Printemps Illuminations _Vitrines Noël 2022

Christmas lights and window displays in Paris Region

For the festive season, the Paris Region is decked out in a thousand lights. Every year, the illuminations and window displays in the different districts of the capital tell a thousand and one magical stories. Discover the ones that shone in 2023!
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  3. Christmas lights and window displays in Paris Region

As the end of the year approaches… You’ve dug out your playlist of Christmas songs and that kitsch jumper with pompoms, and are now trying to resist the urge to festoon your interior with gadgets and fairy lights… You’re under the spell of the magic of Christmas. Now that your home looks like a wonderland, it’s time to seek out the fabulous surprises that Paris Region has in store. The Christmas lights that brighten up the different neighbourhoods of Île-de-France will plunge you and your delighted children irresistibly into the world of Father Christmas. This is also the best time of year to go window shopping and admire the highly original Christmas displays to be seen everywhere, from quirky boutiques to major stores. Between enormous Christmas trees and magical decorations, explore Paris and the surrounding region by night to soak up the feel-good atmosphere and let your troubles melt away… Christmas is coming !

Christmas magic in the window displays of Paris Region’s department stores

In Paris, Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without the window displays of the city’s department stores. Admiring the animated scenes, parents get a taste of those joys of long ago as their children daydream about enchanted lands. Shopping addicts, foodies and fans of unusual decorations, get ready for this! From Galeries Lafayette Haussmann to Samaritaine, Paris’s illustrious shops pulled out all the stops at the end of 2023 and are preparing to fill you with wonder once again in 2024. In the meantime, take a look at the vitrines 2023 that have brought the magic of Christmas to the streets of Paris!

Christmas in paper, when wishes come true at Printemps Haussmann

For nearly 160 years now, the Printemps Haussmann department store has been a shining example when it comes to creating Christmas window displays.
This year is no exception, as customers and passers-by are treated to a fabulous Christmas tale as delightful as it gets. Through 4 scenes illustrated across 11 windows, the shop is celebrating Christmas on the theme of paper: the wishlist sent to Santa, written New Year wishes, paper tree decorations created by children, and so on. It took 3 weeks for 150 elves to decorate the Printemps Haussmann shop windows with over 170,000 paper creations. Oozing with a carefree, poetic charm, the displays continue in-store, where birds take flight beneath the dome, a beautiful paper bookcase stands 11 metres tall, and the inevitable giant Christmas tree with paper leaves decorates the Atrium.

Find out more about Le Printemps Haussamnn.

Printemps window decorated for Christmas 2023

My dream Christmas at Galeries Lafayette Paris Haussmann

Visit Galeries Lafayette Paris Haussmann to bring out your inner child in the company of Charles de Vilmorin who has joined forces with this store in a fabulously original creation.

The young fashion designer, who admits to being an incorrigible dreamer, took inspiration from his own memories to create a wonderland walkabout inside Galeries Lafayette Haussmann, on the colourful theme of the joys of childhood. His window displays and the store’s different departments tell the story of a little girl and her magic paintbrush. The artist teamed up with the Bournillat studio to create a dreamlike, feel-good world teeming with creativity. His exquisitely bright, translucent Christmas tree is the best ever, standing 15 metres tall to be admired from every floor of the Galeries Lafayette Haussmann department store.

Galeries Lafayette Paris Haussmann%252C vue sur la coupole
Galeries Lafayette Paris Haussmann

Jubilant Paris at Samaritaine

This Christmas, the Samaritaine department store is morphing into a temple of sweet delights to mark the release of the film Wonka.

The store is celebrating the jubilation and joys of the festive season, with a cheerfully audacious display. For this, Samaritaine called upon its best elves. Thomas Liu Le Lann has created an amusing scene of giant lollipops that you’d just have to taste if they weren’t made of blown glass. The delightfully cheeky photographer Gab Bois flouts the conventions of fashion and gastronomy with her crazy shots and a candy-pink chandelier… of candy! Speaking of chandeliers, the Samaritaine shop windows have also been dressed to impress, with jewels of lights created by Mathieu Lustrerie to show off the firm’s expertise.

Find out more about La Samaritaine.

La Samaritaine shop shelves decorated for Christmas

Celebration in all its glory at Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche

For 170 years now, the Bon Marché department store on the left bank has celebrated Christmas by turning into a magical wonderland. The shop windows and displays will enchant children and adults alike. As in previous years, four majestic Christmas trees set the tone in four different themes: acrobatic, sparkling, gourmet and traditional.

In keeping with these themes, the window displays are invaded by teddy bears, much to the delight of children… but also their parents. And to really plunge you into the heartwarming atmosphere of Christmas, the different departments of Le Bon Marché have been transformed in a chalet style with a fireside atmosphere. All under a ceiling festooned with baubles of black, white and gold. If you fancy exploring the Bon Marché department store after it closes at the end of the day, book a seat for ‘Entre Chiens et Louves’ (Dogs and She-wolves), a show performed by the Cirque Le Roux troupe.

Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche%252C Noël 2022
Bon Marché Rive gauche

Once upon a time there was Christmas in the forest at BHV Marais

Opposite the City Hall where a Christmas market is held every year, a lovely jumble of greenery has appeared… The BHV Marais department store is celebrating Christmas by inviting you to visit its enchanted forest. Every year, the shop windows are taken over by foxes, bears and hedgehogs, who guide you among the sparkling tree branches to a divine Christmas full of tenderness. Among the fir trees and forest creatures, you’ll enjoy a whole programme of Christmas and New Year festivities, activities and entertainment, all beneath the canopy of the enchanted forest.

Find out more about BHV Marais.

Illuminations Noël 2023 au BHV Marais%252C Paris

The magic of Christmas lights in the Paris Region

As a new year approaches, the magic of Christmas spreads to every little corner of Paris. The city’s iconic districts are lit up in elegant style, while other neighbourhoods go for something more original, with colourful garlands and wonderfully original decorations.

Stylish illuminations in the Paris Region

Like every year, the Avenue des Champs-Elysées displays its colourfully festive look. For a few fabulous weeks, the world’s most beautiful avenue is decorated in soothing golden lights from the Arc de triomphe all the way to Place de la Concorde. Switched on this year by Gilles Lellouche and the Petits Princes association, the Champs-Elysées Christmas lights are among the first to kick off the Paris Region’s illuminations. Style is also the watchword at Place Vendôme where, as in previous years, the prestigious façades are exalted by majestic Christmas trees and garlands of fairy lights.

Christmas trees Place Vendôme%252C Paris

Family-friendly illuminations and culinary delights in the Paris Region

This year, Bercy Village is celebrating your favourite Christmas treats. Christmas logs, delicious pastries and sweets from your childhood… With its grand alleyway festooned with candy canes, its trees decorated with lights and its musical parades, Bercy Village promises a ‘delightful Christmas’. When it comes to more original illuminations, the Rue des Martyrs, a stone’s throw from Montmartre, has a little experience in the field. For another consecutive year, it’s all about bubbles! With the help of the Nicolas Feuillate champagne house, the Rue des Bulles offers children and adults the magical sight of garlands and mountains of white and gold balloons. A levitating experience to celebrate the festive season.

An alternative tour of the Paris Region’s illuminations

Many other districts of the Paris Region light up to celebrate Christmas. This amazing sight is for all to see, just by walking through the streets. Alternatively, you can take a ride in a Citroen 2 CV or even a sidecar. For a higher view, board a Tootbus Paris open-top, double-decker bus for a tour of the most beautiful festive lights of Paris. For a vintage experience, 4 roues sous 1 parapluie invites you to see the capital’s most picturesque sights under the sparkle of the fairy lights.

Excursion Tootbus
Tootbus Paris
Strolls
With Tootbus Paris, you can hop on and off as often as you like to discover Paris at your own pace! From the open upper deck, enjoy a breathtaking 360° view of the French capital’s most beautiful monuments.
Balade à bord d'une 2CV, 4 roues sous un parapluie
4 roues sous 1 parapluie
Unusual Strolls
Get ready for an authentic and offbeat tour of Paris as you (re)discover the city’s treasures from the back of a Citroën 2CV: an amusing, vintage concept created by 4 Roues Sous 1 Parapluie!

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  • Copyright image: @ Francis Peyrat