Throughout December, thousands of Christmas trees adorn the boulevards and plazas of Paris, while the windows of major department stores like Galeries Lafayette and Printemps become enticing holiday tableaux. And almost every district boasts a festive outdoor market, offering gift items such as sweaters, scarves, leather gloves and handbags as well as all kinds of children’s toys.
Parisians browse the wooden, chalet-like stalls, stopping for mulled wine; homemade cakes and breads; and regional specialties, like sausages and hearty fish soups — as well as contributions from France’s newer citizens, like couscous and kebabs, and even American hamburgers. While the markets probably began in the 14th century in the Alsace region, which borrows many of its traditions from Germany, they now have an entirely Parisian flavor.
Each market is distinctive, the largest of them sparkling with beautiful lights along the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, from the Champs-Élysées roundabout to the Place de la Concorde. But to Philippine Meritte, a director at Codecom, the company that organizes most of the markets, the two most notable are located in the Place de la Trocadero and in La Defense, the heart of the business district.
“What’s wonderful about the Trocadero,” she said, “is that everything takes place against the backdrop of the Eiffel Tower, which is especially beautiful with its glittering golden lights. It’s also great for children because it has a skating rink and snow village.
“La Defense is twice as big,” she continued, “with 350 stalls, many selling delicacies from all over France as well as handicrafts from foreign countries. And for those who like phenomenon, there’s a display of an enormously long Christmas log (Bûche de Noël), but not for eating, until maybe the last days of the month.”
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