Eating in Paris at Christmas
November 14, 2016 10:57 AM   Subscribe

I'm spending the week from Christmas Eve to New Years Eve in Paris. I'm curious what to expect as far as things (restaurants, shops, etc.) being closed. Our general plan is to wander around and look at stuff and be in Paris. I don't mind losing a day to formal sightseeing on Christmas Day itself; in fact I'm kind of looking forward to the quiet. I'm a little worried about food, though, especially because we arrive (via train from Munich) at noon on Christmas Eve.

How much do I need to plan ahead in order to eat on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day? I'm not really interested in spending hundreds of euros on a fancy Christmas dinner - will there be restaurants open we can pop into on these days? I assume most shops will be closed, at least on Christmas Eve. If we do need to make reservations, can you recommend specific restaurants that don't cost a fortune and/or require anything fancier than business casual dress?

Thanks!
posted by something something to Travel & Transportation around Paris, France (6 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: We did this 4 years ago. It was beautiful, and there were plenty of places open. Plenty of closed places, too, but we never felt stuck for options at all, because around another corner we'd find something open. Cannot recommend any specifics, but if you're up for just wandering and taking things as you find them, you'll be fine.
posted by BlahLaLa at 11:05 AM on November 14, 2016


I very much enjoyed the atmosphere and food at La Taverne du Sergent Recruteur. It is casual and the meal is fixed menu, fixed price.
posted by plinth at 12:22 PM on November 14, 2016


New Year's Day meals are a big deal and many restaurants take reservations for long "St. Sylvester" meals on January 1st. You will likely find some grocery stores open but limited hours and you may have to go to several before dos ing open ones.
posted by raccoon409 at 12:23 PM on November 14, 2016


Seconding what BlahLaLa said. We were there on Sun Dec 28th and Mon Dec 29th (2008) and had an absolutely jam-packed itinerary. It was pretty cold though, and the days are quite short with the sun seemingly never getting high enough to even clear the buildings.

Consider skipping the Eiffel tower (and the lines for it) since it will likely be miserably cold up there, and you're surrounded by throngs of ugly tourists. You'll get just as nice a view from Sacre Coeur.
posted by intermod at 12:43 PM on November 14, 2016


Paris by Mouth has a helpful guide of what's open Christmas Eve and Christmas Day here

They are also a useful site if you're trying to find food in bits of Paris that aren't necessarily known for lots of good restaurants (like, near Gare du Nord or other stations)
posted by lettezilla at 8:48 AM on November 18, 2016


I did this with no planning and was fine. :-)
posted by xammerboy at 2:03 PM on November 27, 2016


« Older Will my waterproof iPod Shuffle electrocute me?   |   How can I use my degree for helping fix policy? Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.