Holiday alert! The vast majority of Paris restaurants will be closed from before Christmas until after the New Year. To help you navigate this tricky period, we’ve contacted the restaurants in Our Paris Guide and have compiled the following calendar of restaurant closures. Continue reading
As is true almost everywhere, Christmas is a holiday that locals celebrate en famille, preparing meals at home that feature seasonal treats like Champagne, sea scallops, roasted birds, truffles (if they can find one), foie gras, and the traditional bûche de Noël.
The vast majority of Paris restaurants will be closed for Christmas (see our calendar of holiday closures), but a few will be open and serving holiday meals. We’ve summarized your options below and will continue to add to this post as we receive additional replies from the restaurants in our guide.
You can also consult our guide to Celebrating New Year’s in Paris Restaurants and our schedule of which Paris restaurants will be closing for (or before, between and after) the holidays.
Here are your options for celebrating New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day in Paris restaurants.
You can also consult our guide to celebrating Christmas in Paris restaurants, or our schedule of which Paris restaurants will be closing for the holidays.
For many years, we’ve been assembling a calendar to show you which restaurants (those already included in Our Paris Guide) will be open in August. This year, we’ve been extra annoying on your behalf, making repeated calls and emails to more than 400 restaurants to confirm their exact plans. The good news for diners: holiday closures have shortened dramatically compared with past years, and many restaurants are staying open all summer. Whether you want to search for the schedule of a particular restaurant, or find out what’s open by date, you’ll have plenty to choose from this season.
Summer picnic along the Seine
Lunch in the Marché des Enfants Rouges
Back to back, along the Seine
On the edge of the Ile Saint Louis
Luxembourg Gardens in the summer
Cobblestone rollerskate along the Seine
Summer spray at Paris Plages
Flowers at the Aligre market
Jardin de l’Observatoire
The Parc des Buttes Chaumont
Summer terrasse in Montmartre
Pétanque along the Bassin de la Villette
Rock en Seine summer concert series
Canal side café
Dancing at Paris Plages
Summer tourists on the bridge
On the slope of the Sacre Coeur
Summer wedding near the Canal
Today is a national holiday (Assumption) and many restaurants, even if they have otherwise told us they will be open, may actually be closed. Make sure to call ahead before you head out.
Flower seller at the Raspail market
Sunning in the Luxembourg Gardens
Sidewalk café in Montmartre
Fresh herbs at the Aligre market
Picnic along the Seine
Hidden garden near the Canal (Café A)
Café 28° Est on the Bassin de la Villette
Love Wall, Montmartre
Summer sips along the Canal
As Bananarama once observed, referring to the closure of Paris restaurants in late July and August:
“It’s a cruel, cruel summer,
leaving us here on our own,
it’s a cruel, cruel summer
now they’re gone…”
But when exactly are they gone? The following schedules have been confirmed directly with the restaurants, and we’ll continue to build this list in the weeks ahead. You can also consult this calendar to see what’s open on a specific date.
Roving Food Trucks
We’re counting down the days until Christmas with a new Bûche de Noël every morning. We’ve also created this Bûche It video for those who want to dance along.
Bûche December 25: Crispy dark chocolate praline with a mousse and ganache made from Madagascar chocolate (Millot) on a chewy almond cookie base.
Source: Pierre Hermé (90€ for 10/12 people)
* * * * * * * * *
Bûche December 24: “Le Sapin” with caramelized almonds, orange rinds and raisins, all covered in chocolate.
Source: Patrick Roger (35€ for a 14cm tree)
* * * * * * * * *
Bûche December 23: “Bûche Empereur” with coffee and mandarine orange, Moka Sidamo coffee cream, and Périgord walnut cream on a chewy walnut cookie base.
Source: Pain de Sucre (32€ for 4 people; 48€ for 6 people; 64€ for 8 people)
* * * * * * * * *
Bûche December 21: The “Bûche Boule de Noël” is composed of pear cream and chestnut mousse on a chewy dark chocolate cookie base.
Source: Ladurée (77€ for 6/8 people)
* * * * * * * * *
Bûche December 22: “Letter to Santa” cake with almond dacquoise, Madagascar vanilla mousse and a chocolate praline heart. Gluten free!
Source: (78€ for 8 people)
* * * * * * * * *
Bûche December 20: “La Bûche d’Yquem” is covered in gold leaf, scented with réglisse (licorice) and has a heart of dried apricot, lemon and hazelnut.
Source: Le Meurice (96€ for 5/6 people)
* * * * * * * * *
Bûche December 19: “La Bûche Clémentine de Corse” with a crème brûlée scented with vanilla and clementine, enrobed by chestnut cream and decorated with clementine segments and candied clementine.
Source: Christophe Felder for the Publicis Drugstore (39€ for 6 people)
* * * * * * * * *
Bûche December 18: “Bûche Lenôtre par Sempé” A creamy almond dacquoise, raspberry jelly, crispy praline and chocolate mousse.
Source: (125€ for 8-10 people)
* * * * * * * * *
Bûche December 17: “Buche Equinoxe” with light Bourbon vanilla cream and salted butter caramel on a speculoos cookie base.
Source: La Pâtisserie by Cyril Lignac (40€ for 6/8 people)
* * * * * * * * *
Bûche December 16: “Bûche Léopard” with dark chocolate mousse from Ghana (68% cacao) and coffee crème brûlée.
Source: Eric Kayser (48€ for 6 people)
* * * * * * * * *
Bûche December 15: “Snow Choc” with mango and candied lemon with whipped white chocolate cream covered in vanilla marzipan.
Source: Fauchon (90€ for 6 people)
* * * * * * * * *
Bûche December 14: “Extrêmement Ludique” with salted butter caramel, caramel cream, and dark chocolate mousse on a cookie base, all enrobed in caramel glaçage.
Source: Christophe Roussel (22€ for 4 people; 33€ for 6 people)
* * * * * * * * *
Bûche December 13: “Monts et Merveilles” with praline mousse studded with caramelized hazelnuts, topped with hazelnut meringue.
Source: Arnaud Lahrer (51€ for 6 people)
* * * * * * * * *
Bûche December 12: “Bûche Violette” with white chocolate and vanilla mousse perfumed by violet.
Source: Dominique Saibron (24€ for 4 people; 47€ for 12 people)
* * * * * * * * *
Bûche December 11: “Merveilleuse fruitée” with wild strawberry and a mousse of Madagascar chocolate.
Source: Michel Cluizel (54€ for 6 people)
* * * * * * * * *
Bûche December 10: The cake on the left features dark chocolate from Cuba, caramel panacotta, almond nougatine upon a chocolate hazelnut cookie base. The cake on the right has white chocolate, lime, and pistachio nougatine.
Source: Pierre Marcolini (30€ for 4 people; 45€ for 6 people)
* * * * * * * * *
Bûche December 9: “Contes de Noël” by Christophe Michalak with Corsican mandarine marmalade and semi-sweet ganache on an almond cookie base, all wrapped in marzipan.
Source: La Plaza Athénée (125€ for 8 people)
* * * * * * * * *
Bûche December 8: “Ombre et Lumière” with pure Venezuelan (Sur Del Lago) chocolate mousse upon a chewy chocolate cookie base.
Source: Pierre Hermé (125€ for 10/12 people)
* * * * * * * * *
Bûche December 7: The “bûche drapée” has hazelnut dacquoise with both milk & dark chocolate mousse upon an almond cookie with cherry compote and raspberry gelée.
Source: Jean-Paul Hévin (34€ for 6 people; 44€ for 8 people)
* * * * * * * * *
Bûche December 6: Chestnut dacquoise with black current cream, chestnut paste & candied chestnuts
Source: Des Gateaux et du Pain (38€ for 4 people; 68€ for 8 people)
* * * * * * * * *
Bûche December 5: “Voie Lactée” with hazelnut dacquoise, caramel & chocolate
Source: Un Dimanche à Paris (38€)
* * * * * * * * *
Bûche December 4: “Infuzzz” with dark chocolate with chewy cookies and a compote with citrus and Bourbon vanilla
Source: Richart (30€ for 3/4 people; 40€ for 5/6 people)
* * * * * * * * *
Bûche December 3: “Eclat d’or” with light marscapone cream, praline, chocolate rice krispies, & dark chocolate cream
Source: Dalloyau (72€ for 6 people)
* * * * * * * * *
Bûche December 2: “Magie de Paris” with 22 carat gold covering the dark chocolate Paris monuments. The cake inside the cage is dark chocolate mousse with Bourbon vanilla cream, cherry compote and sacher cookie on a base of marzipan with cherry pulp.
Source: La Maison du Chocolat (119€ for 6-8 people)
* * * * * * * * *
Bûche December 1: “Bûche Or Noir” with an almond cookie base, caramelized hazelnuts, buckwheat scented dark chocolate mousse and caramelized pecan & vanilla mousse.
Source: Café Pouchkine (49€ for 6 people)
* * * * * * * * *