What to do in Paris in December Despite the cold, wind and rain, hibernation is out of the question. The editors of Paris Secret have braved the elements to concoct a list of activities and cultural outings for the more adventurous among you, far more energizing than an evening under the comforter. Unusual exhibitions, festivals of lights, solidarity evenings, museum parties, Christmas markets… Follow our schedule, you won’t be bored!
Visit Notre-Dame de Paris
After five years of renovation, discover Notre-Dame Cathedral like never before. Completely restored, the edifice has regained its former beauty. To visit, you’ll need to reserve a time slot. But it’s well worth it!
📍Location: Notre-Dame de Paris
Marvel at the illuminated paintings in the Parc de Saint-Cloud
For lovers of bucolic strolls. A fairytale-like experience awaits you in the heart of the Domaine National de Saint-Cloud. Following the resounding success of previous editions, Lumières en Seine is back in the spotlight with a new illuminated itinerary featuring paintings, sculptures and other works of art. Bonus: to fully immerse you in the magic of the festive season, young and old alike can enjoy the warm atmosphere of the gourmet chalets!
📍Location: Parc National de Saint-Cloud, Grille Clémenceau – Saint-Cloud, 92210
📅 Date: multiple dates until January 2026
A feast for the eyes (and ears)
With the festive season just around the corner, candlelit concerts are dressed up in their finest, most festive garb, to immerse you in the magic of the festive season to the sound of the most beautiful Christmas music. Let It Snow, Mon beau sapin, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas, All I Want for Christmas Is You… Getready for a magical experience. Consider a Candelight gift card for the holidays!
📍Location: multiple venues
📅 Date: multiple dates
Find original Christmas gifts and treat yourself at the Villette Christmas Market
We tested it for you and loved it. Head to Place de la Fontaine aux Lions to visit a Christmas market like no other. Here, you’ll find a veritable Swiss village, with designer chalets that transport you to the Alps, gourmet chalets including a Zürich fondue that will melt any cheese lover’s heart, an ice rink, a carousel and creative workshops. In short, everything you need to immerse yourself in the magic of the festive season.
📍Location: Place de la Fontaine aux Lions, La Villette – 219 avenue Jean-Jaurès 75019
📅 Date: multiple dates until December 28, 2025
Let yourself be mesmerized by Light Cycles at Parc de La Villette
In the family of not-to-be-missed light trails, we ask for Light Cycles! This walk transforms Parc de la Villette into a nocturnal theater of light, sound and nature. Created by multimedia studio Moment Factory, this open-air trail invites visitors to plunge into a dreamlike atmosphere with five unique artistic installations, featuring luminous forests, bamboo sanctuaries, crystalline sparkles, tree lights and spellbinding sound effects, lending a fairytale atmosphere to every corner of the park. In around 45 to 60 minutes, you’ll be enveloped by fascinating soundscapes and projections, in a magical setting ideal for winter evenings.
📍 Location: Parc de La Villette
📅 Dates : Until December 30, 2025
Travel back in time to the Jurassic era
Dinosaurs have invaded Paris! In the heart of the 11th arrondissement, the Atelier de Lumières presents a titanic immersive Jurassic exhibition. Inspired by the Apple TV series of the same name, Planète Préhistorique : Dinosaures offers a 360-degree plunge into the world of these fascinating creatures. Walk in the giant footsteps of brachiosaurs and tyranosaurs, presented here in life-size versions, through incredible landscapes projected onto the floor and walls of this former foundry converted into a temple of digital art. Carried by Gérard Lanvin ‘s haunting voice and the original soundtrack by Hans Zimmer, Anže Rozman and Kara Talve, created ah-hoc for the experience, let yourself be catapulted 66 million years back in time.
📍Location: Atelier des Lumières, 38 rue Saint-Maur, 75011
📅 Date: multiple dates
Travel to Japan without leaving Paris
Who says you have to break your PEL to travel to the Land of the Rising Sun? Japan en Lumières at the Jardin d’Acclimatation lets you immerse yourself in Japanese culture without leaving the capital. As night falls, the park is transformed into an illuminated kingdom, where red temples, giant koi carp, floating lanterns and cherry blossom create an anime-like journey through the heart of Paris. We move forward in small steps of wonder, as if the Parisian winter had opened on a secret passage to Tokyo, with 2,000 twinkling lanterns as our only compass. After the stroll, the magic continues with Japanese specialties – gooey mochi, crispy gyozas, steaming ramen – before you hop on the Ferris wheel to admire Paris in the colors of the Land of the Rising Sun. A poetic, gourmet show, perfect for a truly exotic Christmas 2025.
📍 Location: Jardin d’Acclimatation
📅 Dates : Until March 8, 2026
🎟️ Price: From 12 euros
Treat yourself to an enchanted interlude at the Musée des Arts Forains
If there’s one event capable of immersing us in the atmosphere and magic of the festive season, it’s the Festival du Merveilleux! The Pavillons de Bercy – Musée des Arts Forains is cooking up a special “guinguettes” edition of its annual festival! Garlands of lights, performances by artists of all kinds (acrobats, musicians, dancers and even hypnotists), rides on old and beautiful attractions… Step back in time and enjoy the party!
📍 Location: Musée des Arts Forains, 53, avenue des Terroirs de France, 75012 Paris
📆 Date: until January 2026
🎟️ Admission: €22 full price / €14 to €16 concessions
Make a cheese of it!
The Cheese Experience perfumes the Grands Boulevards with an unusual experience combining culture and gourmet delights. On the program: a multi-sensory activity for the whole family where cheese comes to life. During this interactive tour, the Cheesiz, characters with a strong personality, tell you their story in 3 dimensions. All the while, you push a cheese cart, which you taste along the way, and which you can pair with wines or fruit juices. We’re mel(ce).
📍Location: La Cheese Experience – 10-12 boulevard Montmartre, 75009 Paris
📅 Date: multiple dates
Test the best macaroons in Ile-de-France
On the outskirts of Paris, in Sannois and L’Isle-Adam, you’ll find two La Pelle & la Toque stores, which have just stood out in a recent macaroon competition. If you’d like to try something other than the great classics Pierre Hermé or Ladurée, you should know that this brand, run by Anthony and Laurine Ragaine, has been racking up bakery and patisserie awards in recent months. Their chocolate and lemon-mint macaroons won a regional first prize in November 2024.
📍Locations: 2-4 Rue du Lieutenant Georges Keiser, 95110 Sannois or 41 Grande Rue, 95290 L’Isle-Adam
Do a Christmas market
During December, we love to stroll through the most beautiful Christmas markets in Paris.The Jardins des Tuileries is undoubtedly one of the most popular. During this enchanting stroll, young and old alike can indulge in gourmet delights or buy a few Christmas gifts, thanks to the wooden chalets featuring French crafts and specialities. But that’s not all. The enchantment is in full swing, as visitors can also dream away on top of the Ferris Wheel, enjoy rides like the Phantom Train, or take to the ice on the 1,200 m² skating rink. Dreaming of adding a touch of Christmas magic to your everyday life? Come to the Jardin des Tuileries.
📍Location: Jardin des Tuileries, 75001 Paris
Try out the Paradox Museum’s mind-blowing activities
The Midnight Paradox evenings are back for Christmas! On the program: exclusive evenings with magicians, hypnotists and other surprises, including illuminations and a giant treasure hunt! With 90 activities, each more delirious than the last(Zero Gravity Room, Water Paradox, Red and Blue Room, Seesaw Paradox…), your Christmas promises to be paradoxical…
📍Location: Paradox Museum, 38 boulevard des Italiens, Paris 9
🗓️ Dates: multiple dates
Discover a haunted Palais des Glaces in a unique theatrical experience.
Nestled in the lively 10th arrondissement is a new kind of musical experience. La Maison Hantée promises to frighten young and old in a mythical setting: the Palais des Glaces. On the eve of her 12th birthday, Ely moves into a house that hides many secrets. It’s here that she meets Alfred, a ghost who’s as mischievous as he is endearing, and who turns her daily life upside down, leading her on an unforgettable adventure. This is the thrilling scenario of this show, halfway between a play and a musical, specially designed for families looking for thrills and chills this winter.
📍 Venue: Palais des Glaces, 37 Rue du Faubourg du Temple, 75010 France
🗓️ Dates: Until January 11
Board the Titanic
Prepare to embark on an unforgettable journey through history from the 11th arrondissement! Titanic: a journey through time lets you explore the world’s most famous ship as never before, thanks to virtual reality. From her final resting place at the bottom of the Atlantic to her sumptuous decks in 1912, this immersive adventure brings to life the story of the Titanic, her wreck, her ghostly remains… Then, step back in time to board the ship at her peak, wander through her sumptuous halls, admire the intricate details and meet the characters who shaped her history.
📍 Location: 10 Place de la République, 75011 Paris
🗓️ Dates: Until January 31
Book a Christmas tea time
It’s cold, it’s gray… why not cheer yourself up by booking a Christmas tea time? And just in time, many exceptional hotels are offering gourmet tea parties to warm you up. It’s like Christmas come early, after all?
📍Location: Paris
Discover yourself with “TOI: The immersive personality test
If you’re looking for an original plan to do with friends or family, this is it. TOI offers a slightly magical adventure, a technology-based inner journey. In this immersive journey, you pass through eight interactive rooms combining games, illusions and digital art. At the end of the experience, a virtual avatar accompanies you step by step, and your choices, gestures and reactions are analyzed live: at the end, an “Aura” – a kind of magical portrait of you – is revealed. Lasting around 90 minutes, accessible from age 7, this is an interactive, fun and visually surprising outing. In short: perfect for an outing off the beaten track.
📍Location: TOI, MOIR – 17 Bd Saint-Jacques, 75014 Paris, France
📆 Date : multiple dates
See a free exhibition in Paris
In Paris, cultural life is in full swing, and there’s clearly no shortage of exhibitions. But did you know that there are also many free exhibitions to see? Photos, paintings, sculptures… you’re in for a treat!
📍Location: Paris
Admire the Christmas windows of department stores
Admiring the Christmas window displays is a ritual we all love doing every year. Department stores are decked out in a thousand lights to enchant young and old alike. The themes get crazier and crazier, and the staging gets more and more elaborate! So don’t miss this free show for the whole family.
📍Location: Paris
Get out your ice skates
With the holidays just around the corner, what better way to make the most of winter sports? Paris may not be known as a ski resort, but it’s still home to some great skating rinks! A great way to spend time with friends and family. Our favorite: Patins en Folie in the Parc André Citroën in the 15th arrondissement. Hurry, it closes on January 4!
📍Location: Paris, Parc André Citroën for Patins en Folie
Live LEGO Mania to the full with an unusual exhibition
Looking for something fun and original to do with the whole family in December? Look no further than this one. Jurassic World by Brickman Jurassic World by Brickman is 6 million LEGO® pieces assembled to create 50 creations inspired by the Jurassic World universe, each more impressive than the last, including 15 life-size dinosaurs. What’s more, you can create your own sculptures with 2 million bricks available to the public and creative workshops!
📍 Location: Paris Montreuil Expo
📅 Date: from December 20
Science Expériences Bercy – science in total immersion
At Bercy Village, Science Expériences offers 850 sq. m. of scientific adventures combining VR, video mapping and immersive trails. In eight themed rooms, you can travel through space, dive into the abyss, explore the human body and play with electricity or quantum physics, all guided by a scientific mediator. The perfect family activity for the Christmas vacations!
📍 Location: Bercy Village, Paris 12
📅 Date: multiple dates –open daily during school vacations