Things to Do in Paris in December

Paris hosts several Christmas markets across the city from late November through early January. The stalls sell regional foods, handmade crafts, hot wine, and seasonal treats. Each market has its own personality — some lean more commercial, others feel artisanal. The smell of melted raclette cheese and spiced wine hangs in the cold air, and there's usually live music on weekends. Bring cash for smaller vendors.

The avenue is lined with hundreds of illuminated trees each December, casting a warm white glow down one of the world's most recognizable streets. It's best seen on foot — the light reflects off the damp pavement in a way that's striking. The area gets busy on weekends, so a weeknight walk tends to be more pleasant. Start at the Arc de Triomphe end and walk down toward Place de la Concorde.

Paris has a network of 19th-century covered arcades — glass-roofed shopping galleries that feel like stepping into another era. In December, they become a refuge from the cold and drizzle. Passage des Panoramas, Galerie Vivienne, and Passage Jouffroy are worth exploring. Old bookshops, vintage toy stores, tea rooms with fogged-up windows. The kind of places where you lose track of time.

Several of Paris's grand churches host classical concerts throughout December, with the repertoire leaning heavily toward seasonal works. Hearing a string quartet play Vivaldi inside a stone nave built in the 1200s, with the cold air and candlelight — it's an experience that's hard to replicate elsewhere. Saint-Chapelle, Saint-Germain-des-Prés, and La Madeleine all regularly host performances.

The Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, and Orangerie are all far more manageable in December than in peak summer months. You might actually get to stand in front of a painting for a few minutes without being jostled. Lines still exist — this is Paris — but they're shorter, and the galleries feel calmer. First Sundays of the month are free at many national museums, though that does draw locals.

Parisian hot chocolate is its own category — thick, dark, closer to melted chocolate than anything you'd get from a packet. Several of the city's old-school salons de thé and chocolatiers serve versions that have barely changed in decades. Sitting in a warm, wood-panelled room while it's grey and drizzling outside, wrapping your hands around a heavy porcelain cup — that's December in Paris distilled into a single moment.

Several outdoor ice rinks pop up around Paris in December. The settings tend to be theatrical — in front of Hôtel de Ville, or at the foot of the Eiffel Tower in some years. The quality of the ice varies, and they can get crowded on weekends, but the backdrop makes up for it. Expect to queue for skate rental. Weekday afternoons are calmer.

The green bookstall boxes along the Seine quays have been there since the 1500s. In December, fewer of them open compared to summer, but the ones that do tend to be the serious dealers — old maps, vintage prints, secondhand books. Browsing in the cold, flipping through pages with numb fingers, the river grey and slow beside you. It's a very particular kind of pleasure.