Christmas in Paris
 

I will be in paris from Dec 24-28...Is it true that nothing will be opened on the 25th and 26th ie shops, museums, restaurants??? Any insights from you all will be greatly appreciated.

Very little will be open on Dec. 25-certainly no museums, and also very few restauarants. There are a few 24/7 restaurants that stay open on Christmas, and the hotels (mostly upper scale) that have food services will likely still serve. No retail shopping, though.

Decemebr 24 is a Sunday, and since most retail is closed on Sundays, I'd guess that openings will be sporadic-maybe some of the big stores like BHV or Galleries Layfayette will be open but I have't seen anything about that. Many restaurants are closed Sundays too and I would guess most will be closed Dec 24. I think you'll do better for food on Christmas Eve than on Christmas.

By Dec. 26, most places of all types should be back on their regular schedules.

We spent last Christmas in Paris, and yes, a lot was closed but there was plenty to see, including the Pompidou center museum:

Here are this year's hours:
Saturday 24 December: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. (the ticket desks will close at 6 p.m.)
Monday 25 December: usual opening hours (11 a.m. to 9 p.m.)

I think the Eiffel tower is open as well.

Ask your hotel to help with reservations for a nice restaurant on Christmas Day. There are a lot of Parisians who don't cook in.

Have fun!

Shops in France are allowed to be open on Sundays only 5 or so times per year, and they choose the dates. The large department stores are planning to use up 3 Sundays on Dec 3, 10 and 17. I couldn't find the Christmas hours for Printemps and Bon Marche but I expect they will be similar to Galeries Lafayette - closed on Sunday Dec 24. The Louvre is supposed to be open on the 24th, and so the shops in the arcade will also likely be open. Some shops and restaurants in the Marais are likely to be open, as they usually are on Sundays.

...definitely check out Galeries Lafayette because each year this store does a *spectular* job on decorating the outside of the store! Wow! Each year a completely new design. Worth seeing.

david

Sometimes it is spectatular. However, it's kind of low key this year, inside and out - those big white "snowflake" like things on the sides of the buildings are something they've done before, if not every year. And Au Primtemps is doing some kind of Moroccan thing :confused: for the holidays, although a couple of their windows are really cute for the kids - not sure what dancing teapots and pots and pans have to do with the season, either, but....

Couple of years ago we had a spectacular dinner on Christmas Eve at Le Cinq restaurant in the Four Seasons George V hotel. I'm sure it was pricey (my brother-in-law picked up the tab), but it was absolutely marvelous.

We also got a tour of their wine cellar, which you reach via a very small elevator. IIRC, it was carved out around the same time that Notre Dame was built.

It looks like BHV, the big department store, will be open on December 24. I'm guessing that the others (Galleries, Printemps) will be too, though I haven't seen anything definite yet.

It doesn't look like it:

http://www.galerieslafayette.com/mag...n&magasinid=39

Ouverture exceptionnelle du magasin les dimanches 3, 10 et 17 décembre de 10h à 19h.

http://www.printemps.com/magasins/haussmann/index.aspx

Votre magasin sera ouvert exceptionnellement les dimanches 3, 10 et 17 décembre de 10h à 19h

I agree with Francophile-the listings by Printemps and Galleries of Sundays they'll be open do not include Dec 24, and I would therefore conclude that they will be closed on Christmas Eve.

Also, the Pompidou website is showing that it will be open both Christmas Eve and Christmas.

Bon Marche ads show them open Dec 3, 10 and 17. I read non-mention of Dec. 24 to indicate they'll be closed also.

For last minute shopping on the 24th, I think the only options are likely to be the shops that are usually open on Sundays: i.e. the shops in the arcade attached to the Louvre (which include more than just your typical museum gift shop), and about half the shops in the Marais neighbourhood, where the department store BHV is located. (That might explain why BHV has decided to allocate one of its scarce Sunday opening rights to Dec 24 - since other shops in the area will pull in customers, too.) I haven't been to the Champs Elysees on a Sunday but I understand that some of the shops there also tend to open on Sundays.

Yes, the flagship Louis Vuitton on the Champs-Elysées is open on Sundays.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/23/wo...rssnyt&emc=rss

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Ice Skating and the Eiffel
 

Does anyone know or have experience with Ice Skating at the eiffel tower? I will be in Paris from Dec 25-31, and a friend of mine at work, that had lived in Paris at one point mentioned it to me...

Also, one more question although im sure the answer is yes, the Metro and RER will be up and running on the 25th correct? I land at CDG that morning and plan to take the RER in to town.

Thanks,

-Andrew

Doesn't look like the rink is up this year:


16/11/2006 - Mid-December on the Eiffel Tower!
Last year the ice skating rink on the first floor was a big success. And for winter 2006/2007, the Eiffel Tower has new installation in store for its visitors.

A gigantic green cone, 25 meters high (more than 80 ft high) is soon to stand tall just under the Eiffel Tower…
Creating a sort of mirror effect, a conic shaped light will be hung upside-down from the second floor of the monument as another symbolic tree..