Christmas Markets in Paris and Singing Reindeer!

One of the things I enjoy about Paris at this time of year is the Christmas market. Paris has a number of these that run from middle November to early January. They sport Swiss-chalet style booths for hot drinks, food, and gifts. Whenever I walk through them, I smile and feel all warm and cozy inside. Even though there isn’t snow on the ground, there are a lot of wintry scenes throughout the markets to make it feel even colder than it already is at this time of year in Paris. It’s currently staying in the 40Fs for the highs and 30Fs for the lows. Not quite freezing, but heavy coat weather nonetheless.

The largest Christmas market in Paris is located at Tuileries Gardens along Rue de Rivoli (https://www.parisdiscoveryguide.com/tuileries-garden-christmas-market.html). The market covers the entire length of one side of the gardens and is filled with dozens of rides, food booths, and gift shops. I advise not going during the weekends as it gets packed with wall-to-wall people. The market is filled with the sights, sounds, and smells of Christmas. The Tuileries market is called, “The Magic of Christmas.” Whether you want a hot drink (wine, cider, chocolate), chestnuts over an open fire, traditional French winter food (e.g, sausages, reclettes, sandwiches), or sweets, they have it in droves throughout the market.

Of the many choices for drink, food, and sweets, I chose hot chocolate, hot apple cider, cheese sausage, and macaroons (over two visits, of course). They were as charming as they were tasty. I already had roasted chestnuts a few days prior, otherwise I would have tried them here. Roasted chestnuts are certainly a unique taste. It took a few before I decided I kind of liked them. There are a lot of chestnut trees around Paris, so this is a local delicacy in addition to the Christmas song origins.

There are a lot of choices for gifts, too. They had jewelry, children’s toys, leather goods, and many other options. I was able to take care of a little Christmas shopping while I was here. And there are a couple of audioanimatronic displays of Christmas songs or poems. My favorite was the three singing reindeer. They were activated by pressing a big blue button and sang many different carols.

I highly recommend going to one of these Christmas markets, especially if you haven’t been to one before. There are other Christmas markets around Paris of varying sizes and opening dates. I really suggest you bundle up at this time of year in Paris in order to stay warm.

Merry Christmas!

Until we meet in Paris…