAVEL

• Click for ferry services to France
• Click for flights to France

French school Christmas holiday periods 2024 - 2025

Christmas holidays

From   Friday 20nd December 2024 after classes to Sunday 5th January 2025 inclusive

Click here for other French school holiday dates.