Christmas is coming, and with it a whole host of lovely activities to do as a family. See the Christmas parades, go ice-skating in the open air, go window-shopping… We tell you all about it!
Admire the capital’s most remarkable Christmas tree
This year, for us, the most beautiful tree isn’t in Galeries Lafayette, but in an opera house! Yes, it’s at the Palais Garnier that you can contemplate this conifer created by floral artist Anne Vitchen. Sumptuous, elegant… you’ll be at a loss for words!
📍 Location: Place de l’Opéra, 75009
Skate on Paris’ largest outdoor rink with Patins en Folie at Parc André Citroën
Patins en folie is the not-to-be-missed event for families and friends over the festive season! Come glide over Paris’s largest outdoor skating rink at Parc André Citroën in the 15ᵉ arrondissement. On 450 square meters of real ice, take full advantage of the festive and gourmet atmosphere of the premises, where good crepes, waffles, but also spiced wine await you!
📍 Address: 2 Rue Cauchy, 75015 Paris
🗓️ Dates: From December 14 (get your tickets to choose the date and times)
Take a luminous stroll through the Domaine de Saint-Cloud with Lumières en Seine – one of the most magical Christmas activities for children!
Lumières en Seine returns this year for an even more magical light trail. Come and stroll through the magnificent Domaine de Saint-Cloud, and enjoy the different light trails and sumptuous light displays. It’s a walk you can’t afford to miss!
📍Location: Grille Clémenceau – Saint-Cloud, 92210, Paris
📆 Date: multiple dates
🎟️ Admission: From €16
Hear the true story of Santa Claus
Here’s a fascinating Christmas activity tailor-made for fans of immersive journeys? A place dedicated to immersive theater opened its doors a few weeks ago in the capital. It’s called the Grand Hôtel des Rêves, and as the year draws to a close, it’s offering a Christmas-themed experience. La vraie histoire du Père Noël (The True Story of Santa Claus) is a tour-spectacle with a dozen scenographic sets and some twenty actors!
📍 Location: 47, rue du Cardinal Lemoine, 75005 Paris
📆 Date: until January 5, 2025
🎟️ Price: from €19
(Re)discover the musical Madagascar
They left a lasting impression, making us sing along to the heady chorus of “We like to move it, move it”. The heroes of the Madagascar saga (Alex, Marty, Melman and Gloria) are back on stage at the Théâtre du Gymnase to relive their adventures in a musical comedy. After a lifetime of happy captivity in front of an admiring audience and with regular meals provided, they decide to escape – with the help of mischievous penguins – to explore the world! Full of twists and turns, this adventure promises to enchant the whole family.
📍Location: Le Théâtre du Gymnase Marie-Bell, 38 Boulevard de Bonne Nouvelle, Paris, 75010
📆 Date: multiple dates
Take a trip to the Musée des Arts Forains – Admire the Festival du Merveilleux with your family
From December 27 to January 5, 2025, extend the magic of Christmas and take part in the Musée des Arts Forains’ Festival du Merveilleux with your family. This magical museum-show highlights the beauty of our fairground heritage. During the festival, you’ll discover talented jugglers, acrobats and puppeteers, here to make you dream for a moment.
📍Location: 53 av des Terroirs de France, 75012 Paris
📆 Date: from 27/12/2024 to 05/01/2025
🎟️ Admission: €22 full price / €14 to €16 concessions
Admire the Christmas parades at Disneyland Paris – A magical activity for children
Christmas means parades! For the occasion, the biggest theme parks put on a show to delight children. Such is the case at Disneyland Paris, which promises a magical show for the whole family! We’re there to cheer on Mickey and his friends, and see the floats of our little ones’ favorite heroes. It’s a show not to be missed!
Admire the Christmas windows
During the festive season, Paris’s biggest department stores are decked out in a thousand lights to dazzle you. The windows are ever more enchanting, and come alive every evening until Christmas approaches. A free show not to be missed!
Experience a Jurassic Christmas at Parrot World
For the occasion, the Parrot World animal park is dressed to the nines! Experience a Christmas like no other, surrounded by… dinosaurs! Yes, 20 life-size dinosaurs molded on real skeletons await you in the park, in the festive atmosphere and decorations characteristic of this period. It’s the perfect opportunity to take your family off the beaten track and immerse yourself in the magic of the holiday season!
📍Location: Parrot World,
📆 Date: multiple dates, Route de Guérard, Crécy-la-Chapelle, 77580
Put Christmas under the sign of the animals
This year, the Domaine départemental de Sceaux invites young and old alike to a weekend of enchantment and entertainment! In mid-December, wander around the château and look for the creatures hiding there! Enjoy musical tours, creative workshops and magic trick demonstrations!
📍Location: Musée du Domaine départemental de Sceaux
8 avenue Claude Perrault, 92330 Sceaux
📆 Date: December 10, 2024 – January 5, 2025
🎟️ Admission: compulsory ticket at €4 full price / free for under-26s
Listen to the best holiday music in a Candlelight Christmas concert
Treat your children to an unforgettable Christmas experience with Candlelight concerts, where musical magic comes to life under the soothing glow of candlelight. In a magical atmosphere, they’ll discover the most beautiful Christmas tunes played live, captivating their imagination and awakening their musical sensibilities. This timeless moment, both playful and enchanting, is the perfect opportunity for families to share in the magic of the festive season and create precious memories.
Stroll through a Christmas market – One of children’s favorite Christmas activities
How can you enjoy Christmas with your family without going to a market at least once? The capital organizes them all over the city, to please everyone: kids won’t be bored, that’s for sure!
The Thoiry Zoo light trail : Wild lights
This year at Thoiry, it’s the fascinating world of Jules Verne that has inspired the new trail! Thoiry Lumières Sauvages returns at the end of October with a trail that invites you to explore different worlds after dark! From adventures in the air with Five Weeks in a Balloon to underwater diving with Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, each lantern-lit world has its own animal encounters and adventures in store for you!
📍 Location: Wow Safari Thoiry 78770 Thoiry
📆 Date: from 27/10/2024
🎟️ Admission: paying
Take a Christmas stroll through the Jardin d’Acclimatation
Goodbye dragons, hello dinosaurs! For the 2024 version of its illuminated trail, the Jardin d’Acclimatation brings Diplodocus and other tyrannosaurs back to life for a few weeks. A hundred luminous dinosaurs and 2,000 lanterns will transform the 6-hectare garden!
📍 Address: Bois de Boulogne, Route de la Porte Dauphine à la Prte des Sablons, 75116 Paris
📆 Date: from 29/11/2024 to 02/03/2025
🎟️ Admission: paying
Treat yourself to the Jardins du Marais chocolate bar
Until December 22, come and enjoy the hotel’s sublime hidden courtyard, transformed into a veritable Christmas village for the festive season. Enjoy waffles, chocolates, mulled wine and, of course, tons of chocolate!
📍 Location: 74, rue Amelot 75011 Paris
🗓️ Dates: until December 22, 2024 – Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday
Say hello to the farm animals at Château de Rambouillet – A beautiful moment in the heart of nature
For Christmas, the Château de Rambouillet welcomes young and old alike for fun activities. The program includes a lovely illuminated crib, a Christmas market, horse-drawn carriage rides around the estate, cow milking and a visit to the farm. All in all, a great day out with our animal friends.
📍Location: Parc du château, 78120 Rambouillet
Make your own Christmas decorations
It’s never too early to make your own Christmas decorations! Pretty hanging baskets, cute candle holders, a snow globe… All it takes is a little time and imagination, and you’re ready to go. A lovely activity to do at home while waiting for Santa…