Christmas in Paris: The 15 Best Tours & Illuminations

1.Tootbus Open-Top Christmas Bus Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 1,365 reviews · 1h 30m · from $46Our pick

Ride through Paris after dark on a 90-minute Tootbus Christmas tour from Boulevard des Capucines to Boulevard Haussmann. You’ll pass the Opéra, Place Vendôme, Champs-Élysées, Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower, Louvre, and department stores while an audio guide in 10 languages mixes city facts with Christmas songs. Bring warm layers and arrive early for an upper-deck seat.

“Sadly we were pickpocketed shortly before the tour began, so went for an evening in the police station instead!”

Check availability →Read our full review

2.Paris Tootbus Festive Christmas Lights Tour

★★★★★★★★★★3.5 · 83 reviews · 1 hour 30 minutes (approx.) · from $46

Ride through central Paris for about 90 minutes, passing Place Vendôme, the Champs Elysées, Arc de Triomphe, Louvre, Eiffel Tower, and Christmas windows at Printemps and Galeries Lafayette. The English audio includes seasonal songs, and the route is timed to catch the Eiffel Tower sparkling. Dress warmly and expect city traffic.

“This was a great city of lights tour especially for Christmas! They timed it perfectly for the twinkles of the Eiffel Tower. Make sure to dress warm!”

Check availability →Read our full review

3.Private Christmas Lights Tour by Citroën 2CV

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 62 reviews · 2 hours

You’ll tour Paris for two hours in a private vintage Citroën 2CV with a driver-guide, blankets, and a removable roof for festive city views. Expect hotel pickup and drop-off in the 1st through 20th arrondissements, flexible sightseeing, stories in English or French, and a photo stop near the Eiffel Tower at Champs de Mars.

“Extremely knowledgeable driver asked us what we had seen so far and then took us other places around the city. He gave us a history lesson we will never forget. Beautiful night for picture taking.”

Check availability →Read our full review

4.Paris Christmas Illuminations and Local Festivities Private Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 43 reviews · from $355Top rated

Spend 3 to 4 hours seeing Paris dressed for Christmas with guide Milan Melet or another local guide. Travel by private vehicle and on foot from Galeries Lafayette to the Tuileries, Place Vendôme, and the Champs-Élysées. Expect rooftop views, a Ferris wheel ride, market snacks, mulled wine, and flexible sightseeing.

“We were taken to beautiful areas in Paris. Great tour by Milan! We loved it. He explained everything with details”

Check availability →Read our full review

5.Bateaux Mouches New Year’s Eve Special Dinner Cruise in Paris

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 22 reviews · 5 hours (approx.) · from $577

Board Bateaux Mouches at Port de la Conférence for a five-hour New Year’s Eve celebration. Cruise the Seine for about two hours and 15 minutes, enjoy a four-course French dinner with wine or Champagne, then stay aboard for music and dancing until 2am. Seating is assigned, and the boat has a covered dining deck plus an upper deck with 360-degree views.

“Boat, food, staff and tour were all fantastic. The only negative was the late night entertainment where the music wasn’t great and was performed by a singer reading it off a karaoke machine.”

Check availability →Read our full review

6.Paris Christmas Lights Small Group Walking Tour with Local Guide

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 19 reviews · 2 hours (approx.) · from $78

Walk through central Paris with a local guide such as Walid, Lou, Juliette, or Emily. The two-hour route links Rue Montorgueil, Galerie Vivienne, Palais-Royal, the Tuileries Christmas market, Place Vendôme, and Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, with hot chocolate or mulled wine included.

“Oh boy, it was freezing, but Walid took us to some great places. The lights were spectacular and we were able to buy from the oldest bakery in Paris (delicious!). He even took us to a small Christmas Market at the end. Great tour!”

Check availability →Read our full review

7.Paris Christmas Gourmet Food Small Group Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 17 reviews · 3 hours (approx.) · from $251

Meet your guide at Saint-Sulpice for a three-hour Christmas food walk through Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Sample seasonal sweets, hot-spiced wine, nougat, candied nuts, and chocolate, then finish with tea or coffee in a Parisian tearoom. Guides including Roberto, Sabine, Aniko, and Stefani have led this intimate experience.

“Fantastic tour, completely different to what I thought it would be, I was expecting to go around Christmas Markets and see Christmas decorations, food etc - the tour was teaching you about Christmas traditions through Europe and tasting of the food and the meaning behind that actual piece of food, eg a special Christmas chestnut sweet.”

Check availability →Read our full review

8.Paris Christmas Lights & Stories with Tastings on Champs-Élysées

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 15 reviews · 1 hour 30 minutes (approx.) · from $70

Join a 90-minute English walking tour from the Grand Palais to the Arc de Triomphe at 5:00 pm. Guide Aladia leads a group of up to 15 through Christmas lights, Avenue Montaigne window displays, Fortwenger gingerbread, a Ladurée macaron, Parisian chocolates, and thick hot chocolate.

“Our Guide Aladia was friendly, knowledgeable and spoke perfect English. She told us interesting stories and showed us historical photos of the places we visited. Everyone was lucky enough to have photos taken by her for our memories to be treasured for the future. She was well organized at the Fortwenger and Maison du Chocolat for our tastings. The light shows were breathtaking! Merci beaucoup! I highly recommend this tour and our Guide! She made the whole tour so enjoyable! Merci a vous, Debra”

Check availability →Read our full review

9.Paris Christmas Lights Walking Tour with Local Guide

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 13 reviews · 2 hours · from $88

Walk from Rue Étienne Marcel to Place de la Concorde with a local guide, stopping at Galerie Vivienne, Palais-Royal, Tuileries Garden, Place Vendôme, and La Madeleine. Small groups of six or fewer keep the evening personal. You’ll hear French holiday traditions, visit churches, and enjoy hot chocolate or mulled wine with a seasonal sweet.

“Ruben was by far the best tour leader we have ever had in all our entire visits and travels - he is literally 5/5 with the knowledge, information and presentation.”

Check availability →Read our full review

10.Bateaux Mouches Christmas Special Lunch Cruise in Paris

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 13 reviews · 1 hour 45 minutes (approx.) · from $150

Board at Port de la Conférence at 1 pm for a Christmas Day lunch aboard a covered Bateaux-Mouches boat. A maître d’hôtel leads you to an assigned table, where you’ll enjoy three courses, cheese, wine, coffee or tea, live music, and a homemade French Yule log while passing Notre-Dame, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and more.

“This was a very comfortable ride inside out of the rain, sites were beautiful. Ambience and music was fantastic, service was good, but food was not good (especially by French standards) and , boat left late waiting for guests, which wa a bit frustrating. This is A great way to see the Seine and the sites when you first arrive in Paris, but for the price I wouldn’t do it again.”

Check availability →Read our full review

11.Private tour Paris Christmas lights tour 2 hours in Citroën 2CV

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 11 reviews · from $147

Ride through festive Paris in a chauffeured Citroën 2CV with a private driver, blankets, and a Saint James scarf made in France. The route covers the Champs-Élysées, Place Vendôme, Moulin Rouge, Avenue Montaigne, and Eiffel Tower. Drivers such as Rene-Jean, Dov, and Alexander add local stories, though the open car can be chilly and hard to hear from the back.

“Totally new way to see a section of Paris! Loved it and have recommend this to folks!”

Check availability →Read our full review

12.Paris Christmas Tour with a Local Guide: Custom & Private

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 9 reviews · 3 hours (approx.) · from $142

Spend about three hours exploring Paris at Christmas with a private local host. Visit Hôtel de Ville, the Notre Dame market, Rue des Francs-Bourgeois, BHV Marais, and Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis Church. Your host can adjust the route to your interests, with a hot chocolate, mulled wine, or soft drink included.

“This was a wonderful experience. Elli was a delight and easy to talk with. She tailored our tour to areas we wanted to see and was also spontaneous, showing us additional sites as we happened upon them. She is knowledgeable and patient. I highly recommend her and this tour.”

Check availability →Read our full review

13.Guided New Year’s Eve Bar Crawl with Drink

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 8 reviews · from $85

Meet your guide at Bull’s Brothers Pub for a 4.5-hour New Year’s Eve crawl through two Paris bars and a Latin Quarter club. You’ll get one welcome shot, drink deals, ice-breaker games, and VIP entry to the final nightclub. Guides speak English, French, Italian, Arabic, Korean, and Spanish.

Check availability →Read our full review

14.Christmas Special Lunch Cruise on the Seine River

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 7 reviews · 2 hours · from $147

Join Compagnie des Bateaux Mouches for a two-hour Christmas lunch cruise from Pont de l’Alma. Enjoy a French meal, half a bottle of wine per person, piano music, and views of the Eiffel Tower, Île de la Cité, bridges, and quays. A photographer is on board, and the upper deck offers the best picture spot.

“En underbar båttur och lunch på Bateaux Mouche. Servicen är toppen och maten mycket god. Hjälpsam servicepersonal och vackra vyer.”

Check availability →Read our full review

15.Paris at Christmas: 3-Hour Bike Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 6 reviews · 3 hours · from $53

Starting near Opéra Garnier, you’ll ride a Dutch bike through Paris after dark, passing Place Vendôme, the Champs-Élysées, Pont Alexandre III, Notre Dame, and Hôtel de Ville. An English-speaking guide shares stories of Paris and French Christmas customs, with a 30-minute break at a Saint-Germain-des-Prés Christmas market. Bring money for vin chaud, hot chocolate, or raclette.

“We loved our bike tour, a fabulous way to see Paris, especially at night.”

Check availability →Read our full review