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 Défense. 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 Défense.

Large Christmas Market

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

There was a queue going into the Christmas market but it was moving fast. Anyone with backpacks is checked. Although popular, it was not crowded as there was ample space to walk. This is when it dawned on us that most of the signs were in the French language (but we managed 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 seasonal French cuisine in the same place. The only downside is finding a place to eat in the cold dark night. As we walked down the market, we realised that the food stalls were repeating in every section. Looks to be the same stalls selling the same kind of food along the market.

Shopping at La Défense

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