❀ vina@bmtv ❀

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

This was my last view of Paris before boarding the airport shuttle for my flight to the States. I’ve heard the snow is long gone, but that doesn’t mean the Christmas spirit is missing from Paris. Here are just a few ideas of what to do and see over the holidays:

Christmas Villages

Parisians put up little wooden chalets selling everything from mittens and hot wine (vin chaud) to crafts and regional foods specialties. Basically, every other stand has something to eat or drink, so go with an empty stomach! A great place to find unique gifts or winterwear that’s less expensive than the shops.

La Défense Christmas Village is the biggest in the region (open until 7:30pm through Dec 27), and you can also go up to the top of the Grande Arche de La Défense (until 7pm). Metro line 1 Esplanade de La Défense. It looks particularly pretty after sunset when all of the buildings are lit up and you can see Paris (by 4:30pm it’s pretty dark!). La Défense is a pedestrian only business district (cars drive under it) built in the 1980s. It’s actually pretty cool, but dress extra warm for the wind that tends to sweep through there.

Another great Christmas market this year is along both sides of the Champs-Elysées from the Place de la Concord, where there’s a heated Ferris wheel (€10, until midnight) to the Rond Point des Champs Elysées. The building with the blue lights houses an ice sculpture exhibit. The immense Grand Palais has an indoor Christmas Village under the glass roof with a “gypsy jazz” theme that could be pretty cool if you’re Django Rheinhardt fans; rides, stands, live jazz bands, an exhibit on antique carnival rides, etc. Entry €5. Open every day but 24th, concerts until 10:30pm.

Other cute Christmas villages at St Sulpice and St Germain des Près (in the 6th), but they are much smaller in scale.

The biggest draw of the holidays in Paris are the window displays of the Grands Magasins (department stores). Printemps and Galeries Lafayette on Boulevard Haussmann (9th, behind Opéra) and Bon Marché (6th) are the most elaborate and worth a look even if the interiors will be a bit packed for the holiday shopping.

Finally, if you want to do the fun Parisian winter thing, there’s Ice Skating in front of the Hôtel de Ville, open until 10pm (and there are less kids at night), skate rental €5 (bring ID).

The Grand Parade 2010 is on January 1^st at Trocadéro from 2:30pm, with marching bands and mini-cars.

What’s open December 25^th and January 1^st? More than you’d think! Check out the Mairie de Paris’ web page listing all of the open museums, Christmas villages, public pools and skating rinks.

Food Shopping

For food shopping, you’ve got plenty of good options, keeping in mind a very important fact: in North America the malls are packed on Christmas Eve. In France it’s the food markets. It’s a sort of rite of passage to survive the experience, and the mood will be uncharacteristically friendly despite the lines (where you’ll usually get freebie tastings). Get there as early as possible before the real mayhem begins (not before 9am though, this is France), no later than 11am unless you think it’s fun to crowd surf. For open air markets it helps to bring a shopping bag or basket. Be careful not to trip over the old ladies’ trolleys. And watch to see if other people are touching the fruit before you do; in some stands you point to what you want (keeps the food cleaner). When it’s your turn, take your time, it’s your right. French people love answering questions about their food. ;)

Le Marché d’Aligre (Place d’Aligre, on the south side of the rue du Faubourg St Antoine just a block east of metro Ledru-Rollin, past the Opéra Bastille, 12th). This is actually three markets in one: an outdoor food market, a covered gourmet food market, and an outdoor flea market. This used to be the blue-collar and ethnic district, and although gentrifying rapidly, still has many Arab and African and Asian shops and stands. The prices here are the lowest in Paris, and bargaining is acceptable if not generally practiced. Some of the best cheese, olive oil and European micro-brews are sold in the covered market. The market is open 8:30am-1pm and the covered market reopens 4pm-7:30pm. Closed Monday. Off the square on the rue Theodore Roussel is the Moisan organic bakery, the ficelle aperitif are amazing salty bread sticks, great for snacks. At #1 of this same street, on your left, is the Baron Bouge, a famous wine bar where the market sellers go after they close for wine and oysters on the weekends. If it’s not too early, a fun place to stop in for a quick glass at the bar.

Marché de la Bastille
This is the largest open-air market in Paris, running along the Boulevard Richard Lenoir from Place de la Bastille. It has a lot of great regional specialties. Open Thursdays and Sundays 7am-2pm.

See the full list of Paris open-air markets by neighborhood here.

Le Grand Epicerie du Bon Marché (38 rue du Sèvres, 7th, M° Sèvres-Babylone) is a gourmet supermarket attached to the Bon Marché department store, handy if the weather isn’t great for outdoor shopping. Open Mon-Sat 8:30-9pm, Sunday 10am-8pm, Dec 22nd-23rd 8:30am-10pm, Dec 24th until 7pm.

Monoprix (52 Avenue des Champs-Elysées, 8^th, M° Franklin D. Roosevelt) has a supermarket section and a housewares/clothing/beauty section. Usually open Mon-Sat 8am-midnight, but may be open on Sunday for holidays.

Cultural Suggestions

The Musée des Arts Forains at Les Pavillons de Bercy is a private museum of carnival rides and decorations usually closed to the general public (the venue can be hired for private events). It’s exceptionally open for the holidays, decorated in winter wonderland style, with antique merry-go-rounds, carnival games, automatons, and live magicians and jugglers. Open through January 3^rd from 11am-6pm, entry €10 (€5 for kids).

The Catacombes de Paris have finally reopened after being closed for several months due to vandalism in September. Open Tuesday-Sunday 10am-5pm (last entry 4pm), entry €8.

The Palais de Tokyo is a “Space of Contemporary Creation” (13, avénue du Président Wilson, 16^th, métro Iéna), an interdisciplinary site dedicated to contemporary artistic creation with regular installment shows (current show, Chasing Napoleon). It looks like an artist squat, as if it’s still under construction. It’s supposed to look like that. A fun place to visit even if you’re not into the latest exhibition. It’s open daily noon-midnight, and has the Tokyo Eat trendy restaurant open until 1am, a self-service cafe, the Tokyo Idem, a bar, a bookstore and a quirky gift shop where the famous French grafitti artist Mr. André sells souvenirs (all except the expositions are open to visitors without tickets. Next door is the Municipal Modern Art Museum (free entry to main collection, current exposition “Dead Man”).

Musée de la Musique – Cité de la Musique
Parc de La Villette, 221, avenue Jean-Jaurès, 19th, M° Porte de Pantin.
A bit out of the way, but they have a great Miles David exhibition on now, “We Want Miles” (€8). There are concerts daily from 2-5pm. Open Tues-Sat noon-6pm, Sun 10-6pm.

Musée Carnavalet – History of Paris (23, rue de Sévigné, 3^rd, in the Marais). This municipal is free for the permanent collection, and a small fee for the current exposition, “Carnavalet’s Hidden Treasures from the Revolution”. Paintings, objects, furnishings and architectural remnants at the Musée Carnavalet trace the history of the city of Paris with its changes and developments throughout the centuries from the early Parisii settlers through the French Revolution. This museum is huge, so allow plenty of time or head straight for whatever time period you’re interested in, like Paris during the Ancien Régime (pre-Revolution monarchy) or Medieval Paris. Open 10am-6pm.

More Ideas
These links are from previous years, but many of the ideas are still applicable to this year, so have a peek:

What to do in Paris New Year’s Eve
http://What’s Open Christmas and New Year’s Day
Paris: 7 tips for spending the Christmas holiday in Paris
Tips from the Fodor’s Forum