Tonight in Paris, mayor Bertrand Delanoë and actress Diane Kruger will switch on the famous Champs-Elysées Christmas lights, officially marking the beginning of the festive season in the French capital. The Marché de Noël is already casting a spell over visitors (we checked it out yesterday)-- with some 160 authentic wood chalets, built in the Vosges mountains, offering artisanal crafts, hot mulled wine, sweet treats, and gifts… Not to mention the ice skating rink. The Christmas market will run until January 6, 2013.
And as of today, this festive avenue will be illuminated with colorful lights. Stretching 2.5 kilometers from the Arc de Triomphe to the Place de la Concorde, the avenue’s 200 trees will be encircled with luminous light rings. What’s more, the city will be using LED lights to reduce energy consumption, and they will be powered entirely by solar electricity produced in the Pyrenées-Orientales-- thus leaving a zero carbon footprint. The lights will be illuminated every evening from 5 pm- 2 am until January 10, 2013.
Photo courtesy of Paris.fr, credits: Mairie de Paris/ Deborah Lesage