The Christmas lights of the City of Lights do not go out even during the Corona period

Every year, in preparation for the holidays, the French capital is covered in beautiful Christmas lights. Despite the cold and sometimes rain, the night seems sweeter, and the streets more cheerful. Over 150 streets and 70 neighborhoods in Paris are decorated with stars, colorful lights, and twinkling trees, from Montmartre to Boulevard Saint-Germain and many other Parisian districts.

But this year Christmas in Paris is particularly sad, as the Christmas markets will not be the star of the show this year. The traditional fair in the Tuileries Gardens , with its many sweets, cakes and gifts, will also not take place. This year we are in a different time. We will not be walking around Paris wrapped in warm clothes and we will not be standing in line to view the city of lights from the Ferris wheel.

The only thing left for us is to watch (virtually) the Paris Christmas lights and decorations, which can still be found throughout the city. In this article you can find the program of the Christmas lights that will be lit on the Champs-Élysées , Faubourg Saint-Honoré and other places in Paris and feel, quite a bit, as if you were there.

Christmas lights in Paris

Champs-Elysees

Like every year, the grand lighting ceremony on the Avenue des Elysées takes place in Paris. Despite the coronavirus, Paris did not give up on this ceremony this year either, adapting itself to the spirit of the times. The Christmas lights launch ceremony was broadcast live online, and from November 22 to December 31.12, the lights will be switched on from 17:00 PM to 2:00 AM.

You can see these lights in the following article about the sad Christmas that has come to Paris:

For Parisians: Please note that on December 24th and 31st, 2020, the lights will be on all night.

Unfortunately, no New Year's Eve show has been planned so far.

Faubourg Saint-Honoré: Illuminated balloon and shops that go virtual

Faubourg Saint Honoré is considered one of the most important fashion centers in Paris. It is therefore not surprising that this street becomes festive and illuminated during Christmas. This year they decided to illuminate the street with a lighted balloon, which is located not far from the Dior boutique and will be lit between November 19 and January 21, 2021.

Despite the Christmas lights, it is impossible to ignore the lockdown and the general atmosphere, which also cause this busy street to become a kind of ghost street (relative to previous years). Like quite a few other stores, the fashion stores of Saint Honore understand that they must move forward with the spirit of the times and create virtual boutiques, and these are springing up like mushrooms after the rain. Here, for example, is a video by Dolce Gabbana that shows what such a boutique looks like.

Bercy Village – Umbrellas cover the sky

For Christmas 2020, the village of Bercy provides us with an alley of sparkling umbrellas by the famous designer Patricia Cunha.

This time, the artist returns with a winter version of her famous Mary Poppins-inspired installation! There are about 1,200 umbrellas in the village, hanging for about 200 meters, and hanging them required over 50 hours of work. At the end of the street, a giant Christmas tree with over 30 umbrellas will be displayed, which is a real photo op. All this beauty is on display from November 12, 2020 to January 17, 2021.

I haven't received any photos from the area of ​​this performance yet, so in the meantime, you're welcome to enjoy this video, which was filmed last year and which can definitely get you into the atmosphere.

Address: Bercy Village
28 Rue Francois Truffaut
75012 Paris 12

Galeries Lafayette

Tradition is tradition, and despite the lockdown in Paris that will last until December 1.12st and the restrictions, the storefronts are still part of the holiday scene.
This year, Belgian artist Tom Champ was recruited for the task. Top's work is editing and drawing comics for children, in 3D. For this Christmas, Tom wanted to rewrite the wonderful universe of Congolese painter Cheri Samba and comic artist Jacques de Lustel. The result is stunning.

The windows display 11 scenes featuring Celista, a little girl who has traveled the world and meets fantastic characters (inspired by Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince). Celista travels the world and ends her world tour in Paris, where she brings many gifts! She meets a polar bear village, visits Russia and brings Russian dolls, visits a snow-covered jungle, meets a snow leopard and more.

And here you can see how all this looks in the Galeries Lafayette storefronts:

Although, like most stores, Galeries Lafayette is still closed, they haven't given up on the world's largest Christmas tree, and this year too the tree will be a central attraction in the department store once the stores open. The installation was designed as the world's largest tree standing in the middle of the amazing glass dome, displaying thousands of gifts, colorful pompoms and Christmas lights, every half hour the tree twinkles.

Here's a video showing this year's Christmas tree in all its glory:

The tree is scheduled to be on display until January 3.1.2021, XNUMX.

Location: Galeries Lafayette
40 Boulevard Haussmann
75009 Paris 9

Printemps Department Store

The 2020 Prenten Christmas windows are very dreamy, this year the theme is “Christmas Distribution”, with the characters coming straight from children’s fairy tales. There are about 92 characters, and about 65 characters that come to life in front of passers-by on Haussmann Avenue. The setting there is wonderful and contains, among other things, the beach, a snowy mountain, an enchanted forest and other magical places.

Here is a slightly long video that shows what awaits you there:

Location: Printemps
64 Boulevard Haussmann
75009 Paris 9

In conclusion

This is without a doubt one of the saddest Christmases in France and unfortunately almost all of us (except those who live in Paris) have to experience it virtually this time. I hope that next year we can all return to Paris to stroll the streets, enjoy the Christmas markets and gaze at the beautiful shop windows of the shops and department stores.

Until then, I sincerely hope that what you have read and seen will bring you even a little joy during this difficult time and that we will all return to traveling in the City of Lights as soon as possible.

More on the subject

• Sa La Vie – Francophile Candy
• The dark side of the Eiffel Tower
• Tuileries Gardens: Paris' first public garden