On New Year’s Eve in Paris, there is an incredible atmosphere of unity. Since the holiday is less important to Parisians than Christmas, the main event is the light show and fireworks on the Champs-Élysées. After the show, the main crowd begins to disperse, but many city dwellers continue the celebration in restaurants or at house parties.

Choose a hotel in the center of Paris

To make the first day of the year long and eventful, it is best to get a good night’s sleep. Public transport will help you get back to your hotel: on New Year’s Eve, the metro runs late and is free of charge. However, be prepared for long queues and crowds at central stations immediately after the celebrations.

Weather in Paris on 1 January

Winter in Paris is mild but changeable – sometimes there is light drizzle, sometimes sunshine, and sometimes a wind from the Seine that makes you want to wrap up warm. The temperature in early January ranges from +3 °C to +8 °C; snow is rare and melts almost immediately.

The days are short: dawn is around nine in the morning, and dusk comes as early as five in the evening. But this is when the city looks especially photogenic — the lights of shop windows and garlands reflect in the wet pavements, creating that distinct Parisian glamour without filters.

A warm coat, waterproof shoes and a scarf are best for walking – even if it seems warm in the morning, the wind will quickly remind you that it’s winter. Always take an umbrella with you: in Paris, rain begins without warning and ends just as suddenly.

Breakfast or brunch

The perfect start to the first day of the year is a leisurely and hearty brunch. If you wake up late, you have a great opportunity to try one of the special holiday brunches (Brunch du nouvel an) offered by many restaurants and cafés.

On a holiday, prices can be significantly higher than usual, and you must book a table well in advance — several days or even weeks beforehand.

Here are some ideas for brunch on 1 January in Paris (always check the restaurants’ websites for availability):

Holybelly 5 – a trendy café in the 10th arrondissement with an American-Australian vibe, a friendly atmosphere and quality coffee
Faubourg Daimant – an elegant vegan bistro with a 1900s-style interior. The focus is on innovative plant-based cuisine inspired by French bourgeois traditions
Red Katz – a Chinese restaurant with luxurious 1930s-style décor reminiscent of a movie set. Founded by three French friends of Chinese origin

Camille Brodard / Unsplash

Consider your hotel: if you are staying at a hotel, check whether its restaurant is open on 1 January and whether it offers a special New Year’s brunch for guests. This can be a very convenient solution.

What is open on 1 January in Paris

The first day of the year in Paris is no reason to stay in your hotel. Although some museums and shops are closed, there are still plenty of places where the festivities continue: open spaces, viewpoints, walking routes and several museums that welcome visitors even on 1 January.

TouringBee audio guides

If everything is closed on 1 January, one thing never takes a break — our audio guides to Paris and other cities.

Use the promo code PARIS10 for a discount on all routes — a great way to start the year with a walk, even when the whole city is still asleep.

Paris shops

Paris moves at a slower pace on 1 January: shop windows sparkle, but most doors are still closed. The Galeries Lafayette, Printemps Haussmann, Le Bon Marché and BHV Marais department stores are traditionally closed on the first day of the year. Exceptions such as La Samaritaine or individual boutiques in Bercy Village sometimes make the holiday livelier by opening at noon, but such cases are rare and not guaranteed.

French shopping centres rarely publish exact schedules in advance, so check opening hours on official websites or maps closer to the date.

Plan your route flexibly: if your favourite boutique is closed, stroll along the shop windows, pop into a café in Montmartre or choose a souvenir in the shops near Notre Dame – they are usually open even on public holidays.

Paris attractions and museums

Some museums and monuments remain open, but it is worth checking the exact schedule in advance: holiday hours change almost every year.

If you’re lucky, you can visit the Orsay or the Orangerie and see the Impressionist collections without the usual queues. Those looking for something less predictable might choose the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Bercy.

The Pompidou Centre will most likely be closed for renovation in 2026, although some of its collections may be displayed at temporary venues as part of the Constellation programme
The Grand Palais, on the other hand, will probably be open after renovation, at least in its main halls

Among the city’s landmarks, the Eiffel Tower and the Conciergerie are almost always open to visitors on public holidays, and the Sacré-Cœur Basilica is open from early morning, with services held as usual. Versailles and museums outside the city centre sometimes operate on a reduced schedule, so it is best to check their websites before visiting.

Musée d’Orsay
Musée de l’Orangerie
Musée Grévin
Musée Dali
Musée Jacquemart-André
Musée du Quai Branly
Institut du Monde Arabe
Musée des Arts Décoratifs
Palais de Versailles
Grand Palais
Eiffel Tower
Conciergerie
Sacré-Cœur Basilica
Saint-Eustache Church

Musée des Arts Forains

If you had to choose one museum to visit during the New Year holidays, it would be the Musée des Arts Forains in the Bercy district. It is probably the most eccentric museum in Paris. Its collection is not a set of exhibits under glass but a real wonderland: here you will find 19th-century carousels, mechanical orchestras and vintage attractions.

The museum’s creator, former actor Jean-Paul Favan, spent decades collecting everything that once delighted visitors at European fairs. Today, his collection is open to the public only on holidays, during Le Festival du Merveilleux, which runs from late December to early January.

It is best to book tickets in advance, as there are always many visitors, but this visit is definitely worth including in your plans. This is an unusual museum: you can ride on old carousels and touch all the exhibits with your hands.

The Musée des Arts Forains is a private collection, and admission is usually by appointment only, but on public holidays, anyone can visit!

Plant garden

When the plants go dormant until spring, the Jardin des Plantes transforms: in the evenings, luminous figures of animals, plants and minerals appear among the trees. In winter, especially during the En voie d’illumination: Lumières de la Nature exhibition, elephants, crocodiles, octopuses and other creatures emerge from the darkness.

The best time to visit is after 6 p.m., when night falls and the illuminations shine brighter. This place is ideal for a romantic stroll, an interesting family outing or even a night-time photo shoot – if you have the skills for night photography.

Plan your visit in advance: although the garden is open every day, some installations may require a ticket or be unavailable in bad weather.

Christmas markets

By early January, most Christmas markets in Paris are already closed, but a few still keep the festive spirit alive. If you want to prolong the New Year mood, visit the places where the lights stay on a little longer than usual.

On Boulevard Saint-Germain, there are still chalets selling hot cider, waffles and handmade gifts – the area seems made for a leisurely stroll after a late breakfast
In the Tuileries Garden, there is still a Ferris wheel, rides and kiosks selling treats. Here you can enjoy a glass of mulled wine, warm yourself by the shop windows and simply watch Paris slowly wake up
On the Champs-Élysées, the fair lasts longer than the others: festive lights, food pavilions and open-air music create the feeling that New Year is still ahead
At the foot of the Eiffel Tower, there are usually a few shopping chalets and an ice rink – not the largest, but a charming place where Christmas and New Year merge into one long fairy tale
Montmartre is not far behind: on the steps of Sacré-Cœur, you can still find stalls selling handmade souvenirs and sweets, and the view of the city from above reminds you that the holiday is, in fact, just beginning

Don’t forget dinner at a Parisian restaurant

After walks and museums, it’s time to end the day beautifully – with dinner. Many restaurants in Paris are open on 1 January, and if you’re lucky, you can enjoy a festive menu: a little champagne, oysters, duck with orange or desserts with a touch of French chic.

Lola Delabays / Unsplash

For those who prefer music and shows, an evening at a cabaret is a good choice. The Moulin Rouge traditionally extends its Christmas programme until the first days of January, and at the Paradis Latin, dinner is combined with dance performances — lively, fun and spectacular in a truly Parisian way.

For a special evening, you can choose a restaurant on the Eiffel Tower – dinner with a view of the city lights hardly needs any further description. It is worth booking a table in advance: even on the first day of the year, there are many who want to visit.

Disneyland Paris

Disneyland, like Santa Claus, never takes a day off. Even on 1 January, the park is full of lights, parades and music – the holiday continues as if nothing had ended. If you dream of starting the year with fireworks, princesses and roller coasters, there is no better place to be.

New Year’s Eve here feels like a continuation of Christmas Eve: the same festive programme, only the people around you are a little sleepier and holding cups of hot chocolate. The rides are open, Disney characters greet guests, and the shop windows sparkle like in a fairy tale.

The only downside is that it’s one of the most popular days of the year, so it’s best to buy tickets in advance. Then all that’s left is to put on a warm hat, grab some caramel waffles and welcome the morning among fairies and fireworks.

A real castle

Usually, castles around Paris do not welcome guests in winter. The parks are empty, and statues wrapped in cloth wait for spring. But one castle has decided to break this tradition.

Vaux-le-Vicomte decorates its fir trees with garlands and becomes a real Christmas home inside. If you prefer fairy tales from books rather than cartoons, come here instead of Disneyland. It will be very beautiful. And there is also a carriage museum in the castle!

It seems we have already come up with more activities than can fit in one day. Choose where you want to start this year. Add your ideas in the comments – we’d love to hear them.

Happy New Year!

Tags:Christmas and New Year, Holidays, Our advice, Tourist sights, Travelling in the winter, tips

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1 January in Paris: how to start the new year?

New Year’s Eve

Weather in Paris on 1 January

Breakfast or brunch

What is open on 1 January in Paris