Only one department-store window is on the Left Bank, and it's ours
If you are staying in the 7th and want to see Christmas windows without crossing the Seine, there is one address: Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche, 24 rue de Sèvres. The four other department stores that play this game every year are all on the other side of the river. It is a particularity of the neighborhood that people often forget to mention: the Left Bank does Christmas more discreetly, with a single rendezvous instead of a row of them.
This is no historical accident either. It was Le Bon Marché that introduced Christmas windows to Paris, in 1909, before the other stores joined in and the thing became the annual competition we know today. Nowadays, an estimated ten million people stop in front of these windows each year, across all stores.
The 2026 dates: what is known, and what is not
As we write this, in early October, most 2026 dates are still to be confirmed. Here is what has been published:
| Element | What we know |
|---|---|
| Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche, 24 rue de Sèvres, 7th | 2026 theme announced around colorful creatures and Parisian scenes, across four windows. Unveiling date not confirmed. |
| BHV Marais, 52 rue de Rivoli, 4th | Start announced on November 3 at 5pm, until December 31, subject to confirmation. Disney theme. |
| The three other department stores | Right Bank. Their 2026 dates are not published as of today. |
To get your bearings while waiting for more: Le Bon Marché inaugurated its windows on November 7 in 2025 and November 8 in 2024. Parisian department stores generally unveil their windows from the beginning of November. If you are coming in the second half of November or in December, you risk nothing. If you arrive the first week of November, write to us before finalizing your plans: we will check the date at the time of your stay.
How we advise you to go
On a weekday, after nightfall. That is the most useful piece of advice on this page. The windows are designed to be seen lit up, so at the end of the day, and on a Saturday afternoon in December on rue de Sèvres you will spend more time weaving around people than looking at the animations. A Tuesday at 6:30pm is a different evening.
With children, keep it short. Four animated windows is twenty minutes of wonder, not an hour. The classic trap is to follow it with a shopping session inside the store, packed at that time of year, and to end the evening with everyone exhausted.
In 2025, the store also set up a Christmas market inside, at 24 rue de Sèvres. We do not yet know if it will be renewed in 2026: that is the kind of detail we are happy to check for you at reception rather than asserting it here.
The rest of the evening, in the neighborhood
We are at 5 avenue Duquesne, in the same arrondissement, and an evening of windows pairs well with what the 7th does best in December: walking. The Champ de Mars and the esplanade des Invalides are at their best at night, when it is cold and the perspectives are empty.
If you come back late and frozen, our bar is open downstairs: a discreet, speakeasy-style spot with classic cocktails. That is how most of our guests use it in winter, a last drink without going back out.
Not to be confused with Christmas markets
Windows and Christmas markets are two different outings, and we are often asked about both in the same sentence. The windows are free, viewed from the sidewalk, and take half an hour. Christmas markets, on the other hand, require a real evening. We have dedicated two separate pages to them, including one about what sets up near us in the 7th.
One last thing, to organize your days: breakfast is served from 7:00am to 10:30am, check-in is from 3:00pm and check-out at 11:00am.