January 24, 2025
The most popular time to visit tourist-favorite France is typically during the summer, when families take advantage of school summer breaks to explore Europe. But France makes a spectacular family vacation destination during the winter as well!
France has a special place in my heart; I’ve visited the country multiple times, both solo and with family. Practically every corner of France is worth discovering—but here are three can’t-miss regions for you to build a fantastic trip around with your family during the winter holidays:
Les Arcs
This picture-perfect winter wonderland is located in Savoie, France—I actually learned to ski here when I was younger! It’s a family friendly area made up of five ski resorts that would make an ideal family escape during the winter break—and it would give you a break from other American tourists, since it’s a less well-known region of France.
In addition to skiing, the area offers ziplining adventures, sledding, and even hikes through the pristine snowy landscape. If you make it to the upper slopes, you can actually see all the way to the iconic Mount Blanc on a clear day!
Paris
Paris is a perennial favorite at any time of year, but the City of Lights feels especially festive during the holiday season. You can shop at Christmas markets that pop up around the city (including the stalls in the Tuileries near the Louvre), sip on rich hot chocolate and dig into Christmas sweet specialties like buche de noel, and admire the extravagant holiday window displays and towering indoor Christmas trees at the iconic Parisian department stores.
If older (or younger!) family members traveling with you get tired of spending all day on their feet, then that means it’s time to take a relaxing river cruise down the Seine. What’s great about visiting Paris in the winter, too, is that the Eiffel Tower starts to sparkle on the hour earlier in the evening (it only starts sparkling when the sun goes down, and the sun sets earlier in the winter). Take an evening Seine river cruise so that you can time it just right and see the sparkling Eiffel Tower lit up from the water!
Marseille
The South of France, including regional capital Marseille, seems more like a summer destination—but it’s definitely worth a visit during the winter as well. For one, it should be a bit warmer than northerly Paris, so it’s more enjoyable to stroll through Marseille’s cobblestone streets and along the Mediterranean waterfront.
But the city also gets festive during the wintertime as well. I remember on a winter visit of my own stumbling across vendors making detailed figurines for Nativity scenes at a market—talk about the perfect Christmas souvenir! You could also pair a trip to Marseille with Nice, a glitzier southern city on the coast that’s only a 2.5-hour train ride away. Ready to plan your family’s festive French getaway? Let’s get started! Book a complimentary consultation call to start planning with Trivedi World Travel now.
