Galeries Lafayette’s Christmas Tree Returns: Santa’s Workshop Comes to Life Under the Dome
Paris officially switches into holiday mode when the Christmas tree goes up at Galeries Lafayette. This year’s display, running November 12-December 31, transforms the iconic Boulevard Haussmann store into Santa’s magical workshop—and it’s spectacular.
A 16-Meter Gift Wrapped in Wonder
The 2025 tree stands 16 meters tall, wrapped in 560 kg of ribbons like an enormous present, adorned with 8 km of LED garlands and 300 kg of fabric. But it’s not just the scale that stops you in your tracks.
This year, illustrator Jeanne Detallante—who’s worked with Carven, Prada, and Miu Miu—brings her whimsical vision to life. She dug through the store’s archives, pulling inspiration from decades of Parisian Christmas magic, then reimagined it all.
Her characters—busy elves, a baby elephant, a duck in boots—invade not just the windows but also the store’s gift wrap and bags.
The windows themselves tell a particularly festive story: Santa’s office, a massive printer churning out wrapping paper; and Detallante’s personal favorite—a banquet table draped in striking red moiré. It’s playful, nostalgic, and impossibly French.
Light Shows Every 30 Minutes
The tree comes alive with sound and light shows running every half hour, turning the Art Nouveau dome into a theater. Expect lots of people gathering, phones out, faces tilted up. It’s been this way since 1976.
A Tradition Born from Employee Parties
The Galeries Lafayette Christmas tree tradition started in 1920 as an internal employee party—workers and their kids gathered under the dome for a show and to admire the tree.
In 1976, after the Majorelle staircase was removed, the tree moved to the center of the main hall under the dome, and the tradition of hanging it there was born. That first year featured a bold 23-meter aluminum structure weighing 1.6 tons, made of 160 silver balls that took two months to create.
What started as an intimate celebration became one of Paris’s most-visited Christmas attractions. Each year since, the store partners with artists and designers to reimagine the tree—from Vivienne Westwood’s British cherubs in 1997 to Hilton McConnico’s 21-meter Swarovski masterpiece in 2012.
The Rooftop Ice Rink Returns
Starting December 1, the rooftop ice rink opens—skating with views of illuminated Paris and the Eiffel Tower sparkling in the distance.
It runs Monday-Saturday 10:30am-7pm, Sunday 11:30am-7pm. Tickets: €16 adults, €7.50 kids under 12.
When to Go
The tree and windows are free to visit anytime the store’s open. Early mornings on weekdays mean smaller crowds. Evening visits let you see the windows lit against the dark Paris sky—Boulevard Haussmann looks like a film set.
The grand opening ceremony happens on November 6, complete with festivities and this year’s celebrity guests.
For Detallante, this is a full circle. “The Galeries Lafayette windows were already an adventure when I was a kid,” she says. “The lights, Paris at night, the excitement of coming to admire these magical decorations every year. And now, I’m the one creating them.”
That’s the pull of this place. Every year, the tree changes. Every year, people come back because some traditions—ones wrapped in ribbons and lit from within—are worth keeping.
Galeries Lafayette Haussmann
40 Boulevard Haussmann, 75009
Metro: Chaussée d’Antin or La Fayette
November 12 – December 31, 2025
Free admission
