Events in France in December 2024 are spectacular.  In major towns and cities, Christmas markets spring up in the streets and squares. Many places light up their buildings in glorious technicolor. Then it’s time for a short Christmas holiday (only Dec 25th is a public holiday), before gearing up for New Year’s Eve. Events in December in France are many, varied and exciting.

French school holidays (les Vacances de Noël) run from Dec 22, 2024 to 5 Jan, 2025. It’s a busy time so plan your stay in advance.

Costumed figures dancing in front of crown in huge room at Chambord at Christmas
Christmas Entertainment at Chambord ©-Compagnie-Outre-Mesure-Remi-Angeli

More on How the French Celebrate Christmas

And most importantly, what they eat. French Christmas food is a serious matter!

Events in France in December 2024

To Dec 8, 2024: La Festival de Sainte-Barbe in Lens-Liévin, Pas de Calais. The main towns are holding celebrations of the saint who was martyred for her Christian faith on December 4, c. 2,000AD. One of 14 Holy Helpers, she’s invoked in thunderstorms so has become the patron saint of miners, armourers, artillerymen, military engineers and others who work with explosives. Look out for events in Ablain-Saint-Nazaire, Aix-Noulette, Angres, Billy-Montigny, Bouvigny-Boyeffles, Bully-les-Mines, Harnes, Lens, Liévin, Loison-sous-Lens, Noyelles-Godault, Noyelles-sous-Lens, Pont-à-Vendin, Sains-en-Gohelle, Sallaumines, Vendin-le-Vieil, Vimy, Wingles.
The main festival is held on the weekend of December 6-8, 2024.

Fete de Ste-Barbe with picture at night showing saint statue in middle of crowd surrounded by lanterns and miner with hats
Fete de Ste-Barbe ©Yannick Cadart

To Jan 5, 2025Nancy in east France is a spectacular festival with a special weekend December 7 & 8. Over 70 exhibitors attend the event in brightly lit chalets, offering the public original gift ideas, art and craft objects and local specialities.

Two huge giraffe (models) in square at Nancy St Nicolas Festival withpeople photographing and christmas tree to right
St Nicolas Festival in Nancy © Nancy Tourist Office

Late November–January 2025: Christmas Markets take place all over France. Strasbourg is particularly important in east France; in north France make for Arras. It’s a good way to celebrate Christmas in France.

Christmas Markets in North France in 2024
Christmas Markets in the rest of France in 2024. 

All month: Many towns and cities light up their buildings. Chartres is one of the best known (and one of the first), but you’ll find others throughout the country. I thoroughly recommend Le Puy-en-Velay, in the middle of the remote southern Auvergne. The buildings half way up its extraordinary volcanic outcrops look as if they are suspended in the sky. Magical.

Le Puy en Velay mairie lit up with red white and blue
Le Puy-en-Velay illuminations Luc Olivier

To Jan 5, 2025: The Lyon Contemporary Art Biennale was created in 1991. New contemporary artists, from sculptures to painters, photographers to video makers are represented. Three separate platforms are spread between the Contemporary Art Museum and La Sucrière on Quai Rambaud, La Veduta, a cultural laboratory with exhibitions and artists’ residencies, and Résonance, the biennial’s fringe event, devoted to the Rhône-Alpes art scene with performances and concerts. It alternates with the Dance Biennial which was created in 1984.

La Suriere building in Lyon showing 19th centry huge industrial building of concrete with huge glass winsows and words in red
La Sucriere in Lyon © Wikimedia/Buorrel

To Jan 14, 2024: Chartres en lumières sees this wonderful city illuminated for its annual festival of light. It’s nightly so there’s no excuse to miss it.  

Chartres lit up with multi coloured lights on the cathedral
Chartres lit up © Chartres Tourist Office

To Jan 26, 2025Paris Autumn Festival is a huge, prestigious arts events, taking in every discipline and taking place in different venues throughout Paris. Around 50 events cover the new and the avant-garde. It was created in 1972 by Michel Guy under the impetus of Georges Pompidou who wanted Paris to become a cultural capital. He succeeded; today around 150,000 people attend one of the events.

Paris Festival Wichaya Artamat with stuffed penguin in front or man in yellow robes and surreal strange background
Paris Festival: Wichaya Artamat

To Mar 7, 2025: Vendée Globe. Since 1989 and taking place every four years, this solo sailing race is known for being one of the toughest challenges in the world. Of the 40 skippers taking part, only two-thirds are expected to cross the finish line. The race starts at Les Sables d’Olonne, a resort on the French Atlantic coast which is one of the world’s great sailing harbours and is well worth visiting.

Aerial view of empty pontoons after the start of the Vendee Globe race
Pontoons after the start of the Vendee Globe © Blanchet/Alea

Here’s the article on the 2020 Vendée Globe race

Pip Hare standing on deck looking at the sunset on Nov 10 of the Vendee Globe
Pip Hare on November 10 © Pip Hare Vendée Globe 2020

Events in France starting in December 2024

Colmar christmas Market with lit stalls and snowy rooves
Colmar Christmas Market. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons

Dec 4-8, 2024: Les Trans Musicales Festival in Rennes, Brittany. Seeking out new musical trends, and new musicians since 1979, Les Trans has become synonymous with innovative, international music. Taking place at Rennes’ Exhibition Park, it produces some great new experiences.

Jawjar at Les Trans Music Festival in Rennes with blue background and tint and one man playing his guitar on stage
Jawhar at Les Trans © Pymousse/CC-BY-SA 4.0

December 5-8, 2024:  Fête des Lumières, Lyon, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. This wonderful Festival started on Dec 8, 1852 when people in Lyon lit candles in their windows to celebrate the statue of the Virgin Mary being erected on Fourvière hill. It’s lost the religious meaning today but remains a fabulous city with over 30 new creations of light each year.

Lyon cathedral facade litup for festival with lights mainly shandes ofblue and red radiating from central rose window at night with crowds in front
Lyon Cathedral © Muriel Chalet

Dec 6-8, 2024: Salon du Cheval de Paris. The Paris Horse Show is important, with over 500 horses taking part in the diverse events from show jumping to dressage, eventing to the Arabian horse championship.

Paris horse show with showjumper in full stretch over jump facing camera
Paris horse show © Eponimm/CC-BY-SA 4.0

The highlight is undoubtedly the Longines Masters de Paris, the European leg of the Longines world wide series with prestigious equestrian competitions like the Grand Slam Master and the Prestige Trophy.

Around 50,000 visitors come to the Paris-Nord Villepinte exhibition centre with its Olympic-standard course. You can shop (if youcan afford it) at the ‘Prestige Village’ where small boutiques offer fashion, luxury goods, horse-riding items, and of course excellent food and wine.

Dec 6-8, 2024: Chestnut Fair (Fiera di a Castagna) in Bocognano in Celavo, Corsica is called the chestnut festival but it includes cheeses, olive oil, honey, wine and more. In fact all the goodies grown and produced in Corsica from over 150 agri-food producers plus music, crafts like pottery, knife-making and woodwork, and more.
More about food festivals in France throughout the year.

Poster for chestnut fair in Corsica
Chestnuts Public domain via Wikimedia Commons

Dec, 2024: Licques Turkey Festival, Licques, Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France. This wonderfully strange festival where turkeys are celebrated is always held around the same weekend in Dec (probably Dec 6-8, 2024).  Hundreds of turkeys are released to “rampage” through the streets accompanied by local brotherhoods and dignitaries in all their finery! There’s also a gastronomic fair with wine tasting and food for all your Christmas luxuries.

Licques Turkey festival showing two ladies in costume in blue and white with curious headdresses
Licques Turkey Festival © Pays d’OpaleTourisme

Dec 7-8, 2024: Braderie de l’Art, Roubaix, Hauts-de-France. This artists’ 24-hour non-stop festival is right at the centre of the recycling movement. It’s a glorious event showing just what can be done by 150 international artists, designers, stylist, painters, sculptors and graphic artists. They take recovered articles gathered under the RE-COLLECT label and them into objects prices between 1 and 300 euros. It’s ‘Art that Everyone Can Afford‘ as the slogan reads.

Roubaiz Braderie de l'Art with stand showing odd animal sculptures made from recycled materials, with people looking on
Roubaix Braderie de l’Art © Jacob Khryst

Dec 7-14, 2024: Rise Festival, Les Deux Alpes. As they say: “We’re music-at-altitude, we’re 220km of pistes, we’re France’s second-oldest ski resort found on Europe’s largest skiable glacier, we’re six nights and seven days of partying and skiing.” Want to go to Rise Festival?

Rise Festival Les Deux Alpes with 3 girls posing on snowy ski slope
Rise Festival © Joe Hart

Dec 8, 2024: The Festival of Sainte Barbe, Lens-Lievin, Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France. Fires and illumination are lit and the bands are playing to commemorate and celebrate la Sainte Barbe in Lens-Lievin. She is the martyred patron saint of miners, skilled mechanics and firemen and it’s quite a show in this surprisingly exciting former mining area that is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Nightime with man breathing fire on procession in streets for La Sainte Barbe
La Sainte Barbe Fire Festival Photo: La Sainte Barbe Festival

Dec 13-15, 2024: Les Habits de Lumière at Épernay in Champagne is a great public celebration before Christmas. The lit up city puts on a big parade, fireworks, exhibitions, music, cellar tours, cookery demonstrations and bubbly tastings. And on Sunday there’s a vintage car parade. Visit some of the smaller houses and make your own discoveries.
I went in 2022; it was spectacular. Read about it here.
If you’re in Reims, consider a visit to one of the great Champagne Houses.

Les Habits de Lumières at Epernay showing main town hall lit up in red and orange
Les Habits de Lumières Photo: Epernay

Christmas in France 2024

Tables laid for christmas with decorated tree in background, and table with green cloth, red baubles and ribbon and glasses of champagne
Christmas © Wikimedia Commons/Jill Wellington

Dec 24-26, 2024: Christmas Eve is the time when French families and friends get together for an almighty feast with oysters, salmon, beef and more. On Christmas Day some families go to church; other people gather in bars in the morning. Many shops are open, but only to noon or 1pm. It’s a quiet day!

Dec 31, 2024: Le Reveillon, or New Year’s Eve, is very much a public holiday. So book a restaurant and get merry with the French who certainly know how to enjoy themselves. And stay in a city which celebrates it very publicly.

New Year’s Eve or Réveillon in Strasbourg. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons

How the French celebrate Christmas

Events in France in 2024

Events in France in January 2024
Events in France in February 2024
Events in France in March 2024
Events in France in April 2024
Events in France in May 2024
Events in France in June 2024
Events in France in July 2024
Events in France in August 2024
Events in France in September 2024
Events in France in October 2024
Events in France in November 2024

Geography of France

To help you find those events, here are a couple of articles on the geography of France

Regions of France
Departments of France

AND…

French Public Holidays

More about great Food Festivals in France

Happy Holidays!

Arras christmas market skating rink with families on ice
Arras Christmas Market © Arras Tourisme

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