Noël, Noël… do Christmas the French way this year

Paris is celebrating its first festive season since Covid restrictions ended – and it’s the ideal time to visit, says Hannah Meltzer

Ihave lived in Paris for most of my adult life, but before the pandemic I always returned to London for Christmas. In fact, I would have told you that Christmas is better in the UK. We have cosy pubs and boozy parties, not to mention the silly jumpers. But I have come to appreciate and embrace festivities à la Parisienne – and there is something especially enchanting about the holiday season in Paris this year, not least because it is the first in a while without any restrictions.

The whole business of Christmas is a little bit different over here. For a start, the big feasting day is the 24th, not the 25th, and there is no such thing as Boxing Day. Out and about, it is less blaring Crimbo hits from times gone by, and more jazz standards. It’s not so much flashing multicoloured lights, more subtle guirlandes – strings of warm-toned fairy lights that twinkle above the roads, along café awnings and on teeny Haussmannian balconies.

As with all things French, the food comes first. From early November, chalkboards announce the start of the oyster/hot chocolate/mulled wine season. In December, the elegant displays in the boulangerie windows are even more seductive than usual, brightening up the darker days with abundant piles of exquisite pastries and buns. Seasonal specialities abound: fragrant pain d’épices, marrons glacés wrapped up in gold foil, air-light macaroons and rich chocolate truffles.

Despite the cold, Parisians can still be found on their beloved café terraces, keeping warm with wool blankets on their knees and steaming glasses of spiced vin chaud cupped in their gloved hands. In the city’s highend gastronomic restaurants, chefs serve up elaborate tasting menus, while sommeliers search their cellars for the most celebratory bottles.

The locals love to spend a winter evening visiting “une expo” and there are plenty to choose from. The Musée d’Orsay (musee-orsay.fr) is hosting a major retrospective of Rosa Bonheur, known for her paintings of animals, while the Louvre (louvre.fr) has Things, tracking the history of the still life. There are endless concerts on offer, with special classical programming in magnificent locations such as the Sainte-Chapelle and, further afield, the opera house of Versailles.

At this time of year, the city’s sumptuous department stores pull out all the stops, each one vying to create the most enchanting window display. At Printemps, one of the oldest grands magasins, there is a dazzling circus-themed display. A cast of 95 handmade marionettes perform trapeze and tightrope acts. Down by the Seine there is La Samaritaine, the glittering art-nouveau department store, reopened in style last year by LVMH. This year, the galleried atrium is the backdrop for a giant advent calendar. Every day, one shopper wins a high-end prize, such as a trip to Monte Carlo or a designer watch. Across the river on the Left Bank, you will find the city’s oldest grand magasin, Le Bon Marché, serving up old-school glamour. Its food hall, La Grande Epicerie rivals Harrods with its endless pristine displays of consumable delights, from panettone to fine whisky.

For families, there are special immersive illuminations in the Jardin des Plantes in the Latin Quarter, or the cutting-edge La Villette complex in the cool north of town. And then there are the pop-up Christmas markets, the biggest at the Tuileries Garden (where there is even an ice rink with the Louvre as a backdrop) – plus little versions dotted across the city, from the riverside to the enchanting Place des Abbesses in Montmartre. The city of Paris even makes its iconic manèges (carousels) free to ride at this time of year.

Out of town, of course there is Disneyland, but it’s not the only castle out there. At the Château de Fontainebleau (chateaudefontainebleau.fr) there is a special programme of Christmas events including a princess-themed tour. At the Château de Chantilly (chateaudechantilly.fr), a short train ride from Paris, there is a dazzling winter wonderland installation, featuring illuminations and a Christmas market too.

Times are tough, it’s true, but the French reaction in hard times is always to huddle closer to life’s pleasures and joys – food, wine, art, music and loved ones. Why not join in, and forget your troubles for a lovely seasonal weekend? It’s a lot of fun – even without the Christmas jumpers.