La Défense Christmas Market – the Greatest Christmas Market in Ile-de-France!
Situated within the enterprise district of La Défense, on the foot of La Grand Arche, La Défense Christmas Market is the most important winter honest within the Paris area, with a powerful variety of round 300 chalets!
This pop-up seasonal venue is full of enjoyable actions and scrumptious native meals.
One of many locals’ favourite locations to be in Paris at Christmas time, preserve studying to find all of the magic of La Défense Christmas Market.
La Défense Christmas Market Dates 2024 and Hours
La Défense Christmas Market dates 2024 are from Thursday, 14 November 2024, to Sunday, 29 December 2024, which suggests 46 days to take pleasure in this spectacular market!
La Défense Christmas Market Hours
La Défense Christmas Market hours rely upon the day of the week:
- Monday to Thursday, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Friday, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
- Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
- Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
The exceptions to those market hours are Tuesday, 24 December (from 11 a.m. to eight p.m.) and Wednesday, 25 December (closed).
As a result of that is Paris’s enterprise district, probably the most crowded instances differ from different Christmas Markets in Paris. The perfect instances to go to La Défense Christmas Market to keep away from the crowds are on weekdays, from 2 p.m. to five p.m. Through the lunch break, the market is totally packed!
The right way to Get to La Défense Christmas Market
There are a lot of methods to get to La Défense Christmas Market by public transportation. I’ll solely point out the primary ones.
The quickest solution to get to La Défense Christmas Market is by RER A practice. The closest RER A station is La Défense – Grande Arche. In Paris, you’ll be able to catch any RER A practice heading west at Nation, Gare de Lyon, Châtelet – Les Halles, Auber, and Charles de Gaulle – Etoile stations.
You can even use the Paris metro, line 1. The closest metro station is La Défense – Grande Arche (terminus). The journey from Paris to La Défense by metro is for much longer, although.
To make use of the metro in Paris, you should buy a carnet de 10 (a set of 10 particular person tickets) that you’ll cost on a plastic card (Navigo Simple) or in your cell. If you happen to plan on utilizing the metro typically, take a look at the completely different Paris metro tickets for a less expensive possibility.
La Défense Christmas Market – Issues to Do
1. Christmas Procuring
Among the best issues to do at La Défense Christmas Market is go to the charming Marché Artisan (Artisan Village) for some distinctive Christmas-themed buying!
You can see 50+ wood chalets the place artisans promote treasured, hand-made objects, from crafted jewellery to purses, home ornaments, and meals merchandise.
You probably have a watch for model, this market is the perfect place to identify superior high-quality equipment embodying French stylish essence that may make for beautiful presents.
Noëlle is one other must-visit place to your Christmas buying. Situated in entrance of the Christmas tree, it’s an enormous indoor store providing ornament objects and distinctive presents.
Most stalls characteristic objects made in France, however additionally, you will have the possibility to buy hand-crafted objects produced from India! There’s additionally La Cabane à Mario (extra on this beneath) promoting merchandise from Québec.
2. Journey Nearly to Québec
Yearly, La Défense Christmas Market has a visitor of honor. This yr 2024, guests can journey nearly to the opposite aspect of the Atlantic Ocean, to Québec in Canada!
Immerse your self within the ambiance of Québec at Place Ville de Québec. Right here, you will see La Cabane à Mario, providing typical merchandise like cookies, all types of maple-based merchandise, native beers, and extra.
Not removed from La Cabane à Mario, you will see a typical restaurant the place you’ll be able to take pleasure in conventional dishes from Québec in a heat ambiance.
Final however not least, the six themed store home windows will shock you with the unbelievable range of Québec tradition. Attempt to win a visit to Québec Metropolis by voting your favourite one!
- The Ice Lodge
- The sugar shack
- The Dufferin Terrace slide
- Nature close by
- The longhouse in Wendake
- Ice fishing
3. La Défense Christmas Marketplace for Children
If you happen to go to Paris with children, they’ll certainly love the fairground a part of La Défense Christmas Market, particularly the youngest ones.
Along with the ice rink and the completely different reveals (extra on this beneath), there are two merry-go-rounds and an enormous Christmas tree sponsored by the Metropolis of Québec.
Children (and adults) may meet Santa Claus in his illuminated chalet. Hand him your Christmas wishlist and take footage with him!
You can see Santa Claus on Wednesdays from 2:30 p.m. à 6:30 p.m., on Saturdays from 12:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., and on Sundays from 12:30 p.m. to eight:30 p.m. Santa may even be there on Monday, 23 December, from 12:30 p.m. to eight:30 p.m., and Tuesday, 24 December (final likelihood!) from 12:30 p.m. to five:30 p.m.
4. Ice Skating for Children and Adults
An exercise that may’t be missed from a correct Christmas market is an ice rink! At La Défense Christmas Market, you will see the ice skating rink on the west aspect of the market, on the foot of La Grande Arche.
With a powerful measure of 450 m2, this ice rink is way greater than the one on the Tuileries Christmas Market! Lace up your skates and prepare to have a blast across the big deer.
The ice rink at La Défense Christmas Market is open from 22 November 2024 to five January 2025. The opening hours are:
- Sunday to Thursday, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Friday, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
- Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
The exceptions to those opening hours are 24 and 31 December (from 11 a.m. to six p.m.) and 25 December (closed).
The doorway payment is 5€ for teenagers (as much as 13 years) and 10€ for adults. Skate rental prices 2€ and carrying gloves is obligatory.
5. Particular Occasions at La Défense Christmas Market
On weekends, La Défense Christmas Market hosts a number of occasions for teenagers and adults, from Christmas carols and gospel to music and dancing reveals.
The occasions happen on Saturdays from 6 p.m. and on Sundays from 2 p.m.
What to Eat at La Défense Christmas Market
There are a lot of enjoyable issues to do at La Défense Christmas Market, and sampling native meals specialties is one in every of them!
Browse the chalets to search out those promoting scrumptious meals which you could take pleasure in on the go, or head to the Christmas Market’s completely different eating places for a sit-on meal.
The venue affords “a culinary tour of France” with many regional French specialties on supply, from Alsace to Brittany and from Normandy to the French Antilles.
Among the many incredible savory meals you will see are wursts and tarte flambée from Alsace, many hearty soups, and the must-try tartiflette from Savoye. Tartiflette is a French-style tacky potato bake with pickled onions, cream, and charcuterie.
If you happen to love tacky stuff, you must also attempt raclette, which is the title of a dish and its principal ingredient. This packed-flavored cheese (principally French reblochon cheese) is melted on a raclette grill and placed on prime of boiled veggies like potatoes or grilled meats.
Throughout our go to to the market this yr, we additionally noticed chalets providing American meals, Indian meals, Brazilian Meals, and Tibetan meals.
For these with a candy tooth, meals stalls supply mouthwatering deliciousness like gauffres (sizzling waffles), crêpes, nougat from France, all types of chocolate, and fairground sweets just like the barbe à papà (cotton sweet).
To scrub all this scrumptious meals down, you’ll be able to select from all kinds of drinks, like native beers, grog (a drink produced from sizzling water, lemon, honey, and rum), and the well-known vin chaud (mulled wine).
Eating places & Meals Courts at La Défense Christmas Market
Right here’s the checklist of indoor eating places in La Défense Christmas Market 2024:
- Délices du Sud-Ouest – Southwest Delicacies
- Spécialités Québecoises – Specialties from Québec
- Delicacies Bourguignonne – Delicacies from Burgundy
- Saveurs Créoles – Flavors from the French Antilles
- Grillades Brésiliennes – Grilled meals from Brazil
- Mets Savoyards – Dishes from Savoye
- Plats Alsaciens – Dishes from Alsace
Along with these eating places, there are two meals courts: a small one, extra cozy, and a much bigger one for teams.
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