Thanksgiving in Paris in 2026: Dinner, Turkey and Good Addresses

A Thursday like any other in France

Thanksgiving does not exist in the French calendar. Thursday 26 November 2026 is a working day: banks, shops, supermarkets, the métro and museums all run to their normal hours. The Louvre opens from 9am to 6pm, and Thursday is one of the late-opening evenings at the Musée d'Orsay, open until 9:45pm. So you can go sightseeing during the day and have dinner in the evening without rearranging anything.

Two practical consequences:

• Restaurants are not overrun by Parisians, but the few tables offering a Thanksgiving menu fill up quickly, because the whole American community is aiming for the same addresses.
• A whole turkey is not a standard product at the end of November. Poulterers sell them mainly for Christmas. You need to order one, not hope to find it on the day.

As for formalities, Americans do not need a visa for a tourist stay of less than 90 days: the details are in our guide to visas for Paris for Americans.

Where to celebrate Thanksgiving in a restaurant

Restaurants announce their menus in November, often three or four weeks before the date. Book as soon as reservations open: Thursday evening sittings are the first to fill up. The addresses below offered a Thanksgiving menu in 2025, and most do so every year: check the 2026 programme directly with each establishment.

The long-standing American restaurants

Breakfast in America has been serving a Thanksgiving meal for more than twenty years. In 2025, the menu cost €54 per person (aperitif, starter, turkey with gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes with maple syrup, green bean casserole, pumpkin or pecan pie), on Thursday and Friday evenings, with two sittings at 6pm and 8:30pm. Three addresses:

• 17 rue des Écoles, 75005 Paris (Latin Quarter)
• 4 rue Malher, 75004 Paris (Marais)
• 2 rue Saint-Philippe-du-Roule, 75008 Paris (near the Champs-Élysées)

Joe Allen, 30 rue Pierre-Lescot, 75001 Paris, opened in 1972, bills itself as the oldest American restaurant in Paris. It offers a Thanksgiving menu every year; in 2025, the full set menu (starter, main course, dessert, coffee) cost €50, with a choice of turkey, ham or grilled tuna.

Neighbourhood spots and Southern cooking

• Treize au Jardin, 5 rue de Médicis, 75006 Paris, opposite the Jardin du Luxembourg: Southern-inspired cooking, roast turkey and trimmings, €73 in 2025.
• Milagro, 85 avenue Bosquet, 75007 Paris: Franco-American chef, roast and confit turkey, €75 in 2025, to eat in or take away.
• Cali Sisters, 17 rue Notre-Dame-des-Victoires, 75002 Paris: Thursday menu at €45 in 2025.

Hotels and smarter addresses

• Hôtel des Grands Voyageurs, 92 rue de Vaugirard, 75006 Paris: menu served throughout Thanksgiving week from 7pm, €69 in 2025.
• Paris Marriott Champs-Élysées, 70 avenue des Champs-Élysées, 75008 Paris: Thursday dinner from 6pm, €69 in 2025.
• Rivages, Sofitel Le Scribe Paris Opéra, 1 rue Scribe, 75009 Paris: Thursday dinner from 7pm, €85 in 2025.
• Le Drugstore, 133 avenue des Champs-Élysées, 75008 Paris: Thursday menu at €89 in 2025.

Service is included in the bill in France; a tip remains optional. To know what to leave, see our guide to tipping in France.

The American Church in Paris community dinner

The American Church in Paris, 65 quai d'Orsay, 75007 Paris, holds a Thanksgiving dinner every year that is open to all, served family-style: whole roast turkeys, trimmings and desserts. In 2025, it took place on Saturday 29 November at 7pm, in the church's theatre hall, at a price of €45 per adult, €25 for ages 5 to 11 and free for children up to 4. Places are limited and sold online on the church's website: book as soon as the 2026 edition is announced. It is the simplest option for a solo traveller or a family wanting to share the meal with other Americans living in Paris.

The American Cathedral in Paris, 23 avenue George-V, 75008 Paris, an Episcopal church, was consecrated on Thanksgiving Day 1886. It celebrates the Eucharist every Sunday at 11am, in English; on Sunday 29 November 2026, it is a chance to attend a service in English. Its online calendar gives details of any special services or concerts at the end of November.

Buying a turkey and American products

If you are staying in a flat with an oven, you can cook it yourself. Bear in mind that Parisian ovens are often small: a 4 to 5 kg turkey will fit, an 8 kg one rarely will.

American grocers

• The Real McCoy, 194 rue de Grenelle, 75007 Paris (métro École Militaire): the go-to American grocer. In November, it takes orders for raw or cooked turkeys, with stuffing and cranberry sauce, and sells pumpkin and pecan pies, fresh cranberries, tinned pumpkin purée, and stuffing and cornbread mixes. Opening hours noted in September 2026: Tuesday to Saturday, 11am–7pm.
• La Grande Épicerie de Paris, 38 rue de Sèvres, 75007 Paris, part of Le Bon Marché: a section of American products (sauces, spreads, cereals, baking mixes) and quality poultry.
• Costco, in Villebon-sur-Yvette (Essonne) and Pontault-Combault (Seine-et-Marne): American bulk sizes, membership card required, a car virtually essential.

The Thanksgiving grocery, opened in 1990 and for many years the American address in the Marais, has closed for good: don't rely on old guides that still mention it.

Ordering a turkey from a poulterer

Ask for a whole free-range turkey (dinde fermière) at least a week in advance. A few addresses known for their poultry:

• Le Coq Saint-Honoré, 3 rue Gomboust, 75001 Paris
• Boucherie Gardil, 44 rue Saint-Louis-en-l'Île, 75004 Paris
• Au Chapon d'Aligre, Marché d'Aligre, place d'Aligre, 75012 Paris

Specify the weight you want and ask for an oven-ready bird (drawn and trussed). Without an oven, the cooked turkey from The Real McCoy remains the simplest solution.

Black Friday in Paris, 27 November

The day after Thanksgiving, Friday 27 November 2026, is Black Friday. The practice has taken hold in France: the big electronics, beauty and fashion chains advertise discounts, often over a "Black Week" that starts a few days before and runs until Cyber Monday, Monday 30 November 2026.

A few pointers:

• These are not sales in the legal sense: discounts are unregulated and vary from shop to shop. The real winter sales start in January.
• The department stores on boulevard Haussmann and rue de Rivoli are very busy on Saturdays: aim for Friday morning.
• For tax-free shopping, purchases made on the same day in the same shop must exceed a minimum threshold to qualify for a VAT refund when leaving the European Union; ask at the tax-free desk before paying.

What to do over Thanksgiving weekend

At the end of November, Paris enters the Christmas season. Several events fall around this date:

• The lights on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées are switched on in mid- or late November and stay up until early January. In 2025, the switch-on took place on Sunday 16 November; the 2026 date is announced in the autumn.
• The animated windows of the department stores on boulevard Haussmann are unveiled in early or mid-November, so they can be seen over Thanksgiving weekend.
• Christmas markets mostly open in mid-November. In 2025, the one in the Jardin des Tuileries opened in mid-November.

Remember to wrap up: at the end of November, temperatures in Paris often drop below 10°C and night falls at around 5pm.

Summary: Thanksgiving 2026 in Paris

Prices noted in September 2026, based on the 2025 menus; the 2026 menus are published in November.

Further reading

If you are staying on into December, our guide to Christmas in Paris brings together markets, ice rinks and lights. To plan your visit to boulevard Haussmann, read the department store Christmas windows. And if you plan to shop beyond Black Friday, our guide to the sales in Paris gives the dates and rules for the winter sales.