Paris In December: Weather, Dates, Closures And A Week-By-Week Planner

December compresses Paris. Daylight ends around five in the afternoon, the climate record counts 11.4 days of measurable rain across the month, and the city answers with garlands, glass-roofed boats and a market of several hundred chalets out at La Défense. Planning the month well is mostly about knowing which events have confirmed 2026 dates, which ones are still unannounced, and which buildings shut on December 25. This guide lays out the verified numbers first, then the calendar, then a week-by-week way to use them.

What Is The Weather Really Like In Paris In December?

The Météo-France climate normals for Paris give December a mean daily high of 8.0 C (46 F) and a mean low of 3.8 C (39 F), with 11.4 days recording 1 mm of rain or more. Sunset slips from 16:55 on December 1 to 16:57 on December 24 and 17:02 on December 31. That is the whole statistical picture: cold, damp, dark by five, and rarely dramatic.

Those normals come from the 1991 to 2020 averaging period at the Paris-Montsouris station, which is the reference series the national weather service publishes. A mean high of 8.0 C is jacket weather, not ski wear. The mean low of 3.8 C means frost is possible at dawn but not guaranteed, and snow is genuinely uncommon: the broader climate data for the city averages only about two snowy days per month at this time of year, so a white December is the exception rather than the plan. The rain figure deserves a closer read than the umbrella cliché suggests. 11.4 days with 1 mm or more means roughly a third of the month has some measurable rain, but that also means roughly two thirds do not.

The daylight budget matters more than the temperature for how a trip feels. With sunset at 16:55 on December 1 and 17:02 on December 31, the useful sightseeing window runs roughly 9:00 to 17:00, and the evening belongs to lights, shows and dinners. Sunset times in Paris repeat within a minute from year to year, so these figures hold for any December you book. A practical consequence: indoor priorities like the Louvre or Versailles belong in the morning, and illuminated streets belong after 17:00, when the Champs-Élysées garlands switch on in the evening. The same short-day logic applies if you want to escape the city, and the guide to Champagne day tours from Paris in winter explains which ones still run in December.

For a deeper treatment of the month's conditions, including the snow question, see the companion pages on Paris weather in December and the plain answer to does it snow in Paris in December. The short version of both: plan for cold rain, hope for clear evenings, and do not build an itinerary around snow.

Which December Events Have Confirmed 2026 Dates?

Three headline items are confirmed for the 2026 season: the La Défense Christmas market runs Nov 12 to Dec 31, 2026 with its Le Sommet zone to Jan 3, 2027, Disney Enchanted Christmas runs Nov 7, 2026 to Jan 6, 2027, and the Moulin Rouge Christmas Evening programme runs from Dec 18 to Jan 5 except Dec 31. Most other December staples, including the Champs-Élysées switch-on and the Tuileries fair, have no announced 2026 dates.

That split between confirmed and unannounced is the single most useful thing to understand about the month. The La Défense market is the largest in the Paris area, with roughly 300 to 400 chalets on the esplanade and free entry, and its dates are published on the organizer's own site. The Notre-Dame area market at Square René Viviani is also confirmed, from Nov 26 to Dec 27, 2026, with about 40 chalets of French artisans. Disney's season dates come straight from the official Disneyland Paris Christmas page, and the Moulin Rouge "Christmas Evening" (7 pm dinner, 9 pm Féerie show) is listed on the operator's own offers page for the current season.

The unannounced list is longer, and honesty about it saves disappointment. The Champs-Élysées illuminations have no published 2026 switch-on date; last season the avenue was lit from Nov 16 to Jan 4, with 400 trees, lights from 17:00, a daily son et lumière at 18:30, and all-night illumination on Dec 24 and 31, and the pattern usually repeats in mid-November, but the city has not confirmed this year's date. The Galeries Lafayette windows and giant tree ran Nov 12 to Jan 4 last season with a rooftop rink from Dec 1; the 2026 dates are not announced. The Tuileries Christmas fair and rink ran Nov 15, 2025 to Jan 4, 2026; nothing is published for 2026. The Champs-Élysées Christmas market exists only as a City of Paris call for projects for Nov 22, 2026 to Jan 4, 2027, so treat it as proposed, never as open.

Grand Palais de Glace, the ice rink inside the Grand Palais, is confirmed for Dec 13, 2026 to Jan 6, 2027, with sessions priced from €15 for a child matinée to €39 for the nocturne, skates included and tickets online only. If a rink is on your list, that one is bookable now; the Hôtel de Ville rink has not been confirmed for 2026 and has been absent in recent seasons.

What Is Open And What Is Closed In December?

The Louvre is closed on Tuesdays and on Dec 25, the Palace of Versailles is closed on Mondays and on Dec 25, and the Musée d'Orsay is closed on Mondays and Dec 25. The Arc de Triomphe closes early, at 16:00, on Dec 24 and Dec 31. Notre-Dame is open with free entry via the official reservation system, and Disneyland Paris is open on Christmas Day.

Closures are where December itineraries break, because two of the three most-visited sites in the region shut on Dec 25 and each also shuts weekly. The Louvre's own hours page lists Tuesdays, Jan 1, May 1 and Dec 25 as its closure days, and last season it closed early at 17:00 on Dec 24 and Dec 31. Versailles is closed Mondays, Dec 25 and Jan 1, with the palace open 9:00 to 18:30 in the low season and the Trianon estate opening at 12:00 and also closed Mondays. Orsay follows with Monday closures plus Dec 25. The practical rule: never put the Louvre on a Tuesday, never put Versailles or Orsay on a Monday, and keep Dec 25 for things that are genuinely open.

Christmas Day itself is quieter than visitors expect, and it rewards planning. Disneyland Paris is open, with the Enchanted Christmas season running through the day. The Seine carries festive lunch cruises, and the Christmas Day lunch cruise by Bateaux Parisiens, 3 hours from $140 per person with a meal included, is built exactly for a day when most kitchens are closed. Notre-Dame is open, free to enter with a reservation made on the cathedral's own site, and the Provençal crib with about 50 santons stays in place through Advent until Feb 2. The fuller picture is in the guide to Paris on Christmas Day.

Transit and shops are the softer unknowns. The free New Year's Eve metro night, with service from 17:00 on Dec 31 to 12:00 on Jan 1, was the 2025 plan and has not been announced for 2026; treat it as likely, not booked. Department store hours for December 2026 are likewise not published yet. When a figure or a schedule is not in the verified record, this site says so rather than guessing, and the same honesty applies to the Paris night tours overview.

How Should You Split The Month Into Weeks?

Think of December as four unequal weeks: Dec 1 to 7 is lights and markets in shoulder-season calm, Dec 8 to 17 is the best window for museums and Versailles, Dec 18 to 25 is peak lights and the cabaret programme, and Dec 26 to 31 is the quietest sightseeing of the month before the New Year's Eve crowd. Each week has a different job.

The first week belongs to the early-season items. The La Défense market and the Disney season are both running, the Notre-Dame market opens Nov 26, and the Champs-Élysées garlands are typically lit by mid-November even in seasons where the exact switch-on is announced late. Crowds are moderate, hotel demand sits below the holiday peak, and the weather is exactly what the normals say: about 8 degrees at midday, dark at five. This is the week for the illuminations tours, before the school holidays begin. Other pages covering the same trip are gathered on Christmas In Paris.

The middle fortnight, roughly Dec 8 to 17, is the smart museum window. Versailles and the Louvre run their normal schedules, the Grand Palais rink opens Dec 13, and queues at the major sites are shorter than they will be at any point in the following two weeks. Put Versailles on a day other than Monday, the Louvre on a day other than Tuesday, and keep late afternoons for the rink or the lights. A guided Versailles day with transfer included, from $100 per person and 7 hours, fits this week well because it removes the RER navigation entirely.

From Dec 18 the peak begins, and the Moulin Rouge Christmas Evening programme starting that date is a fair marker for it. The 5-course Christmas dinner cruise on the Seine, from $199 per person with 2.5 hours on the water, runs in this window, and the cabaret Christmas dinner at the Moulin Rouge, from $326 per person for 4 hours with the meal included, sits at the top of the evening budget. Book both early: December 24 and 25 are the two hardest restaurant nights of the Paris year, and the listings for festive cruises and shows sell out well before the week itself.

The last week is undervalued. Between Dec 26 and 30 the museums run normal hours, the markets are still open, and the daytime crowds thin out as Parisians leave the city. Dec 31 itself is a separate animal: last season the Champs-Élysées was pedestrianized from 19:00 with video mapping on the Arc de Triomphe around 23:50 and fireworks at midnight, free to attend, and the 2026 programme has not been announced. The details and the honest unknowns are collected in the Paris New Year's Eve guide.

How Do You Cover The Lights Without Walking For Hours?

The confirmed options split by effort: the open-top Christmas bus loop covers the illuminated avenues in 1.5 hours from $37 per person, a small-group walking tour with hot chocolate covers them on foot in 2 hours from $78, and a private 2CV convertible tour covers them from $258 per vehicle for up to 3 people, pickup included. Each solves a different cold-and-dark problem.

The bus is the efficiency answer. The open-top Christmas bus loop, rated 4.0 from 1,369 reviews, runs a 1.5-hour circuit of the decorated avenues and costs from $37 per person, with the listed price showing a promotional discount from $44 that moves with the offer. Free cancellation applies per the listing, which matters in a month when plans shift with the weather. For a first evening in the city it is the fastest way to see which streets are worth returning to on foot.

The private 2CV tour is the character answer, and its price structure surprises people: from $258 is per vehicle, not per person, and the car takes up to 3 guests, so a full car lands near $86 each. The listing shows 4.8 from 62 reviews, the tour runs 2 hours with pickup as part of the product, and the convertible roof, when the weather allows it, puts the garlands overhead rather than across the street. It is the most photographed way to do the lights and the one most dependent on a dry evening.

On foot, the small-group Christmas lights walking tour with a local guide runs 2 hours from $78 per person, meets at 36 Rue Étienne Marcel in the 2nd arrondissement, and includes hot chocolate, a detail that matters at 3.8 C after dark. It carries 4.7 from 13 reviews, a small pool, so read the recent comments on the listing rather than assuming a track record the number cannot yet support. The tastings walk on the Champs-Élysées is the food-led variant: about 1 hour 30 minutes, from $68, a meal included, 5.0 from 15 reviews, meeting at the Statue of General Charles de Gaulle.

The lights themselves cost nothing to walk: the Champs-Élysées garlands, the Avenue Montaigne and the Place Vendôme decorations, and the department store windows are all free and public. The tours sell warmth, commentary and routing, not access. The full street-by-street picture, including the Eiffel Tower's hourly five-minute sparkle from the first full hour after dark until 23:00, is in the Paris Christmas lights guide, and the sparkle timings specifically are covered in what time the Eiffel Tower sparkles.

Are The December Cruises And Shows Worth Booking?

The festive Seine products on this site range from a 3-course lunch cruise with yule log at $143 to a 5-course dinner cruise under a glass canopy at $199, and the cabaret Christmas dinners run from $326 at the Moulin Rouge to $338 at Paradis Latin on Christmas Eve. All of the dinner and lunch cruises on the roster include a meal; none of the cruise products on this page offers free cancellation, so the booking is committed.

The cruise decision is really a format decision. The 5-course dinner cruise, 4.4 from 68 reviews, gives 2.5 hours on the water inside a glass canopy, boarding at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, and it is the most weatherproof evening on the river: the December rain that would end a walking tour does nothing to a covered boat. The 6-course lunch-or-dinner cruise with live music, 4.3 from 32 reviews from $155, is the music-led version. The Bateaux Mouches Christmas special lunch, 4.1 from 13 reviews from $143, includes the yule log and runs a shorter 1 hour 45 minutes, which suits a family better than a 4-hour evening.

On Dec 25 the lunch cruise becomes the answer to the closure problem. The festive Christmas Day lunch cruise, 4.7 from 45 reviews, runs 3 hours from $140 per person with the meal included, departing from the Bateaux Parisiens pontoon at the Eiffel Tower. It is one of the few bookable Christmas Day experiences that sidesteps the Dec 25 museum closures entirely, and it sells on that fact alone. Note the refund policy on all these cruises: the listings state no free cancellation, so book when the date is firm.

The cabaret side peaks in the same window. The Moulin Rouge Christmas dinner and show, 4.8 from 24 reviews, from $326 per person for 4 hours with the meal included, aligns with the Christmas Evening programme that runs from Dec 18 to Jan 5 except Dec 31. The Paradis Latin Christmas Eve gala, 4.8 from 16 reviews from $338 for 3.5 hours with dinner, is the Dec 24-specific option, and it does offer free cancellation per the listing. The full comparison of shows across December, including the year-round cabaret products that simply run through the month, is in Paris cabaret at Christmas and New Year.

What Should You Pack, And What Should You Budget?

Pack for 8 C and rain rather than for snow: a real coat, a compact umbrella, layered shoes that survive wet pavement, and gloves for the 17:00 sunset wait. Budget around $37 to $78 per person for a lights experience, $140 to $199 for a festive cruise with a meal, and $326 to $338 for a cabaret Christmas dinner, with the free-entry markets and street lights costing nothing at all.

The packing list follows the normals directly. A mean high of 8.0 C with 11.4 rain days means the umbrella earns its place and the snow boots do not. The evening temperature drop matters most on the river and at the bus stop, where the wind off the water adds a real chill to a 3.8 C night. For the dinner cruises specifically, the dress codes and the layering question are covered in detail in what to wear on a dinner cruise on the Seine.

The budget picture is unusually legible in December because the free tier is so strong. The La Défense market is free to enter, the Notre-Dame market is free, the street illuminations are free, the department store windows are free, and Notre-Dame itself is free with a reservation. The paid tier then climbs in clean steps: $19 for the year-round evening lights cruise on the Seine, which is a plain sightseeing cruise with no meal and no holiday theme, up through the bus loop at $37 and the walking tours at $68 to $78, to the dinner cruises and cabarets above $140. A mixed week, one paid lights experience plus one dinner-format evening plus the free tier, is a realistic plan for most visitors.

Hotel demand follows the same curve as everything else: December sits below the annual average on room rates, with the Christmas and New Year peak pushing prices up sharply in the last ten days. No 2026 room rates are published in a form this site can verify, so the honest planning range is simply "book the Dec 18 to Jan 2 nights earliest". The crowd question has the same shape, and it is treated plainly in is Paris busy around Christmas.

Common Questions About Paris In December