Halloween in Paris

Halloween is definitely a much smaller affair in France than it is in the States, but if you're a Halloween fanatic like I am, it's worth putting in the extra effort to find something cool going on. When people from back home ask me if I miss anything about my life in the States, American-style Halloween is the first thing that springs to mind. When you're as Halloween-obsessed as I am, living in (or visiting) a country that barely acknowledges the holiday is tough!

An American import

The difference here simply comes from the fact that Halloween isn't part of France's culture — although there was a brief and mostly unsuccessful attempt to bring the commercial part of it over from America during the last ten years. For a couple years around the millenium it started to catch on, but it's been waning in recent years to the point of being practically non-existent now. This October, I've seen exactly two small Halloween displays in shop windows in Paris, in two totally different neighborhoods. The French don't decorate for Halloween, practically no one throws Halloween house parties (except us expats), there are no stores selling Halloween costumes (although there are several year-round costume shops), no one carves pumpkins, and kids don't trick-or-treat; in fact, a lot of French people I've talked to think trick-or-treating is just something in the movies! Or they think it's something we used to do fifty or a hundred years ago but it certainly isn't still a thing. And a lot of them think that's true of Halloween in general! Incredible. They can't believe it when I tell them what a big deal Halloween is for a lot of Americans, with the parties, the huge Halloween stores, the haunted houses and hayrides, and that all of this is for adults as well as kids. It's a drag; they don't know how much fun they're missing out on!

When life gives you pumpkins, make pumpkin-ade

Okay, so you're stuck in Paris, and it's Halloween, so you have to do something to celebrate! Fortunately, Parisians will use any excuse for a party, and there are in fact several bars and clubs in the city that advertise Halloween parties every year, and these may or may not satisfy your Halloween cravings at least somewhat. Be warned, these "Halloween" parties may or may not involve a jack o' lantern or two for decor, and maybe a handful of people will show up in costume, or maybe nobody will. The dj may or may not play Thriller. And that's it. It's just an excuse to have a party and have drink specials, really, and maybe hook a few tourists who're missing out on Halloween back home. Reading some of the various event listings this year (on this page and others, all of which are in French, sorry), I've seen a few parties advertised that mention things like, "guests in costume will be rushed to the front of the line" or that wearing a costume enters you in a drawing to win prizes, and that stuff's fine; I'm glad they're trying to get people into the spirit! But for me, Halloween is all about the spooky ambience, the ghosts and goblins, and you're just not going to find that at any party in Paris. But at least you can go out and drink and dance if you want! And I say, if you're from the States and Halloween is part of your culture, why not go ahead and put together an amazing costume to wear to the parties ? Even if you end up being one of only a few people in costume, your fellow revelers will certainly give you a ton of respect and great compliments for going all out for the holiday, I guarantee it. And besides, it's fun to wear a costume! Halloween is the one night you're allowed and no one will think you're crazy!

Try a walking tour of Paris' bloodiest landmarks

While there are no haunted houses you can visit in Paris, there is a guided "ghost tour," called Mysteries of Paris — The Paris Ghost Tour. See my review of the ghost tour here!

Family-friendly Halloween at Disneyland Paris

Every October, Disneyland Paris decorates the heck out of their park and adds lots of actors in pumpkin-head costumes and adorable sparkling pink witch outfits. I'm not a big fan of Disney stuff in general, but I'll admit this is a fun time! I had a couple friends visiting from the States a while back, and they'd wanted to check out Disneyland Paris and were kind enough to invite me along, and we had a blast! Of course the Disney Halloween ambience is mostly for kids, but still, this is actually probably the closest thing to the fun American Halloween vibe that you'll find anywhere in France. Throughout Halloween season there's a daily Villain Parade where all the Disney bad guys get the spotlight for once, and an absolute must-see is the Phantom Manor — the European counterpart to Disney's Haunted Mansion in their American parks — which is a fantastic and spine-tingling attraction all year round, and a definite highlight of the visit.

Not Halloween-y, but still spooky and cool

Of course, you can also visit Père Lachaise or any other eerie Paris cemetery to try to capture a bit of Halloween ambience, but of course they're only open during the daytime. Sadly the Catacombs are closed this year due to some vandalism in September, but hopefully they'll be open for next year. Even if there's nothing particularly Halloween-y about these places, hanging out with skeletons and crumbling tombs can be an okay substitute.

Happy haunting and joyeux Halloween!