By Harry Nara · Last updated
- Where
- Avenue des Champs-Élysées and the Arc de Triomphe
- Tickets
- Free
- Time of year
- December to January
- Dates
- Around the same dates every year
Thursday 31 December 2026 into Friday 1 January 2027, a public holiday. The City of Paris announces the Champs-Élysées programme in December, and the RATP lists the stations that close for the evening a few days before.
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Paris sees in the new year on the Champs-Élysées. The avenue closes to traffic for the evening, the City of Paris projects a video-mapping show onto the Arc de Triomphe in the run-up to midnight, and the countdown ends in fireworks over the arch. It is free and unticketed, and the crowd is enormous and cold. Métro stations around the avenue close for security in the afternoon and evening, while some lines run through the night. The alternative is a réveillon dinner, the long New Year’s Eve meal, booked well ahead.
What Paris New Year’s Eve actually is
The city has staged a New Year’s Eve show on the Champs-Élysées for more than a decade. In the most recent edition a video-mapping show with an original score played across the Arc de Triomphe, holding the crowd until midnight, when the fireworks went up from around the arch.
The avenue itself becomes the venue. It closes to traffic from the evening, police set up a security perimeter with searches at the entrances, and the crowd stretches from the Étoile down towards the Concorde.
For Parisians the night is as much about the table as the street: the réveillon de la Saint-Sylvestre is a long dinner with oysters, foie gras and champagne, at home or in a restaurant that runs a set menu for the night.
Where to be
- The upper Champs-Élysées. The closer you are to the Arc de Triomphe, the better the light show, and the earlier you need to arrive: the top of the avenue fills well before eleven.
- Further down the avenue. Around the Rond-Point and towards the Concorde the crowd thins, the fireworks are still visible above the arch, and leaving afterwards is far easier.
- A réveillon table. Brasseries, bistros and Seine cruises run New Year’s Eve menus; book months ahead for the well-known names, and expect prices well above an ordinary dinner.
Tickets and what it costs
The show is free and unticketed. Bring as little as you can: bags are searched at the entrances, and glass bottles and fireworks are not welcome in the crowd.
Réveillon dinners are the paid part of the night, from a neighbourhood bistro’s set menu to several hundred euros a head at the grand addresses, and hotels near the avenue are at their dearest of the winter.
Official information and booking: www.paris.fr/pages/retour-en-images-sur-la-soiree-du-nouvel-an-sur-les-champs-elysees-33440
Getting there
Stations around the Champs-Élysées, from Charles de Gaulle–Étoile to Concorde, have closed for security from the afternoon, so arrive on foot from a station further out. Some Métro lines, line 1 among them, have run through the night; check the RATP for this year’s plan.
Taxis and ride-hailing are scarce and expensive after midnight. By the small hours it is usually only a few degrees above freezing, so dress for standing still in the cold.
Mistakes worth avoiding
Heading for the Eiffel Tower
The city’s fireworks are at the Arc de Triomphe, not the tower, which only sparkles on the hour as on any night.
Getting off at Charles de Gaulle–Étoile
Stations around the avenue close for the evening. Walk in from a station further away.
Arriving at half past eleven
The best spots near the arch fill hours before midnight. Be there by ten.
Leaving dinner to chance
Réveillon tables at well-known places sell out months ahead. Book early, or pick a neighbourhood bistro’s set menu.
Other Paris events
Frequently asked questions
Where are the New Year’s Eve fireworks in Paris?
At the Arc de Triomphe, at the top of the Champs-Élysées, after a video-mapping show on the arch. The Eiffel Tower is not the setting for the city’s fireworks.
Is New Year’s Eve on the Champs-Élysées free?
Yes. It is free and unticketed, with security searches at the entrances to the avenue.
Does the Paris Métro run all night on New Year’s Eve?
Some lines have run through the night, but stations around the Champs-Élysées close in the afternoon and evening. Check the RATP’s plan for the year.
What is a réveillon?
The long celebratory dinner on New Year’s Eve, and on Christmas Eve, with oysters, foie gras and champagne; restaurants offer set menus for the night.
When is New Year’s Eve in Paris?
On the night of the 31st, with New Year’s Day a public holiday; the dates card above shows this year’s.
Sources
- Ville de Paris, the New Year’s Eve show on the Champs-Élysées (French)
- Sortiraparis, the RATP station closures in a recent year
Dates on this page are checked against the organiser’s own listing and confirmed through 2027. Written and maintained by Harry Nara.