Christmas in Paris 2022

 Yes, we did get to Sicily but the Coronavirus made sure that we spent much of our time commuting on the bus.  However, now we have reservations to go to Paris in December and we have to get ourselves prepared.

First, we'll need to bring flashlights because when we arrive on the 23rd, the sun only rises at 8:42 am and then it quickly sets at 4:57 pm.  Of course the advantage to that is the Christmas lights can shine that much longer.  Although I guess that's not much different from Pittsburgh with sunrise at 7:40 am and sunset at 4:57 pm, same as Paris.  And Boston is 7:11 am and 4:15 pm.  So it's the mornings when we'll want to rush out for our croissants that it will be darker.

I've been looking at Paris Discovery Guide's Christmas in Paris to make sure we don't miss anything special.  Of course we'll have to hit all the Marchés de Noël and do it quickly because we might only have 2 days: December 23rd and 24th, although they say some stay open until early January.  The market at the Tuileries is supposed to be the biggest and liveliest with carnival rides including a giant ferris wheel, in addition to an Artisan Village and lots of food such as mulled wine, roasted chestnuts, sausages, raclette, waffles and crepes.

They say the Christmas season is not the off-season, except for early December, and can get very crowded.  We only hope that the crowds are all French.  The Discovery Guide says that the most picturesque Christmas market is the Marché de Noel Notre Dame, which is open through December 26th.

Devour Tours (specializing in food naturally) lists their 6 best Christmas markets including

Champ de Mars in front of the Eiffel Tower has 60 stalls and an ice rink.  It also stays open into January.

Abbesses in Montmarte near the Sacré Coeur.  A small market but there's a carousel (remember in Amelie?).  Again open till January.

Village de Noël at La Défense which the Paris Insider's Guide says is the largest with over 350 stalls and adds:  "If you've never been to La Défense the market gives you a reason to go, especially in the evening when the towering buildings are illuminated. Plan to spend several hours — the variety and diversity of products sold is mind boggling."  It is open until the end of December.

I've never been to La Défense so I guess that means we WILL have to go:  "Getting there is easy, it's the last stop on Metro Line 1, under the Grande Arche."

Some of the markets in the Paris Insider's Guide run only for a short time so we will miss them.  They mention the Marché de Noël des Fééries d'Auteuil in the 16th Arrondissement which has "traditional Christmas figures from Provence called santons."  Unfortunately it will run from December 3-11 so we will miss it.  But maybe we can find santons elsewhere.

These lists will give us a start and if the Christmas Markets in Paris are anything like the ones here, we'll have our fill of them after two.