Heralded by French movie star, Omar Sy (The Intouchables), switching on the Avenue des Champs Elysées lights this week, the City of Light has now become the City of Christmas lights, and the festive season in Paris is now in full swing!
This year’s luminescent theme, designed and installed by Blachère Illumination, is called Scintillance, and depicts a meteor shower. Hundreds of thousands of tiny twinkling fairy lights adorn the three hundred Plane trees lining the Avenue des Champs Elysées, leading to, for the 21st year, a huge illuminated Ferris wheel at the end, which offers astonishing birds-eye views of the city.
In addition to the spectacular display of lights, the Avenue plays host to around two hundred little wooden cottages in the Christmas village, selling locally-made crafts, gifts, and candies, an ice rink, a children’s train ride, and of course, plenty of food and drink stalls too.
If you’re unable to visit in person this winter, here’s a short video from Reuters to give you a taste of what you’re missing:
Where: Avenue des Champs-Elysées
When: Now until January 8th
Times: 6pm to 2am, seven nights a week
Métro: Charles de Gaulle Étoile
RER: Charles de Gaulle Étoile