What’s Open in Paris on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s (2026)

This year the holidays fall neatly: Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve are Thursdays, and Christmas Day and New Year’s Day are Fridays. The rule of thumb for Paris is simple. Most of the big museums close on December 25 and January 1, the Eiffel Tower never closes, and several places shut early on the 24th and the 31st. Below is what we could confirm from official sources as of October 19, 2026, with “Check” wherever the 2026 hours have not been published yet.

At a glance

Attraction	Thu Dec 24	Fri Dec 25	Thu Dec 31	Fri Jan 1
Eiffel Tower	Open	Open	Closes early (time not yet published)	Open
Louvre	Open (check hours)	Closed	Open (check hours)	Closed
Musée d’Orsay	Check (closed at 5pm last year)	Closed	Check (closed at 5pm last year)	Check (open last year)
Palace of Versailles	Open (check hours)	Closed	Open (check hours)	Closed
Catacombs	Open (check hours)	Closed	Open (check hours)	Closed
Sainte-Chapelle	Open (check hours)	Closed	Open (check hours)	Closed
Arc de Triomphe	Closes 4pm	Check	Closes 4pm	Check
Notre-Dame Christmas market	Open	Check	Finished (ends Dec 27)	Finished
Grand Palais ice rink	Closes 6pm	Check	Closes 6pm	Check

“Open (check hours)” means the venue is not listed as closed that day, but it has not published special holiday hours, so confirm on its own site the week before. Two more closures catch people out: the Catacombs are closed every Monday, including Monday, December 28, and the Louvre is closed every Tuesday.

Christmas Eve, Thursday, December 24

Most museums have not announced special hours for Christmas Eve, so plan on a normal day with a few known early closings. The Arc de Triomphe closes at 4pm, and the Grand Palais ice rink is expected to close at 6pm. Last year the Musée d’Orsay closed at 5pm on both the 24th and the 31st; its 2026 holiday hours are not out yet. The Notre-Dame Christmas market, on the Square René-Viviani, runs through Sunday, December 27.

The classic way to spend the evening is on the river. Bateaux Parisiens runs a special Christmas Eve dinner from its pier at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. According to its listing you check in at 8pm, sail at 8:30pm and are back by 11pm, with Champagne, wine, a live singer and dessert by Maison Lenôtre. Two things to know before you book: it is non-refundable, and it asks for smart-casual dress.

Other boats publish their own Christmas Eve menus: Le Calife lists one at €259, and Ducasse sur Seine lists a six-course menu at €340. Compare the regular dinner boats in our Seine dinner cruise guide, or read our Bateaux Mouches vs Bateaux Parisiens head-to-head.

Christmas Day, Friday, December 25

This is the quietest day of the season for sightseeing. The Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, Versailles, the Catacombs and Sainte-Chapelle are all closed. The Arc de Triomphe’s visitor regulations list December 25 as a closure, but it opened specially on Christmas Day last year, so check nearer the time.

What stays open is the Eiffel Tower, every day of the year, Christmas included. If the summit is on your list, book ahead: the tower lists December 19, 2026 to January 4, 2027 as a peak-attendance period. Our Eiffel Tower tickets guide has the official prices and booking windows. Bateaux Parisiens also runs a Christmas Day lunch cruise (check-in at noon, sailing at 12:45pm, back at 2:45pm) as well as a dinner, both on the same non-refundable terms.

The rest of the day belongs to the streets. The Champs-Élysées lights are reported to switch on on November 22 and stay up into early January. Last year they also stayed lit all night on December 24 and 31. Dusk comes early, with sunset just before 5pm, so the lights are already on by the time a late lunch ends.

Christmas lights, with someone else navigating

If you would rather not plan the route yourself, a private illuminations tour handles it for you: hotel pickup, a guide, taxi hops between the best-lit streets, and hot spiced wine or hot chocolate along the way. Its standard December pickup is 5pm, moved earlier to 3:45pm on December 24 and 31.

For the markets themselves, with dates and our favorites, see the Paris Christmas markets 2026 guide.

Between Christmas and New Year

From December 26 the museums reopen in the middle of the French school holidays (December 19 to January 4), which the Eiffel Tower lists as a peak period. Plan for timed tickets everywhere. If the Louvre is on the list, our two-hour Louvre route keeps the visit manageable. Remember the Monday, December 28 closure at the Catacombs, and that the Notre-Dame market ends on Sunday, December 27.

New Year’s Eve, Thursday, December 31

Expect early closings. The Arc de Triomphe closes at 4pm and the Grand Palais ice rink at about 6pm. The Eiffel Tower also closes early on New Year’s Eve, but its official pages have given times from around 6:30pm to 9pm in past years and the 2026 time is not confirmed, so book a daytime slot rather than an evening one.

The free celebration on the Champs-Élysées is the main public event. Last year the avenue opened to the public from 7pm, with access mainly via Concorde, a video show projected onto the Arc de Triomphe from 11:50pm, then fireworks at midnight. The City of Paris has not yet published the 2026 programme. One thing not to count on: there were no fireworks from the Eiffel Tower last New Year’s Eve.

A dinner cruise is the other classic. Le Calife lists its New Year’s Eve evening at €469, and Bateaux Mouches runs a New Year’s Eve dinner cruise that, like the Christmas cruises, is non-refundable. Compare evening options in our evening and night cruise guide.

New Year’s Day, Friday, January 1

The Louvre, Versailles, the Catacombs and Sainte-Chapelle are closed again. The Musée d’Orsay is not on its standard closure list for January 1 and opened last year, but check its 2027 hours. The Eiffel Tower is open, and Disneyland Paris keeps its Christmas season running until January 6, 2027.

Two changes come with the new year:

• Transport fares: Paris public transport fares are expected to change on January 1, 2027. The 2026 single métro, train and RER ticket costs €2.55 until December 31.
• Winter sales: under the national rule, the sales should start on Wednesday, January 6, 2027.

If you are staying into the second week of January, check the Eiffel Tower summit before you book it: it usually closes for maintenance in early January (in 2026, from January 5 to February 6).

For the weather, daylight hours and what else to book that month, start with our complete guide to Paris in December.