Zip out to La Defense one of these evenings for a little shopping and holiday gaity. Covering almost 3 acres and located beneath the glitzy lights of the esplanade’s skyscrapers,  the Christmas Village with over 350 chalets is the biggest, most authentic one in Ile-de-France.

Fill your bags with a potpurri of unique gifts by craftspeople from across France as well as  Morocco, Tunisia, Kenya, Iran, China and Nepal. Santa will be there for the kids afternoons, from 12pm-5pm on Wednesdays, 12pm-3pm on Thursdays and Fridays, and 12pm-7pm on Saturdays and Sundays, right up to Christmas Eve. Local produce, mulled wine to sip, original fashion accessories, Corsican sausages, raclette cheese,  and the sounds of traditional Peruvian flute music filling the nippy air make this a seasonal must-do.

By métro

La Défense (ligne 1, and RER line A)
Esplanade de la Défense (ligne 1)
Note: Both stations are in zone 3, but can also be accessed using a T+ ticket or a zone 1-2 only pass by Metro line 1. You can’t go there by RER with 1-2 zone pass.

By train

La Défense can be reached on RER A, Transiliene L, Transiliene U, tramway T2, station La Défense. It can be very confusing but ‘Les Quatres Temps’ is color coded. There are many maps around the shopping center.