Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/910948
TRAVEL winter in Paris 14 BCA A .COM WINTER 2017 Place de Concorde/Alamy/All Canada Photos, Directphoto Collection, iStock Joyeux Noël (Merry Christmas) Paris is truly a magical place during the holidays, when the city is festooned with light – the Champs-Élysées alone is lit up by 150,000 glittering seasonal orbs. An enormous Christmas tree is set up in the plaza in front of Notre Dame Cathedral, and the department stores glow with eye-popping festive displays. Be sure to check out the shops on the Boulevard Haussmann and the Rue de Rivoli. Christmas markets abound, including one at Trocadero Gardens overlooking the Eiffel Tower, and one along the Champs-Élysées. Disneyland Paris, 52 km east of the city, pulls out all the stops with dazzling decorations and photo ops with Santa. Faire du patin à glace (Go ice skating) Numerous outdoor ice skating rinks pop up around Paris in the winter. They are usually free, with skate rentals running in the €5–10 range. Popular ones include the outdoor rink at l'Hôtel de Ville (City Hall) and the indoor one at the spectacular Palais Royale. The loftiest rink in the city is located on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower. It's not huge, but the views are amazing. Profiter de l'art (Appreciate art) The trick to having kids enjoy visits to art museums is to make a game of it – but not spend too much time playing. Pick a picture at the Louvre and let the kids work out how to find it. And you can always sweeten the deal by promising to take them for a ride afterward on the gigantic Ferris wheel at Place de la Concorde, two Metro stops from the famous glass pyramid in front of the Louvre. Paris is full of art galleries, but kids tend to enjoy the colourful Musée d'Orsay – a converted railway station that is now a treasure trove of paintings by Impressionist artists – and of course the Musée National d'Art Moderne at the Centre Georges Pompidou. The building itself is fun to see, with its glass walls and colourful pipework. Many art galleries, including the Pompidou, have supervised areas where kids can experiment with various materials.