Never thought we would visit Paris in our lifetime but here we are. Europe is known for having Christmas markets during the festive seasons. Christmas markets are supposed to sell seasonal food and gifts. I have been to the Christmas markets in Dublin and Belfast. The Christmas market in Dublin is mainly selling food. While the Belfast Christmas market has more non-food items, it is packed! I was recommended to check out the main Paris Christmas market at La Defence. We arrived in Paris at lunch and managed to check in to our hotel on time. For our first day here, we followed the tip and went to La Defence.

Large Christmas Market

Large but not crowded. Before that, I first impressed with the RER station. It is deep underground, cavernous and looks modern. When we came out, the buildings in La Defence is even more impressive. The building called “La Grande Arche” stood imposing at the entrance of the Paris Christmas Market.

There was a queue going into the Christmas market but was moving fast. Anyone with backpacks are checked. Although popular, it was not crowded as there were ample space to walk. This is when realization hit us, most of the signs are in French language (but we manage to get around speaking English). We started with sharing a couple of chocolate filled Beignet for the kids. The adults tried Raclette Cheese sandwich with “Jambon Sec”, which is dried ham. It is convenient to have the typical French seasons cuisine in the same place. The only downside is finding a place to eat in the cold dark night. As we walk down the market, we realised that the food stalls are repeating in every section. Looks to be the same stalls selling the same kind of food along the market.

Shopping at La Defence

Outside of the market, La Defence offers great shopping experience. We went into a Uniqlo nearby and had our proper dinner at Popeye’s. We also somehow ended in an underground mall walking back to the RER station. Stopped by a convenient store and bought breakfast for the next day.