Things to do in Paris in January

With its winter weather and long nights, January is a wonderful time to discover Paris. It is the first month of the new year! And Paris is an excellent choice of destination to start the year! The magical atmosphere of Christmas remains for a few more moments in the streets of the city of light, but with the freezing weather, staying inside can also be very nice! Here is a list of our best suggestions about things to do in Paris in January.

 

Let Christmas linger on for a bit by admiring the illuminations

thingstodoinparisinjanuary

First of all, one of the great things to do in Paris in January is to take a walk around the streets of the city to enjoy the wonderful atmosphere of the winter, with all its decorations and lights. Although we are way past Christmas, for most of the month you will still get to see the streets illuminated.

If you go to luxurious department stores like the Galeries Lafayette or Le Bon Marché, you’ll see that their shop windows will have been beautifully decorated too! Basically, in January you get to live all the magic of Christmas but all the places are a lot less crowded.

Enjoy the winter by going ice-skating

Things to do in Paris in January

There’s not always snow during the winter in Paris, but that’s no problem! In January, you can still enjoy the winter in Paris by going to the temporary ice skating rinks that will appear all around the city.

You will find them in the most wonderful places like the Christmas market of the Eiffel Tower on the Champs de Mars, or even better – on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower! Can you imagine going ice-skating more than 180 ft above the ground? And on top of that, the admission is free, you only need to rent the skates that will cost you a few euros! It’s one of the best things to do in Paris in January, especially if you have a few pounds to lose after the holiday season!

> Learn more about the Eiffel Tower.

> If you want to go ice-skating, check this article!

 

Warm up and enjoy wonderful art exhibitions in one of Paris’ museums

art exhibitions

After all, this running around outside in the cold, you’ll probably want to spend some time inside too! If that’s the case, another thing to do in Paris in January would be to enjoy art exhibitons of some of the museums of our beautiful city.

Plus, they’ll be a lot less crowded than in the summer! The Musée d’Orsaybuy tickets to Orsay Museum -, the Centre Pompidou or the Grand Palais are especially great choices for art lovers, with their great permanent collections but also very interesting special exhibitions.

Go on a shopping spree during the Winter Sales and bring back fashionable souvenirs

galeries_lafayette

You surely know that Paris is considered to be the city of fashion. So, another great thing to do in Paris in January if you love the French sense of style is to go to what we call the ‘grands magasins‘ (the department stores, in English) like the Galeries Lafayette or the Printemps to buy the best items from the brands you love during the great winter sales!

This year they will start off on January, 8th and last for six weeks with discounts getting more and more interesting. It is the perfect chance to bring back a stylish souvenir from your stay in Paris!

Find the bean inside the galette des rois

galette des rois

On January, the Christmas spirit still remains a little while, because of the Epiphany. It is a Christian celebration! In the Christian religion, it is believed that the Three Kings, also known as the Three Wise Men, traveled for miles to see baby Jesus after his birth, bringing him plenty of gifts. So, on the second Sunday after Christmas, we celebrate the Epiphany by eating a “galette des rois.

The “galettes des rois” are sold at bakery stores all around the city, so you will have no trouble finding one. This cake is only available during the month of January. So, it is definitely a must-do if you come to Paris this month! Families get together and enjoy the “galettes des rois“. It is also really fun because of the bean there is inside the cake. Whoever gets the bean is “crowned” king or queen for the rest of the day but has to buy the next galette des rois!

 

On rue Montorgueil, you will find plenty of bakery stores that prepare the most delicious galette des rois!

> Read about Montorgueil here.

You now know some of the things to do in Paris in January! But there are actually so much more! I hope you’ve enjoyed this article and that it has been useful! Don’t hesitate to contact us if you need further information about anything! See you in Paris in January!

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