In keeping with tradition, the facades of Parisian department stores (Printemps Haussmann, Galeries Lafayette, BHV MARAIS, The Samaritaine, Bon Marché Rive Gauche are adorned with the most stunning festive decorations.
Shop windows also put on a show with amazing theatre sets featuring animated figures and magical decor in an interactive world … great fun to watch! Enchanting universes, devised and created by gifted artists and designers, are still a source of wonder for both children and grown-ups. The 2023 edition will amaze many!
This year, the department store has entrusted its Christmas decorations to the fashion designer Charles de Vilmorin and the Atelier Bournillat. The designer tells an enchanting tale in which a little girl and a magic brush travel through an imaginary country in search of their dreams. Their voyage of discovery unfolds in the course of a dozen tableaux for passers-by to marvel at. Decorations abound inside, and each floor is adorned with enchanted characters, magnificent decorations and sparkling lights.
This year too, like every year since 1976, a huge fir tree (more than 15 metres tall) has been placed under the store’s art nouveau dome. It is right at the centre, rising through all the floors, and can be admired close-up from a glass walkway. Christmas magic is well and truly at work here.
From 15 November to 31 December 2023.
© Stephane Feugere
This year, Printemps draws passers-by straight into an enchanted Christmas fable in a window display inaugurated by Catherine Deneuve. The tableaux comprising the animated display and the compositions inside the building feature winged messengers – who are bright, sparkling, joyful and colourful – bearing letters expressing the wishes of people around the world. They are greeted by owls while the birds wait. The story ends with all the wishes being granted. This wonderfully poetic tale is magnificently staged, and the paper theme can be seen in various details, like the superb 11-metre-high paper library and the giant Christmas tree made of paper in the Atrium. As always, the store has done things on a lavish scale with around 170,000 decorative elements in paper including 95 animated characters, 3.4 km of lighted garlands and 170 Christmas trees. This year, Printemps has once again unveiled a wonderfully creative world.
From 9 November 2023 to 1st January 2024
Across the way from Paris City Hall, which is hosting a Christmas village as it does every year, the BHV Marais store is a must-do for people who are keen on Christmas decorations. Every year, passers-by stare in wonder at the magnificent illuminated displays on the store’s façade, and 2023 is no exception. Both in the window displays and the inside of the store, the theme is a journey for people of all ages into an enchanted forest filled with glittering tree branches and stupendous Christmas trees, as well as encounters with animals such as bears, foxes and hedgehogs. Besides the decorations, BHV is also putting on a special festive programme featuring **workshops (including a Santa Claus workshop) and a Christmas market. **
From 8 November 2023
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© Samaritaine
Opulence and deliciousness are the themes of the year-end festivities at La Samaritaine. The window displays have a festive feel, with trays of sweet treats, Christmas trees and wonderful decorations proving a foretaste of the delights that await inside the store. Step inside and you’ll discover the world of Willy Wonka, created in partnership with Warner Bros to celebrate the release of the film ‘Wonka’, together with beautifully done Christmas decorations and works by the artists Gab Bois and Thomas Liu Le Lann, such as the giant lollipops right in the middle of the store. In the run-up to Christmas, the railings of the atrium have been adorned with a huge Advent calendar which has surprises in store for customers every day.
From 8 November 2023 to 9 January 2024
Teddy bears have taken over the window displays of the Bon Marché this year. They feature in four different tableaux, having fun, making the most of everything, partying and livening up the bakery and the kitchen garden. Inside the Bon Marché, there are reminders of Christmas on every floor: themed displays, gifts piled up under four lavishly decorated trees, a little wooden chalet, a fireplace and more. The Christmas spirit is everywhere, with spectacular illumination including light balls and garlands. At nightfall, after hours, the store is hosting the Cirque le Roux troupe, who put on an enchanting show titled ‘Entre Chiens et Louves’ (Dogs and she-wolves), with acrobats taking over the entire space. A delightful experience!
From 10 November 2023
