Of all the times I have visited Paris, those in the run up to the Christmas season have been the most incredible and magical. The city is even more beautiful and charming during the Christmas holidays and there are plenty of practical reasons to find a vacation rental in Paris and plan a December – smaller tourist crowds, especially picturesque, better availability etc – but in these posts I have been reminiscing about my own personal experiences of the festive capital of France and why I think everyone should spend at least one Christmas in the city....
In the previous post, I noted that the first day of my first Christmas getaway in Paris was spent ticking off all the most perfect festive must-sees that the city offers; museums without queues, mulled wine to warm cold hands, ice-skating under the Eiffel Tower and lots of wandering around, enjoying the twinkling lights. On day two, we began by paying a visit to Notre Dame to light a candle (as my grandmother would expect of a good Catholic girl) and taking a turn around the building. Even with the relatively smaller crowds of the winter season, there still were lots of people and a visit involves lining, doing one loop along a guided path through the building and leaving again. While you don't have the time to take it in as you would like, the imposing and iconic building is still a must-see and a beauty. Plus, what would Christmas be without suddenly going to church for the first time in a year?
Upon finishing up at Notre Dame, we headed to the Rodin Museum and gardens, which were starkly beautiful and striking in the clear winter light, with the bare trees and the bronze sculptures dotted clearly throughout the naked grounds. No one else was silly enough to be out in the cold garden so we had it entirely to ourselves and spent plenty of time enjoying them. Once we'd had our fill of art but found our stomachs empty, we wandered the neighbourhood and settled in a random restaurant for lunch. I wish I'd recorded the name of it somewhere as it was the best service I've ever received in the city but, alas, I did not. Refuelled, we made our way to another gothic church (again, I am without the name) to finish the day and our trip at a Liszt concert and the candlelit grandeur and incredible music was, as much of the trip has been described thus far, simply magic.
The whole thing, the whole energy of the city, was different at Christmas and it was a special place to be when I was young and madly in love but, the second time, last year, as an adult with beloved pals, was just as amazing. Read on to the last post for my platonic “Before Sunset” experience of Paris, the most romantic city to spend Christmas even if you are with friends.
Upon finishing up at Notre Dame, we headed to the Rodin Museum and gardens, which were starkly beautiful and striking in the clear winter light, with the bare trees and the bronze sculptures dotted clearly throughout the naked grounds. No one else was silly enough to be out in the cold garden so we had it entirely to ourselves and spent plenty of time enjoying them. Once we'd had our fill of art but found our stomachs empty, we wandered the neighbourhood and settled in a random restaurant for lunch. I wish I'd recorded the name of it somewhere as it was the best service I've ever received in the city but, alas, I did not. Refuelled, we made our way to another gothic church (again, I am without the name) to finish the day and our trip at a Liszt concert and the candlelit grandeur and incredible music was, as much of the trip has been described thus far, simply magic.
The whole thing, the whole energy of the city, was different at Christmas and it was a special place to be when I was young and madly in love but, the second time, last year, as an adult with beloved pals, was just as amazing. Read on to the last post for my platonic “Before Sunset” experience of Paris, the most romantic city to spend Christmas even if you are with friends.
