Though Christmas in New York will always hold a special place in my heart, Christmas in Paris is something else. Every storefront and restaurant is decked out with lights and garlands, even McDonald’s. It’s amazing to walk around the city and see Christmas everywhere you turn. Paris is already such a romantic city, but add Christmas to that and you can’t top it.
Paris this time of year was the one trip I really wanted to do when I learned that we were going to move to the Netherlands. I’d heard so many great things, so I made sure that Jon and I scheduled in a trip before the holidays. We only had two days in the city due to work constraints, so we had to make the most of it. Both Jon and I had done all of the touristy Paris bucket-list items in the past, but it had been such a long time (10+ years for me!) that we decided to visit some of the top destinations during our short trip.
One of the most important things on my list was to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle at night. I’ve seen it during the day, but I really wanted to see it light up. On Saturday night, Jon and I went to dinner at a restaurant behind the tower. Jon had been before when he was in town for work, so he knew it would be the best place to see it sparkle for five minutes on the hour. And he was SO RIGHT. It was every bit as magical as I had dreamed. It was lit up with the message “Merci Johnny,” in honor of France’s Elvis, Johnny Hallyday.
One of the other items on my list for this trip was Notre Dame. The last time I visited, this was something we didn’t have time to do. I had promised myself I’d see it the next time I went back, so this was it. It’s every bit as striking as in pictures. Totally gorgeous and almost surreal. We walked through the interior, which features some beautiful stained glass. One of the things we were hoping to do was to go up to the top, but unbeknownst to us, you had to sign up for a time slot earlier in the day. A glass of vin chaud (mulled wine) at a nearby cafe had to suffice.
Jon and I also hit up the Louvre for a short hour or so to see the highlights (Mona Lisa, Winged Victory). We also did a little shopping at Galeries Lafayette and in Le Marais. It was really fun to just wander around and enjoy all of the Christmas decorations at all the stores. We even stumbled upon a Christmas market where we enjoyed vin chaud and crepes.
I’m so glad that we did this trip, even if it was a little touristy. I got so many amazing recommendations from friends and colleagues that we weren’t able to try due to time restrictions. I’m already getting so excited to go back and try all of their recos.
Hope you’ve enjoyed our little touristy trip through Paris at Christmastime.
Xx, Kelsey
OUTFIT DETAILS:
Outfit 1: Amazon pom pom beanie | Zara water-resistant jacket | J. Crew Factory toothpick jeans | Similar festive scarf here and here | Stradivarius ankle boots
Outfit 2: Grey and white striped sweater here and here
Outfit 3: Zara pearl dress | Hue super opaque tights | Identical heeled booties here | YSL chain strap bag
