paris vacation

[kenneth patick]

my family and i(five adults)will be spending the christmas-new years holiday in paris. we wiil be arriving sunday december 27-january6. we will be staying in a rented apartment on ile st. louis. i have a number of questions, but for now will be only asking for some general information.

i have read a number of topics and for better or worse it seems a number of restaurants are closed during the holiday season. will we have more than the usual difficulty finding open restaurants on the day we arrive. aside from lunch on new years eve day, should we avoid the usual restaurant mayhem on new years eve. are restaurants, if any open on new years day? since new years day falls on a friday will that cause any problems finding reservations on saturday/ sunday? the red book states some restaurants are closed for the christmas holidays. could anyone give me an idea what that means? does christmas holidays run through christmas and new years inclusive, exclusive or some other combination.

since we will be there during winter season, would anyone care to describe winter season cuisine. i presume lots of meat and root vegetables. would it be incorrect to presume, in general, that not all restaurants do equally well in food preparation in each season. therefore, are there restaurants in the "to avoid category" in the winter that would be fantastic in spring or summer but less so in winter?

although not a food related topic,but important nontheless, whats the weather like during the christmas-newyears season? thanks for help.

[Ptipois]

The Christmas holiday season starts about a couple of days before Christmas (school vacation -usually beginning on Dec. 21st ) and ends around the 3 or 4th of January.

But in my experience very few Paris restaurants close for the holidays. On the contrary, unless the chef has been doing great business and has gone skiing (a very unlikely occurrence IMO), they rather try to stay open and benefit from the festive mood. If there is any mention of closing at Christmas, think December 25th (a holiday for most commerces anyway) and January 1st (jour de l'An) and that's that.

There is no such thing in Paris as a restaurant whose quality varies according to the season. Either they are consistent on an all-the-year-round basis or they're not. Season has nothing to do with it. Of course the same rule applies to mediocre restaurants.

Edited to add: the Christmas holiday is rarely the coldest period in the Parisian Winter. January and sometimes February can be really cold at times, but expect moderately cold, grey, sometimes rainy weather, though of course anything can happen.

Edited July 17, 2009 by Ptipois (log)

[42390]

my experience is that the Red Guide does a good job of reporting fairly exact holiday closing dates. It is true that some restaurant close around Christmas time but you will absolutely not have a problem filling your dining schedule with good places to eat. I go every year from about 20 Dec to 05 Jan. True you may miss out perhaps on some place you are set on visiting but there will be plenty of others to substitute. For instance, I was wanting to go to Fogon this last visit, was closed, substituted La Braisiere, no problem.

Do not go out to eat on new years eve. Believe me on this. I have done so from 2 stars on down and it is always a rip off. Prices are jacked up, the restaurants are too packed to really do their best work, absolutely not worth it. The food shops do a great job around that time of year, you can pick up really great things to take to your apartment.

Look at a globe - Paris is nearly 45 degrees north lattitude, further north than Maine. However, it is not usually bitterly cold in December but you can have those days. Generally, the winter climate in Paris seems to be more temperate than, for instance, some place in Germany at the same lattitude, not sure why.

[kenneth patick]

thanks for the information, ptipois and 42390. one more question if i may indulge either of you. other than hotel dining rooms ,any other gastronomic delights open on new years day?

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Since you have an apartment, I would recommend that you do as we did in London some years back when we found ourselves facing few and pricey options for Christmas Day.

Paris shops offer a literal banquet of prepared foods. Visit Galleries Lafayette food hall, Bon Marche's Grande Epicerie and absolutely not least every small shop you notice on your walks. Collect the components of a memorable meal that will cost you a fraction of the same meal in a restaurant.

[kenneth patick]

thanks for the information, ptipois and 42390. one more question if i may indulge either of you. other than hotel dining rooms ,any other gastronomic delights open on new years day?

←

[kenneth patick]

thanks margaret. thought we would find some gourmet food stores once we started exploring paris.

[Forest]

There is no such thing in Paris as a restaurant whose quality varies according to the season. Either they are consistent on an all-the-year-round basis or they're not. Season has nothing to do with it. Of course the same rule applies to mediocre restaurants.

←

As usual Ptipois has the good info. Restaurant quality changes because sometimes it goes up or down, but not because of the season. However, one thing possibly worth noting is that some restaurants (the ones who specialize in game -and there's a whole thread on that elsewhere) might be more appealing to people in the fall. I've never been sure of when it officially ends...help me out here, France forum - is it late January when it pretty much ends? But you should still be in game season in December.

[Ptipois]

However, one thing possibly worth noting is that some restaurants (the ones who specialize in game -and there's a whole thread on that elsewhere) might be more appealing to people in the fall.  I've never been sure of when it officially ends...help me out here, France forum - is it late January when it pretty much ends? But you should still be in game season in December.

←

You're right - the game season in Paris restaurants goes between November and late February, which is the official closing time of the hunting season.