Paris in December is the darkest and wettest month of the Parisian year: about 58 hours of sunshine across the entire month, roughly 77 mm of rain spread over 16 days, and daylight that runs from about 08:40 to 16:55 at the solstice. It is also, for the right traveller, one of the best-value months in the city – provided you go in the first half. December is really two different months wearing the same name, and the difference between them is several hundred euros.
The two Decembers
Everything about planning this month turns on one line: roughly 1–18 December, and roughly 19 December–1 January.
The first half is the quietest, cheapest stretch of the Paris year outside of deep January and February. The Christmas markets and lights are already running, the museums are close to empty on a weekday morning, and hotel rates sit well below the August and September peaks. The second half inverts all of it. School holidays start across France and the UK, the city fills, and Christmas week and New Year carry the highest room rates of the winter.
If your dates are flexible at all, the single most useful decision you can make is to land before the 18th.
Weather and what to pack
December averages about 9°C by day and 3°C at night. That sounds mild, and on paper it is – London and New York are colder. What the average hides is the damp and the dark. December is Paris’s wettest month (about 77 mm) and its cloudiest (about 1.9 hours of sun per day), so the cold you feel is a wet, still cold that gets into your coat rather than a sharp dry one.
Snow is not the normal case. Paris gets occasional light snow in December that rarely settles for long; planning a trip around the hope of a white city is planning around an exception.
What to pack
- A waterproof outer layer, not just a warm one. The rain is usually light and persistent rather than heavy, which is exactly the kind an unlined wool coat soaks up.
- Shoes you can walk 15,000 steps in wet. Paris is a walking city in every month, and wet feet at 4°C ends a day early.
- Layers for indoor heat. You will move between a cold street and an overheated museum, cafe or Métro carriage perhaps twenty times a day.
- Something for the dark. Not literally – but plan the day knowing useful daylight ends before 5pm. Outdoor sights first, interiors after.
The lights, and what they are actually like
The Champs-Élysées illuminations are switched on in late November and run into early January, which means the whole of December is covered whichever week you arrive. The trees along the avenue are lit from the Arc de Triomphe down towards Concorde, and the switch-on evening itself draws a crowd worth avoiding if you dislike crushes.
The department-store windows on Boulevard Haussmann – Galeries Lafayette and Printemps – are the other fixture, along with the enormous tree under the Galeries Lafayette dome. These are free, they are busy from late afternoon onward, and they are best seen either before 11am or after about 8pm.
One honest note: the lights are concentrated. Paris is not lit end to end the way some northern European cities are. Outside a handful of named streets and the big stores, a December evening in a residential arrondissement looks much like a November one.
Christmas markets: which ones justify the trip
Set expectations first. Paris does not do Christmas markets the way Strasbourg, Vienna or Nuremberg do. The Parisian version leans fairground – chalets selling mulled wine and cheese alongside rides and a big wheel – rather than a centuries-old artisan market wrapped around a cathedral. Judged as a German-style market, Paris disappoints. Judged as an evening out, it works.
La Défense
The largest by a wide margin – several hundred chalets across the business-district esplanade, typically running from mid-November to around the end of December. It is also the least picturesque setting in the city: glass towers rather than old stone. Go for scale and for actual shopping.
Tuileries
The most central and the most photogenic, in the Jardin des Tuileries between the Louvre and Concorde, typically from mid-November into early January. It pairs a Christmas village with a Ferris wheel and an ice rink. This is the one to pick if you are only doing one.
Exact opening and closing dates shift by a week or two each year and are confirmed close to the season, so check the current dates before you build an evening around one.
Notre-Dame in December
Notre-Dame reopened in December 2024 after the fire, and visiting it is now one of the strongest reasons to be in Paris in this particular month.
Entry to the cathedral floor is free. A timed slot can be reserved free of charge through the cathedral’s own site, and while it is optional, it is the difference between walking in and queueing. There is a separate marked line for visitors without a reservation. The bell towers and the treasury are ticketed separately.
Be realistic about the days around Christmas itself: services take priority over sightseeing, and the cathedral is at its busiest of the year. If you want to see the interior properly rather than experience the occasion, go on a weekday morning in the first half of the month.
What closes, and on which days
This is where December trips lose days if nobody checks.
- 25 December – the major museums close, the Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay among them. 1 January closes the Louvre, but not the Orsay: it shuts only on Mondays, 1 May and 25 December, which makes it the one reliable indoor option on New Year’s Day.
- Weekly closures stack on top. The Louvre closes Tuesdays; the Musée d’Orsay and Versailles close Mondays. Orsay also requires a timed slot for the whole of its reception-hall rebuild, which runs from March 2026 to summer 2028 – book it before you travel; it is no longer a walk-up. In 2026 both 25 December and 1 January fall on a Friday, so neither lands on a day the Louvre would already be shut – each closure costs a full extra day rather than overlapping one.
- 24 and 31 December evenings – many restaurants either close or switch to a fixed, expensive réveillon menu booked weeks ahead. Walking out at 8pm on either night expecting a normal bistro dinner is the classic December mistake.
- The Métro runs on both holidays, on a reduced Sunday-style timetable.
December hotel pricing reality
The shape of the month matters more than the month itself. Early December sits near the bottom of the Paris year, alongside late January and February, and well below the August–September peak. From about the 19th the curve turns sharply: Christmas week and New Year are the most expensive nights of the winter, and New Year’s Eve in particular is priced like a peak-summer Saturday.
Two practical consequences. First, a four-night trip from the 8th and the same trip from the 27th are not the same purchase. Second, if you are set on New Year, book it a long way out – late availability in that window is thin and expensive rather than discounted. Our Paris travel budget breakdown covers what the rest of a day costs.
Food: what December actually changes
Winter is the honest high season for French cooking, and December is when the menus turn.
- The mountain dishes arrive. Raclette, tartiflette and fondue appear on bistro menus and in dedicated places across the city. They are heavy, they are seasonal, and they are the right food for a 4°C evening.
- Oysters and foie gras take over the réveillon table. Oyster stalls appear outside brasseries through the month – this is their season, not a tourist affectation.
- Bûche de Noël fills every pâtisserie window from early December. Good ones sell out and are ordered in advance.
- Vin chaud and roasted chestnuts are the street staples, and the markets are where you will meet both.
Two things that are not December, despite what a lot of guides imply. The galette des rois belongs to Epiphany in early January, not Christmas. And the winter sales (les soldes) start in January, not December – if you are coming for discounted shopping, you have arrived a few weeks early.
Day-tripping Versailles in December
Versailles in winter is a genuinely different proposition. The château is open and much quieter than in summer, and the gardens are free because the fountain shows do not run in winter – those are a roughly April-to-October event. What you lose is the spectacle; what you gain is the state apartments without the crush.
It closes Mondays. Go early, and treat the gardens as a cold walk rather than the main event.
Read alongside
- Best time to visit Paris – how December compares with the rest of the year.
- Paris in October – the shoulder-season alternative if you want terraces over markets.
- 3-day Paris itinerary – a structure that works in short winter daylight.
- Is Paris safe? – pickpocket zones, which matter more in dense market crowds.
The December calendar locals plan around
- Late November – Champs-Élysées lights switched on; markets open.
- 1–18 December – the quiet, cheap, fully-decorated window. The best two and a half weeks of the month.
- Monday 21 December 2026 – the solstice; roughly eight hours of daylight.
- Thursday 24 – Friday 25 December 2026 – réveillon, then a city that largely stops. Museums shut on the 25th.
- Thursday 31 December – Friday 1 January – New Year on the Champs-Élysées; museums shut on the 1st.
- Early January – galette des rois for Epiphany on 6 January, and les soldes begin (by law, the first Wednesday of the month).
Frequently asked
Is December a good time to visit Paris?
Early December is one of the best-value windows of the year: the decorations and markets are up, the museums are quiet and hotel rates are low. From about the 19th it becomes one of the most expensive and crowded weeks. The month is worth it if you can take the first half.
How cold is Paris in December?
About 9°C by day and 3°C at night on average. It is milder than most people expect, but it is also the wettest and cloudiest month – roughly 77 mm of rain over 16 days and only about 58 hours of sunshine in the whole month, so it feels colder than the numbers suggest.
Does it snow in Paris in December?
Occasionally, and it rarely settles for long. Snow is the exception rather than the pattern; plan for rain and grey instead.
What is closed in Paris on Christmas Day?
The major museums, including the Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay, close on 25 December and again on 1 January. Many restaurants close on the 24th and 25th or serve a fixed réveillon menu booked well in advance. The Métro runs on a reduced timetable.
How many hours of daylight does Paris get in December?
Around eight at the solstice – sunrise close to 08:40 and sunset close to 16:55. Plan outdoor sights for the middle of the day and interiors for the afternoon.
Are the Paris Christmas markets worth it?
As an evening out, yes. As a German-style artisan market, no – Paris’s are closer to a fairground, with rides and a big wheel alongside the chalets. The Tuileries market is the most central and the most attractive; La Défense is by far the largest.
Do the Paris winter sales start in December?
No. Les soldes begin in January. December is full-price shopping with Christmas crowds.
Can you visit Notre-Dame in December?
Yes – it reopened in December 2024 and entry to the cathedral floor is free. Reserving a free timed slot on the cathedral’s site is optional but saves a long queue, and there is a separate line for visitors without one. Expect it to be at its busiest of the year around Christmas.
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Written by
John Morrison is the founder and lead travel writer at Packzup. Over the past decade he has explored destinations across Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Oceania — always self-funded, never on a press trip.
