Thanksgiving in Paris Is One of the Most American Things You Can Do

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In 2018, I spent Thanksgiving in Paris. It had been a particularly banner year for me: I’d just started a cool new job and sold my first book, a memoir, to a big publisher. Emboldened by my blessings, I rode my high all the way to the French capital that autumn with two friends in tow, who had yet to see Paris.

It was my fourth visit, so I took them to my favorite spots: the coffee shop at Shakespeare and Company, Café de Flore for chocolat chaud, the dance floor at Hôtel Particulier in Montmarte. I got to share firsts with them too, like a brunch spot called Hardware Société, which is now one of my go-tos, and the Louvre. I never got to do the latter during my first visit to the city in 2016; my mother and I took a photo together in front of the museum’s iconic glass pyramid, but she did not care to see the art. In Paris for Thanksgiving with my friends, I FaceTimed her to show her the Mona Lisa. My little winged victory: She teared up—not at the art, she said, but at how happy I was.

For “Mercigiving,” as we took to calling it, my friends and I went to Maceo, where the kitchen gamely accommodated the exacting dietary needs of one of my companions. With French wine and ginger beer, we toasted to how far we had come from our humble beginnings, and to how far we still wanted to go. During the trip, one of them wrote in an Instagram post, “Pro tip: Pick a travel companion who's already in love with your destination.” Her photo was of me at the Place Saint-Michel in the sixth arrondissement. It was a rainy day, but I was smiling like the sun and thankful.

I recall that 2018 trip now and realize it was the prelude to a series of unhappy events in my life that began in 2019 and unfolded in the following years: the return of my mother’s cancer, the pandemic, the death of my mother, the time I lost my job, the time I got hit by a car, the death of my father. I list these things not to say I have had little to celebrate in the last five years, but to take a candid tally. I admit, until I wrote this paragraph, I hadn’t truly registered what I’d been through in the last five years. It all makes me sad, yet grateful to be here. So, to mark acceptance of the past and gratitude for the present, I have booked another trip to Paris, my 12th. I will once again celebrate Mercigiving—this time on a solo trip.

Choosing to spend the most American of holidays in Europe might seem counterintuitive, and yet I know for a fact I won’t be the only one—let alone the first—to do it. Whenever I mention my holiday plans to friends, many immediately recount their own fabulous experiences spending Thanksgiving in Paris as tourists and how, sans obligations, they’d do it again in a heartbeat. Curious about the local take on the matter (and wanting to see if I could score an invite to dinner), I asked my American pals in the city if they make a habit of celebrating Turkey Day in France. Most of them said that they gladly do.

“Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays—not for the historical meaning, but more for the food and fellowship with friends and family,” says photographer and director Cédric Terrell. He splits his time between New York and Paris, but uses the fourth Thursday in November to bond with fellow Americans in the French capital, as well as to share Southern cooking traditions with his Parisian community. Gabrielle Pedriani, a PR and media relations consultant and recent arrival in Paris, says she engages in Thanksgiving traditions like preparing dinner to feel connected to those she loves in the United States: “For my family, Thanksgiving is about cooking, having quality time together, kind of luxuriating in a slow way of life. In Paris, even when I can’t be with my family, I try to recreate that feeling of gratitude, connection, and gentle indulgence.”

When you move to a new place, you start to yearn for things that once seemed mundane. That's how it was for Daniela Cadena, a writer and content strategist who relocated to Paris four years ago. “I was never into Thanksgiving in the past, but now it’s become one of my favorite holidays to celebrate,” she says. Last year, Cadena threw a Thanksgiving dinner at her apartment for the first time, although she says it would also be her last: “Finding a turkey here is a mission! And my place isn’t big enough for all the Americans in Paris.” But Americans weren’t the only ones in attendance. Among the guests was a French friend who said it was her “dream” to celebrate the holiday. Cadena says, “I think she’s just probably seen Thanksgiving portrayed a lot in movies and TV shows, so she wanted to have that experience in real life.”

This popularity of French Thanksgiving is a somewhat recent development, says Lindsey Tramuta, a contributing writer for Condé Nast Traveler who has been based in Paris since 2006. Back then, Thanksgiving was very much not part of the expat or immigrant experience, she says, but social media helped change that: “Americans seeing photos of other Americans celebrate in Paris or in France over the holiday, typically with friends, went a long way in reminding people that Thanksgiving can be done with your chosen family.”

Tramuta says that, though Thanksgiving celebrations in France have historically been potluck-style and held at home, more and more restaurants and hotels are scoring a piece of the pecan pie. They're getting guests—locals and tourists alike—into the festive mood (and their businesses) by offering special tasting menus, events, and deals on stays. Le Royal Monceau, Raffles Paris, for example, offered a “Frenchgiving” dinner for the first time in 2023—and they're doing it again this year, on Thursday, November 28.

It makes sense: Americans always make up a large portion of tourists in Paris, especially during the festive season, according to Nicolas De Gols, the hotel’s general manager. Why not give them a hearty US tradition garnished with a little French sophistication? Besides, he says, “A holiday celebration with caviar and Champagne with a view of Arc de Triomphe sounds spectacular to me.”

There's something harmonious, I think, to the act of spending Thanksgiving in Paris—or anywhere outside the US, really. There's that truth universally acknowledged: travel pulls us out of the chaotic whirl of our lives—occupied perhaps by jobs, commutes, and kids (in my case, windowsill herbs)—and gives us an opportunity to get into a new rhythm or shift our perspectives. Pair that with this holiday that encourages us to self-reflect, to consider what we're thankful for, and you get a confluence of introspective energies ideal for a soul-searching or soul-satisfying trip abroad.

That said, if you just wanna miss the messy domestic travel circuit during the holiday weekend, that’s as good a reason as any to leave the country. So why not, in dark times or otherwise, travel to the City of Light?

Where to spend Thanksgiving in Paris

Le Royal Monceau, Raffles Paris: On November 28, the Palace hotel's restaurant, Le Bar Long, will offer a special six-course Thanksgiving dinner of French-influenced dishes, featuring the likes of yellow chicken of the Landes and a vegan tarte tatin (standing in for American apple pie, naturally). Dinner starts at $163 (€150) per person, with a supplementary wine pairing.

Hôtel des Grands Voyageurs: From November 25 to 30, this sleek hotel on the Left Bank is offering a three-course Thanksgiving dinner at their Grands Voyageurs Brasserie. The menu includes a pumpkin velouté, pressed poultry with chestnuts, a parsnip purée, charred corn, and—of course—cranberry sauce. There’s a pecan tart for dessert, topped with Fontainebleau cream for a French touch. In addition to the culinary offerings, the hotel is offering special room rates starting at $249 a night. Dinner starts at $59 (€55).

La Réserve Paris: This luxe hotel and spa is offering a “Thanksgiving Bliss” stay and experience that includes complimentary breakfast, VIP amenities, and a four-course Thanksgiving dinner for two on November 28 created by chef Jérôme Banctel and served at their restaurant La Pagode de Cos. This offer is available from November 25 to December 2, and bookings must include the night of Thanksgiving. Rooms start at $2,100 a night.

Airelles Château de Versailles, Le Grand Contrôle: Just an hour outside of Paris by train, this sumptuous hotel on the grounds of, yes, the Château de Versailles is offering Thanksgiving dinner services from November 27 to 30. The menu, designed by French culinary master Alain Ducasse, is classically American: turkey with cranberry sauce, sweet potato purée, pecan pie. Dinner starts at $322 (€300); wine pairings start at $217 (€200); call or email to make reservations.

Treize au Jardin: Located in the Latin Quarter of Paris, this tea room, brunch spot, patisserie, and event venue is celebrating Thanksgiving from November 24 to the end of the month. The kitchen is going full-tilt American with turkey roulade (guest's choice of dark or light meat), mushroom gravy, sweet potato crumble, and the holy trinity of apple, pumpkin, and pecan pie. Dinner starts at $79 (€73) per person; reach out through their contact form to make reservations.

ChoCho: At this uber-cool restaurant by Thomas Chisholm, a French American and alum of Top Chef, a seven-course Thanksgiving menu will be served on November 28, featuring classics like Brussels sprouts, roasted turkey, New York cheesecake (Chisholm grew up in Brooklyn), as well as familiar food with gourmand twists like macaroni and cheese with black truffles (the real stuff, to be sure). Dinner starts at $103 (€95) per person; make reservations on their website.

Milagro: There will be three Thanksgiving dinner services from November 28 to 30, with two seatings each night, at this bistronomic restaurant near the Eiffel Tower, helmed by American chef Justin Kent, the talent behind the popular cafe Zia. The menu includes turkey with all the fixings, pumpkin pie, and the classic haricots verts (green beans). Dinner starts at $82 (€75) per person; make reservations on their website.

We will update this list with more Thanksgiving in Paris offers as they pop up.

Originally Appeared on Condé Nast Traveler

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