{"id":16138,"date":"2015-12-07T13:32:26","date_gmt":"2015-12-07T17:32:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nyhabitat.com\/blog\/?p=16138"},"modified":"2019-03-19T14:53:03","modified_gmt":"2019-03-19T18:53:03","slug":"paris-winter-guide-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nyhabitat.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/07\/paris-winter-guide-2015\/","title":{"rendered":"Paris Winter Guide 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Christmas lights blend nicely into the City of Lights during the holiday season.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Paris<\/strong> feels like a fairytale at any time of the year with its medieval architecture and winding cobblestone streets that seem frozen in time. Visitors arriving around the holiday season will feel this even more so, as the City of Lights feels more magical than ever! As the city\u2019s sang froid<\/em> gives way to friendly holiday cheer, you can head to Paris for the holidays and enjoy the best the city has to offer.<\/p>\n

Go holiday shopping<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Galeries Lafayette does the holidays in style with a stories-tall tree under its glass dome.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

As one of the world\u2019s fashion capitals, Paris has no shortage of high-class department stores for your holiday shopping needs. But beyond just retail, the city\u2019s grands magasins<\/em> offer window displays for the holidays that are works of art in their own right! Perhaps the most spectacular is at Galeries Lafayette<\/a>, a palatial store famous for the enormous Christmas tree that it hosts annually under its stained-glass dome.<\/p>\n

Other imaginative displays include the ones at Le Bon March\u00e9<\/strong>, the world\u2019s first department store, and Printemps Haussmann<\/strong>, a landmark work of architecture housing great shopping. A final option for your last-minute holiday needs is Bazaar de l\u2019H\u00f4tel de Ville (BHV)<\/strong>, located on the Place de l\u2019H\u00f4tel de Ville at the edge of Le Marais<\/a>. You can do some shopping while the kids enjoy the ice skating outside.<\/p>\n

If your loved ones are less interested in name-brand fashion and more curious about the old-world charm of Paris, there are plenty of options for gifts with more cachet. Deyrolle<\/strong> in the Saint-Germain district<\/a> is perhaps the world\u2019s best-known taxidermy shop and offers all kinds of unique animal-related gifts. More squeamish visitors can turn to L\u2019objet qui parle<\/strong>, which brings the best of French savoir-faire<\/em> to the Paris streets in the form of a craft store at 86 Rue des Martyrs. Authentic French antiques can be found at the March\u00e9 aux Puces de Saint Ouen<\/strong> just north of Paris, while vintage books are sold at the bouquinistes<\/em> (book stalls) that line the Seine River on both sides.<\/p>\n

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Holiday delicacies, winter beverages, and more are fixtures of Paris\u2019s holiday markets.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Paris’s holiday markets<\/a> appear from November to January and are less gift-oriented but full of Christmas cheer. Here are some of the best, with hours and dates:<\/p>\n