Christmas in Paris: City of Light - Part 2

A gentle snow is falling as I write this. The view outside my window makes it look as if someone is sprinkling icing sugar over my neighbourhood. Slowly it’s blanketing the ground with a fine layer of white, as if decorating a cake. Christmas is definitely in the air! So what better time to continue my Christmas in Paris: City of Light tour?

Luminous Place Vendôme

If you’ve read my post Christmas in Paris: Window Shopping, you will remember that much of it focused on the Place Vendôme area. So let’s return there for a bit. This time we’ll take a look at the decorations on the exterior of some of its luxury boutiques and hotels.My favourite overall was the bright red ribbons and bow that gift wrapped the Cartier boutique on Rue de la Paix. I found it to be absolutely stunning. And at the opposite end of the square, directly across from le Jardin les Tuileries on Rue de Rivoli, the symmetrical arches of the luxury hotel Le Meurice were wrapped in sparkling greenery.

Merry Madelaine

La Madelaine area is located just a few streets west of Place Vendôme. Here, on Rue Royale, the windows of Ladurée‘s sumptuous tea salon were covered in fresh spruce boughs. And these were alight in white, beautifully framing the sweet treats within. Meanwhile, just around the corner, Christmas chandeliers lit the way for holiday shoppers on Rue Sainte-Honoré. Filled with designer boutiques, this is one of the great shopping streets in Paris. A bit further north, Avenue Hausmann was all aglow in the pink lights of the luxury department store Printemps.

Île de la Cité All Alight

Making our way back along the Rue de Rivoli, l’Hôtel de Ville – City Hall – was dressed up to celebrate Paris being awarded the 2024 Olympic Games, as well as Christmas. And crossing over le Pont d’Arcole and onto Île de la Cité, tucked into a little side street, the always charming Au Vieux Paris d’Arcole restaurant was even more so now, decked out in its Christmas finery. Then, the most famous inhabitant of this little island in the heart of the city, Notre-Dame de Paris, shone her brightest.

Sparkling Saint Germain

A short stroll across le Pont au Double takes us to la Rive Gauche – the Left Bank – of the Seine river. Here Boulevard Saint-Germain is home to such wonderful brasseries as Le Saint Germain. And sweet, ribbon-wrapped Christmas trees decorated its balconies for the season. A little further west, Paris’ oldest department store, Le Bon Marché, brought the outside in, creating a magical snowstorm around their escalators.And beyond that, the magnificent monument and final resting place of Napoléon, Les Invalides, glowed. Here a small Marché de Noël – Christmas Market – nestled in blue at its base.

And yet, among all of this magnificent splendour, the humble message of the season could still be found. For, while strolling along Rue de Rivoli one afternoon, I came across Église Saint-Paul – the Church of Saint Paul – in the Marais district. Its open doors welcomed me in to discover this simple crèche – Nativity scene. Joyeux Noël – Merry Christmas!