Witness the stunning Christmas tree display at the Galeries Lafayette

Perhaps the only real competitor of Printemps, the Galeries Lafayette is yet another luxury department store on the mighty Boulevard Haussmann of Paris. While it has branches in several parts of the world, the main store exudes a special aura of its own. Housing a magnificent art gallery, world class restaurants and the choicest of upmarket brands, this place seems to redefine opulence. However, the most striking aspect of the Galeries Lafayette is its vintage stained-glass dome and the gigantic Christmas tree that it is home to during the holiday season. The magnificence is one of a kind—it is 80 ft long and often hangs upside down, while the Art Nouveau dome acts as a canopy. It is as golden as a tree could possibly be and is embellished with hundreds of ornaments and gems that sparkle with grace. Moreover, an hourly light show makes it look more like a massive piece of jewellery than a tree. The sight is incredible and all visitors are entranced upon arrival.
Moreover, to add to all the excitement, Galeries Lafayette works hard to have theatric street displays for all of the window shoppers to relish. The one in 2015 had a wonderful Star Wars theme and several life-like R2-D2s and Darth Vader(s) could be seen posing in all their glory! The number of kids trying to get pictures with these exhibits was, as imagined, quite maddening.

When to go: December. Early evenings are the best.