Uh Oh. SNCF Strike around the Holidays

If you are in France in December and planning to use the trains to travel, beware.

SNCF drivers for the national France rail network have filed plans to strike every weekend in December, including busy Christmas and New Year's Eve weekends. The notice was posted at the blog maintained by FGAAC-CFDT, the union of professional train drivers.

This will present significant problems for everyone trying to move about during a super busy season. A big lump of coal.

Christmas Day in Paris

Christmas in France is a day to gather with family, celebrate, eat wonderful food.. oysters, turkey, buche de Noel, redolent cheese and good wines... but if you are a tourist Christmas day can be a challenge to find open restaurants or great things to do.

If Paris isn't buried in snow (!) consider ice skating in front of the gorgeous Hotel de Ville or at the Eiffel Tower. Both spectacular and festive venues! The art nouveau brasseries are generally open so consider a meal at Le Vaudeville near the Bourse or another festive Paris brasserie. (Check first!) Window shopping and dreaming is always fun. Pick a Paris quarter full of great shops and stroll, dream, and enjoy.

The celebrative midnight mass at Notre Dame is an always packed and special event.. but get there at least 90 minutes in advance for a seat. And look at the posters or at Pariscope to find fabulous concerts in the week leading up to and after Christmas.

If you have an apartment with a kitchen, shop the markets and have a festive dinner a la Parisian traditions..

Joyeux Noel!

Two Very Special Holiday 'Spectacles' Around Paris

If you are lucky enough to be in Paris during the holidays and want to do something a bit unusual while touring two gorgeous chateaux to boot, check out the Christmas Illuminations at Vaux le Vicomte or visit the chateau of Chantilly for the special 'Horses of the Wind' show complete with jugglers and acrobats.

Vaux le Vicomte is roughly an hour southeast of Paris and is the magnificent chateau that inspired Versailles. Vaux le Vicomte transforms itself every holiday season into a sumptuously decorated home with roaring log fires and candlelit rooms. Gorgeous.

Chantilly is north and slightly west of Paris and is a later but also a gorgeous chateau. The collection of 800 plus fine paintings in Chantilly are second only to the Louvre in the breadth and quality of the collection. And, in addition to the lovely park surrounding the chateau, the stables (said to be considered the most beautiful, intact, 18th century stables in Europe) are always worth seeing. This season there is a special show at 2:30 in the afternoon (check dates) with thirty plus horses, riders, acrobats and more. Spectacular indeed.

Talk with me about my colleague Jean Pierre who will pick you up at your hotel or apartment and take you to either of these marvelous venues for an unforgettable day.

Spending the Holidays in Paris?

Paris is a fabulous place to visit during the Christmas-New Years' season. Christmas and New Years Day are national holidays and everything closes, but, otherwise, the markets are open and full of gorgeous food, restaurants offer splendid meals (special dinners for New Years Eve) and the cultural calendar is in full swing. Christmas lights are everywhere. It is a super festive season and one that you should enjoy!

In other regions of France we have information on some special packages at a gorgeous wine growing Chateau Hotel (with a gourmet cooking school) in Provence, special packages in Champagne and in festive Alsace.

Happy holidays! Call or email us if Your Great Days in Paris can help you have great holidays in Paris. 781 391 6183 or s.peabody@verizon.net

Be Ethical and Generous During the Holidays

Paris abounds in 'Concept Shops'. A great way to highlight coming trends and very contemporary fashion, design, homewares and more, concept shops add to that incomparable Parisian 'buzz'. "Ethical Concept Stores" are a welcome new addition to this universe of the hip, cool and contemporary. Essentially these shops are distinguished by attention to solidarity based, artisanal and organic means of production, responding to 'ethical' and sustainable interests of customers.

Merci, located in the Marais, is a great example. Merci was created by the owners of Bonpoint, the upscale children's clothing firm. The store is designed to resemble a house, and it is a house chock full of all manner of beautiful and useful objects chosen for their adherence to principles of solidarity. There is even a florist and bookseller-café included in the mix! And, a portion of profits are donated to aid disadvantaged children. 111 Boulevard Beaumarchais, Marais. www.merci-merci.com

House of Organic is another terrific shop. International designers sell creations that are made solely of natural and nonpolluting materials. There is ready to wear, design and cosmetics included in the offerings. 7 rue Mahler, Marais. www.houseoforganic.com

Boutique Talents-Ateliers d'Art de France is a hybrid of a shop and an art gallery offering 100 plus works from 85 artists and craftsmen. 1 rue Scribe, Paris 9. www.ateliersdart.com

Happy shopping!

ICY and Artistic in Paris!

It is cold in Paris during these pre-Christmas weeks of 2009. So, bundle up and go enjoy Ice Magic, an exhibition of 50 ice sculptures of famous French monuments and cultural icons. The Eiffel Tower, Rodin's Thinker, Notre Dame and its hunchback, Mona Lisa, the Hotel de Ville, Johnny Halliday and Django Reinhardt illumined in very cool pink, blue, and green lights. Quite remarkable. The detail is amazing and this is fun!

It is not a free event but is worth every chilly euro for the admission. You can always warm up with some chocolat chaud or tea at nearby Laduree or stroll down to Jean Paul Hevin's tea room on rue St. Honore for some of the best hot chocolate and chocolate patisserie in Paris (and that is saying something!) Happy holidays!

Ice Magic
Runs through December 28th, 2009
Admission 14 euros or 12 euros under 25
Open 11AM-11PM. Where? Jardin des Champs Elysees
Avenue des Champs Elysées, 8th arr. Metro: Concorde

Holiday Lights in the City of Light!

Paris-lovers often ask me where to see holiday lights in Paris. This always festively illumined city pulls out the stops during late November and December. Here are some great tips:

The Eiffel Tower: The tower is celebrating 120 years of age and looks better than ever. From now through December 31st, the wizards who illumine the tower are offering a special light show four times each night, at 8 p.m., 9 p.m., 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. You can see the show up close or in any of the zillion distant views of this iconic tower all over Paris.

The Champs Elysées is a veritable wonderland of lights from now through the New Year, with every tree strung with jewel-like lights along this stunning avenue. Parisians join with visitors during the holidays to stroll up and down between Concorde and the Arc de Triomphe, admiring the holiday window displays and reveling in the warm glow of the lights. With the early winter darkness, a stop in Ladurée for a pot of hot chocolate or tea, and a macaron would be a nice addition.

At the eastern end, just off Place de la Concorde, you can climb aboard the "Grande Roue" (Ferris Wheel) until 10:30 p.m. everyday until January 20th, 2010. The view is worth every bit of the 10 E fee for adults, 5 E for children, under 3 free.

The windows at the "Grands Magazins" along Boulevard Haussmann are always a treat with their remarkable design and lighting effects. Printemps sports an exclusive new creation featuring a shower of stars and snowflakes, capped off with red flowers on the facade. At Galeries Lafayette, enjoy the multicolored lights by artist Valerio Festi in the windows and go inside to see the 20-meter high tree decorated with gingerbread, lollipops and candies. You could stop in the splendid Galeries Lafayette food halls if all those goodies are just too tempting.

Finally for a more homespun but not less sophisticated holiday lighting reverie, the city of Paris also encourages neighborhood holiday lighting as part of "Paris Illumine Paris". Check out rue Vielle du Temple in the Marais for example, but over 75 merchants associations all over the city get involved. You may be delightfully surprised.

Happy holidays!

Christmas Markets in Paris

Here are two interesting options for "Christmas Markets" in Paris. These markets will also get you to La Villette and La Defense, two very interesting parts of Paris that may not be on your radar. The markets text is from La Maison de la France's website. Happy holidays!

Merry Christmas: Christmas Market at La Defense (Paris)!
The biggest Christmas market in Paris and the surrounding area takes place on the forecourt at La Défense throughout December. Over 200 exhibitors offer a wide array of crafts from France and elsewhere, as well as local food, at the nearly 10,000m² market.

Throughout December 2009. Days and opening hours:
From Monday to Sunday: from 11 am to 8 pm If you need more information have a look on the website www.ladefense.fr

Merry Christmas program in La Villette (Paris 19th)!
The Christmas Market will take place in the Grand Hall La Villette in Paris.

From 18 to 20 December 2009

Days and opening hours:
On Friday: from 10 am to 7 pm
On Saturday and Sunday: from 10 am to 11 pm

The first International Tropical Christmas Market:
It is the first edition of MINT (International Tropical Christmas Market). This fabulous and exotic christmas market will seek to bring together the rich medley of afro-ethnic culture with a multitude of stands dedicated to discovery of arts and crafts, gastronomy and fashion design.

A magical place...
A whole host of events taking place throughout the chilly but remarkably festive month of December, the Grande Halle de la Villette will be transformed into Father Christmas' village. Decorated with fairy lights and the colours of the tropics, this warm and welcoming ambience will bring the magic and spirit of Christmas to all who love this Yuletide season.

Well wrapped up and with joy-filled hearts, visitors will experience the afro-ethnic flavours and spirit of Christmas. In addition to the fair there will be concerts, gospel singing, fashion parades, lectures, tombola and workshops. Internationally renowned sponsors and famous names will stroll through the stalls, stopping to peruse their favourite.

If you need more information have a look on the website www.cite-sciences.fr