Champs-Élysées Christmas Lights 2026: Date and Market

1. Switch-on 2026: the date announced by the press

Sunday 22 November 2026, according to the press

Free access (2025 edition) About 45 min for the avenue (estimate) 5 to 8°C in November From late November to January

Sunday 22 November 2026 is the date that Sortiraparis, Le Bonbon and JDS have published since 12 and 13 October 2026. None of these pages cites an official source. The Paris Tourist Office, in its « Christmas in Paris » page updated on 5 October 2026, says the 2026 dates will be added « as they are officially announced ». Paris Tourist Office, « Christmas in Paris » (checked 25 October 2026).

The Comité Champs-Élysées, which runs the display with the support of the City of Paris, could not be reached during our research. It is the body that should announce the switch-on evening.

The set-up itself is well established. It covers about 2 km between the Place de la Concorde and the Arc de Triomphe, with some 400 trees wrapped in LED garlands, according to paris.fr. These figures describe the 2025 edition: they have not yet been confirmed for 2026.

Highlights

• A whole avenue dressed in light, from the top of the Étoile down to the Concorde, with no ticket to buy to see it.
• A light show every evening in 2025, at 6:30 pm, lasting about six minutes.
• A Christmas market at the bottom of the avenue, open until 4 January 2027 according to the City.

If you would rather see the lights with a guide, Viator offers a private tour, below. According to the operator’s listing, it covers the illuminations around the Champs-Élysées, the Opéra and the Vendôme district, the Galeries Lafayette window displays and tree, then a festive market where you can try mulled wine or hot chocolate. The listing gives a duration of 180 to 240 minutes. The Ferris wheel, named in the tour title, is optional and paid separately. Viator’s listing is machine-translated, so check the details before you book.

As of 25 October 2026, the availability check shows 19 open dates out of the 44 days between 22 November 2026 and 4 January 2027, for two adults. The price was checked on six of those dates. Confirm your slot when you book.

Pixidia tip: the press announces the avenue closed to traffic on the switch-on evening, with no confirmation from the City. Plan to walk from Concorde station and leave a margin before your meeting time.

Paris Christmas Illuminations and Local Festivities Private Tour €300 per adult, checked on 25 October 2026 for two adults · ★ 5.0 (47 reviews)

Book my private tour

The table below sorts the winter dates by status. An item marked « announced by the press » should never be repeated as an official fact.

Source: paris.fr, City call for applications for the Christmas market, and the press cited in the table, checked 25 October 2026.

2. Hours and show: 2025 benchmarks while we wait for 2026

The 2026 hours have not been published. The most reliable reference remains the 2025 edition run by the City of Paris, which ran from 16 November 2025 to 4 January 2026. The lights came on at 5 pm, went off at midnight from Sunday to Thursday, and at 1 am on Friday and Saturday. On the nights of 24 and 31 December, they stayed on all night.

These hours are not guaranteed for 2026. Use them to plan the evening, not to fix a meeting time to the minute. The sound and light show in 2025 ran every evening at 6:30 pm. paris.fr gives 6 min 35 s, Glose gives 6 min 37 s: remember « about six minutes ».

The light dialogue with the Eiffel Tower, described by Glose for the 2025 edition, ran every hour from 6 pm to 11 pm. It is a nice detail to check on the spot, but it is not documented for 2026.

Source: paris.fr, « The Champs-Élysées at illumination time » (updated 17 November 2025), and Glose for the dialogue with the Eiffel Tower, checked 25 October 2026.

A useful aside on how the schedule can change from one year to the next: in 2022, in the context of energy saving, the lights switched off at 11:45 pm instead of 2 am, and the season was shortened by a week. The Comité then announced a 44% cut in consumption, according to an AFP dispatch carried by Connaissance des énergies. No such announcement has been found for 2026.

3. The Christmas market: official dates, entry and hours to confirm

A chalet market at the bottom of the avenue, Concorde side

Entry announced free (JDS) 22 November to 4 January About 5 to 8°C Hours to come

The market returns to the avenue after a long absence. According to Sortiraparis, it was removed from the avenue in 2017 and moved to the Tuileries. It is coming back in 2026 to the lower section, on the Concorde side.

What is official comes from the City’s call for applications, published on paris.fr and updated on 13 July 2026: dates from 22 November 2026 to 4 January 2027, a spot at the bottom of the avenue (8th arrondissement), and a fee of €7.62 per square metre per day under the decree of 27 January 2026. The deadline for applications was 10 August 2026 at 12 pm, so the operator has either been selected already or is being chosen. No official outcome has been confirmed.

The same text says the Prefecture can request closures « without entitling anyone to compensation ». No closure date is given. Keep this caveat in mind if your visit depends on a specific slot.

Highlights

• Dates set by the City, from 22 November 2026 to 4 January 2027.
• A spot at the bottom of the avenue, Concorde side, according to paris.fr.
• Entry announced free by JDS, not confirmed by the City. Purchases at the chalets are paid.

Pixidia tip: neither the hours nor the number of chalets have been published. JDS says the hours are « to come ». Do not build a full day of shopping around information that has not been made official.

No list of exhibitors has been found. For a specific product, wait for the operator’s announcement rather than relying on a press list.

4. The pedestrian avenue: what the City lists, what the press announces

Paris Respire, the City’s page on car-free and pedestrian days, lists two Sundays for the Champs-Élysées this season: 4 October 2026, which has already passed, and 1 November 2026, the Toussaint holiday. paris.fr, Paris Respire (updated 14 October 2026). No Sunday in December or January 2027 is listed at the time of checking.

Pedestrian Sunday hours follow the season: 11 am to 6 pm from April to October, and 10 am to 5 pm from November to March, according to the pedestrian Sundays page on paris.fr (updated 15 December 2025). For 1 November, plan on 10 am to 5 pm. Many guides still give 11 am to 6 pm, which only applies in the warmer months.

The City describes the avenue as « pedestrianised and reserved for walkers, cyclists and soft mobility », with no precise limits. For the switch-on evening the situation is different: Sortiraparis writes that the avenue will be « entirely pedestrian » that night, but paris.fr does not mention the 2026 switch-on on the pages we checked. In 2025, Glose described the inauguration as an avenue « exceptionally pedestrian until midnight ». These are press reports, not a rule.

For January, the City’s page says « no pedestrianisation in January 2026 ». That is last year’s information: it says nothing about January 2027.

Source: paris.fr, Paris Respire (14 October 2026) and paris.fr, pedestrian Sundays (15 December 2025), checked 25 October 2026.

Sunday 1 November is therefore a pedestrian day in the morning and early afternoon, on winter hours. It falls before the switch-on date the press gives, 22 November: the lights are not expected that day. Plan a daytime walk.

5. 2026 Christmas window displays: dates announced by the press

Source: Sortiraparis, 2026 Christmas window displays (updated 23 October 2026), checked 25 October 2026.

These are press reports, to be confirmed with each store. For Galeries Lafayette, the 12 November date remains to be confirmed, since another guide gives the 14th. For a specific slot, check each store’s website the day before your visit.

6. Access, budget and visiting tips

Two kilometres on foot, from Concorde to the Étoile

Free 1.5 to 2 hours with the market 25 to 30 min of non-stop walking Blue hour, 5:30 to 6:30 pm

The avenue is about 2 km (1.2 miles) long, between the Arc de Triomphe and the Place de la Concorde. Walking non-stop takes 25 to 30 minutes, according to visitor guides. With a stop at the market and time for photos, allow about 45 minutes for the avenue alone (estimate), and 1.5 to 2 hours if you add the market.

On a first visit, start at the Concorde, where the market is, then walk up towards the Arc de Triomphe.

Highlights

• A walking route with no ticket to buy to see the lights.

Pixidia tip: in November, the light fades around 5:30 to 6 pm. Arrive before full darkness to catch the blue hour, which guides still rate as the most photogenic.

Public holidays. 25 December and 1 January are public holidays in France. Check each shop’s hours before you travel on 25 December, and plan your shopping for the day before or the day after.

Crowds on switch-on night. Commercial guides, Hellotickets and Cometoparis, advise avoiding switch-on night if you dislike crowds. Their usual advice: come on a weekday, later in the season (January), or early in the evening, before 6 pm. Hellotickets also suggests the avenue Montaigne as a less crowded alternative, with lights late in the evening. These sites sell excursion tickets, so take their advice with care. The 2026 dates for the avenue Montaigne lights have not been found.

The budget for an evening comes down to a few items. The avenue and its lights are free. The metro is paid per ticket: the t+ was announced at €2.55 for 2026, and the monthly Navigo pass for all zones at €90.80, according to the press, as the Île-de-France Mobilités pages were not opened. The market has an entry announced free by JDS, not confirmed by the City; purchases at the chalets are paid.

The most convenient station for the bottom of the avenue is Concorde. For the top, towards the Arc de Triomphe, it is Charles-de-Gaulle-Étoile. The lines below are the ones guides cite. Check them on the RATP website before you travel.

Source: search results from the RATP pages for line 1 and the RER A, not opened in detail, checked 25 October 2026. No station closure has been found for November or December 2026 on these pages.

A third-party site, Bonjour RATP (unofficial, 1 October 2026), flags night closures on the western and northern branches of the RER A from 9 to 13 November, then on 30 November 2026. This is not the central section, but check it on the RATP website before you take the RER A at Charles-de-Gaulle-Étoile.

A few practical points come up often. The City does not list the avenue’s public toilets in the pages we checked, and no information about cloakrooms was found. For access for people with reduced mobility during the festive period, no 2026 data is available. Guides warn about pickpockets near the big stations: keep your bag closed.

For the weather, normal temperatures are around 5 to 8°C in November and December, according to climate sources. They vary between the sites consulted, and no source documents the wind on the avenue: bring warm, waterproof clothing and comfortable shoes for the two kilometres.

7. By profile: family, couple, small budget

With family. The route is on foot, with no ticket to buy, which keeps the outing simple. Allow 25 to 30 minutes of non-stop walking for the two kilometres, and a stop at the market adds time. Guides describe the market and the lights as suitable for children. For another end-of-year outing, see our guide Christmas at Disneyland Paris 2026.

As a couple. Aim for late afternoon, then the 6:30 pm show if the 2026 edition repeats it. For a couple or a small group that wants a guide without organising the route, the Viator private tour presented above may suit. The listing includes a guide, a route mixing walking and taxi, and pick-up and drop-off in Paris. The price is per person: €300 per adult, checked on 25 October 2026 for two adults (€600 for two), and it can vary by date. Two points to keep in mind: the Ferris wheel, named in the tour title, is optional and paid separately (the listing shows a €20 supplement), and the listing is machine-translated.

Small budget. The whole route along the avenue is free, and the market has a free entry according to JDS’s announcement. Keep your spending to the metro (or to walking from Concorde) and one hot drink at the market. Dinner is outside our scope here: for an evening along the Seine, our guide to New Year’s Eve in Paris has ideas for experiences.

For 31 December. The New Year’s Eve concert of 2025 was cancelled at the Prefecture’s request, for security reasons. The 2026 programme has not been published. If you are planning a 31 December evening on the avenue, keep a backup. Our New Year’s Eve 2026 in Paris guide covers the experiences to book for that night.

For a first visit. One evening is enough: the market and the Concorde first, then the avenue up to the Arc, allowing time for a stop. To see other illuminated streets, the sources mention rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, whose lights run from late November to mid-January according to Cometoparis, with no official dates, and avenue Montaigne.

What other guides don’t tell you

Guides that target this search often repeat dates or hours as settled. Here are five points that official pages let us correct, with the date we checked them.

• Several guides present 22 November 2026 as a fixed date. On 5 October 2026, the Paris Tourist Office wrote that the 2026 dates will be added once officially announced. Paris Tourist Office, « Christmas in Paris » (checked 25 October 2026).
• The November pedestrian Sunday does not start at 11 am. Guides repeat 11 am to 6 pm, which applies from April to October. paris.fr gives 10 am to 5 pm from November to March. paris.fr, pedestrian Sundays (checked 25 October 2026).
• On switch-on evening, paris.fr lists no pedestrian day. The press announces an avenue closed to traffic on 22 November 2026, but the City’s list only includes 1 November. paris.fr, Paris Respire (checked 25 October 2026).
• The official market location is the bottom of the avenue. A Tourist Office page, still on the 2025 edition, mentions a village on the Place de la Concorde. The City’s call for applications places the market at the bottom of the avenue, Concorde side. paris.fr, call for applications (checked 25 October 2026).
• Not every department store has its date yet. For Galeries Lafayette, the press gives 12 November in one article and 14 November in another; BHV and Printemps remain to be confirmed. Sortiraparis, 2026 Christmas window displays (checked 25 October 2026).