My husband and I and our three children (18, 17 and 15) will be in Paris on Christmas Eve. I am after recommendations for dinner. Is there anywhere reasonably priced or am I dreaming? Also we would like to go to a Catholic Church for Mass on Christmas Eve in Paris. Any suggestions would be most welcome.
Posted by
UK (London - Chelsea Harbour)
181 posts
We loved Mass at Saint-Merri, in the 4th arrondissement, near the Centre Pompidou. The exterior is Flamboyant Gothic. The interior is lovely, with interesting art by local artists and a very welcoming feel. That said, you have a LOT of choices in Paris. Here’s a great list:
https://www.parisdiscoveryguide.com/christmas-eve-mass-in-paris.html
Alas, the only dinner recommendation for Christmas that I can make is la Closerie de Lilas (a favorite haunt of Hemingway, apparently) which is FABULOUS and AMAZING, but not mid-range in price. We had a family meal there last Christmas and loved it madly, but the bill was pretty high. I am sure others here will have recommendations for places that won’t break the bank. If you do decide to push the boat out, though… that’s a suggestion I’d make.
Happy travels!
Posted by
Bellingham, WA
463 posts
We had our Xmas Eve dinner on Bustronome. Not necessarily "reasonably priced," but we had a blast! The bus drove us around the city very, very slowly while we ate quite a nice meal, some of us with wine. We saw a motorcycle parade of Santas. And everyone was out on the streets, which were of course decorated. It was beautiful.
https://www.bustronome.com/en/
Posted by
1082 posts
December 24, 2022, we had dinner at L'empire du 8eme and on December 25, 2022, we had lunch at Le Terrasse du 7eme and dinner at D’Chez Eux. A few years earlier, we had Christmas dinner at Le Violon d'Ingres which was the most expensive, but my son still talks about their millefeuilles! All meals were very nice and enjoyable as were the settings/atmosphere.
I did find that some restaurants that I had made reservations with later notified me that they would not be open on Christmas Eve or Day, after all, so you might find that happens. Others did not make a decision to be open until just a few weeks before. Just a few weeks before, you'll find that websites such as Solo Sophie, David Lebovitz, etc. will have a very nice list of venues, including restaurants, which will be open on the Christmas holidays.
I'm guessing that both Notre Dame and Sacre Coeure will have mass on Christmas Eve, but others will know better than I. Both had Christmas Day masses several years ago which were stunning. SC was much more crowded that day than ND.
This Christmas, we will be in Rome and I have no idea where we'll eat--need to get on that!
How wonderful that your family will be making some great Christmas memories in Paris.