Each year, the Chinese New Year festivities attract crowds of curious onlookers. Many of Paris’s districts are colourfully decorated, and parades, events and exhibitions are organized throughout the city. In 2023, Chinese New Year – also called Lunar New Year, Spring Festival or, by the Vietnamese, Têt Holiday – starts on Sunday 22 January and marks the start of the year of the Water Rabbit.
Chinese New Year is an opportunity to highlight the Asian cultures that celebrate it. To perpetuate this tradition, the Chinese Cultural Centre offers many events between 22 January and 5 February 2023, including the Chinese New Year concert on 25 January 2023 at 7pm.... The programme is rich and well thought out. The UGVF (General Union of Vietnamese in France) is also organising festivities, including a big party on 28 January 2023 at the Baltard Pavilion in Nogent-sur-Marne.
The traditional Parisian parade is organised on 29 January 2023. The departure is between 1 and 2 pm. An event to be experienced in the streets of the 13th arrondissement between Avenue de Choisy, Porte de Choisy and Avenue d'Ivry. On the programme: traditional music and costumes, cymbals, drums, tigers and colourful dragons and good humour. Two other parades are planned - in the Marais on Saturday 21 January 2023; on the Faubourg Saint-Honoré on 23 January 2023 - and many other events.
The online guide PARISCOSMOP references news, restaurants, good deals and shopping addresses in Paris according to country... without leaving the capital. China, South Korea and Asia in general have a place of choice.
The Cernuschi Museum and the Guimet Museum are the two major Parisian museums whose collections are devoted to Asian arts. These two major cultural venues are each offering a weekend of activities to mark the Chinese New Year. See you on Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 January 2023 at the Cernuschi Museum and on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 January 2023 at the Guimet Museum.
Finally, until March 5, 2023, Thoiry ZooSafari presents its annual Thoiry Lumières Sauvages festival: a hundred or so luminous and magical sculptures, some of which have been created by artists from the town of Zigong, located in the Chinese province of Sichuan.
Explore Paris, the well-known organizer of fascinating guided walks in Paris and the wider Paris region, offers various excursions centred on Paris’s rich Asian culture, such as the "Lunch or dinner tour in the heart of Belleville's Chinese quarter". But also, let yourself be tempted by the visit for children, Little Dragons of Chinatown, discovering the legends and beliefs in the heart of the Indochinatown of Paris.... An excellent way to lift the veil on the treasures contained in these districts. TheWaysBeyond and Le Vrai Paris also offer thematic and gourmet walks around China and Asia in Paris: "Welcome to China, in Paris", "The 13th arrondissement - From the Butte-aux-Cailles district to Indochinatown"...
Just walking through the streets Paris, you’ll come across some unusual edifices that look as though they’ve come straight from China.
At 48 rue de Courcelles in the 8th arrondissement, Mr Loo’s pagoda stands out from its surroundings. Although the museum it houses is currently closed, the building itself is worth the detour for its architecture. The same is true for the former pavilions of the 1931 Colonial Exhibition at Vincennes, which have been transformed into a pagoda. Today it is home to the largest Buddha in Europe, the International Buddhist Institute and the French Buddhist Union.
And in the 13th arrondissement, at Place Augusta Holmes, don’t be surprised to see parts of a dragon emerging from the pavement! This work of art by Chen Zen and Xu Min is called The Dance of the Emerging Fountain.
Typical dishes prepared for this special occasion include longevity noodles (the longer the noodles, the longer the life), dumplings, Lok Ba Go (Chinese turnip cake) and Bánh chưng (Vietnamese square sticky rice cake). Get a taste of Asia without leaving Paris – numerous restaurants are operating a click & collect or home delivery service.
Our recommendations include Mirama (17 rue Saint-Jacques, 75005) for their Peking duck, Les Pâtes Vivantes (46 rue du Faubourg Montmartre, 75009) for typical noodles, La Pâtisserie de Choisy (62 avenue de Choisy, 75013) for cakes and desserts, Gros Bao (72 quai de Jemmapes, 75010) for piping hot steamed buns, the Tse Yang restaurant (25 avenue Pierre 1er de Serbie, 75016) for their promotion of Chinese gastronomy and Panda Panda (21 rue Juliette Dodu, 75010) or 21g-Dumpling (167 rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine, 75011) for their excellent dim sum.
The gourmet restaurant Lili - located in The Peninsula Paris - is offering a special Chinese New Year menu to be enjoyed only on 21 January 2023 for dinner.
But don’t hesitate to try out local neighbourhood restaurants – they are sure to have some tasty dishes too!
More information on Asian cuisine restaurants in Paris
For an immersive cultural experience, shop for some specialities at one of the Tang brothers’ Asian supermarkets, then stop for refreshment at the Maison des Trois Thés (1 rue Saint-Médard, 75005) before dropping into the attractive Le Phénix bookshop (72 boulevard de Sébastopol), which specializes in Asian and Chinese literature.
A Forbidden City a stone’s throw from Paris? The Huatian Chinagora Hotel in Alfortville (1 place du Confluent-France-Chine, 94) will come as a surprise. This five-building complex, comprising a luxury hotel, a restaurant with a panoramic view, and reception rooms, is the work of Cantonese architect Liang Kunhao.
At Saint-Rémy-l’Honoré, in the Yvelines, the Yili garden is the first traditional Chinese garden to be created in France. Set in six hectares, its design incorporates the principles of yin and yang and architectural elements made from noble materials imported from China. Quieten your mind with a zen moment – a great way to begin the year of the ox!
