Staring down the Champs-Elysees the very second the Christmas lights set the grand avenue sparkling is a reminder that no place does the holidays quite like Paris – and there has rarely been a better time to sample the luxe life as only the Parisians can dream it. Indeed, anyone with merriment on their minds just now might consider a visit to the French capital, abuzz as it is with new outlets for indulgence.

For “fooding,” as the French say, it is hard to do better than the newly refurbished gourmet restaurant Les Ambassadeurs, inside the Hotel de Crillon (10 Place de la Concorde, 01-44-71-16-16). But just steps from the Champs-Elysees there is La Table du Lancaster (7 rue Berri, 01-40-76-40-76), the restaurant by Michel Troisgros, inside a boutique hotel that started out in 1889 as a Spanish noble’s townhouse. The menu is organized by themes such as “witty,” “zesty,” “sharp,” and “sweet,” and features products the three-star chef appreciates for their freshness and acidic notes. My trio of red mullets ($42) was cushioned by a bed of shredded pink grapefruit, but my partner’s piquant sole meuniere ($50) with coriander, clove, and jumbo capers won out for flavor. The ball was back in my court with the vacherin glace aux fruits rouges ($19), a brilliant and copious convergence of vanilla-verbena ice-cream, meringue, and strawberry sorbet.

A meal or two like that is enough to drive one to the spa. Among the latest is La Bulle Kenzo (1 rue Pont Neuf, 01-73-04-20-04), inside the new Kenzo fashion building, one floor below Kong (the restaurant where a scene from the final episode of “Sex and the City” was shot). Bulle is French for “bubble,” and there are two of these self-styled sensory toolsheds side by side on the spa floor. The “sparkling” one is decorated with long strands of plastic and bathed in a soft yellow light. On the inside, a mirrored disco ball is suspended over a massage table. The inside of the “cocoon” bubble is more Zen than zany, with a floor-level massage table and soft changing lights.

What goes on inside these high-tech pampering pods? A Candlelight and Rice Grain Massage ($105), perhaps, or a Marshmallow Massage ($92) for hands, face, and feet, in which “clothed, flopped down, and sucked in,” the body nestles into an almost illegally comfortable bean bag, and for 45 minutes is rubbed in all the right ways. In the Tactile and Climatic Variations for Body, Face, and Skin treatment ($132),”hot or cold unidentified flying and stimulating objects land gently on expectant skin.”

Les Bains du Marais (31-33 rue des Blancs-Manteaux, 01-44-61-02-02) isa 600-square-foot Moroccan-style spa that looks like it could have been airlifted out of Marrakech. Well-heeled Parisians – and stars like Liv Tyler and Leonardo DiCaprio when they’re in town – unwind in the large underground hammam ($40) and then chase down a good soaking among the mosaic tiles and colonnades with an Oriental massage ($40). Upstairs, there’s a Moroccan-style tea room. The spa is open to women from Monday to Wednesday, to men on Thursdays and Fridays, and to both men and women on weekends.

The sleek new I-Spa by Algotherm (2 rue Scribe, 01-40-07-36-96) is tucked into the Intercontinental Le Grand Hotel, across the street from the resplendent Opera House. This is a thalassotherapy spa with a modern health club component. Some treatments ($92-$158) use marine mud from the bay of Mont St. Michel.

As for hotels, the spotlight shines on Murano Urban Resort (13 Blvd. du Temple, 01-42-71-20-00,paris@muranoresort.com),the ultimate address in the Parisian it-district of the moment, the Upper Marais. It’s a marriage of bright chandeliers and gorgeous mirrors from Murano, the Venetian island, with a bleached-white aesthetic that will make Wallpaper fans feel right at home. There are just 52 rooms and suites, two of which have private swimming pools. A digital imprint opens your door and once inside you can modulate the light to pink, blue, or whatever hue fits your frame of mind.

A plastic forest of rounded white stalactites hangs from the high ceiling over the main dining room of the hotel restaurant, where the music is loud and the cuisine is light, with such dishes on offer as roasted sea bass with sweet Cevennes onion ($42) and a delicate vegetarian lasagna ($18). A special Christmas weekend package (December 23-26) lets you experience it all in style: three nights in a deluxe double room, champagne and welcome gift upon arrival, Christmas dinner, breakfast, Sunday brunch, late check-out option (until 4 p.m.), and round-trip airport transfer, for $975 for two persons a night.

What would Christmas in Paris be without the Meurice (228 rue de Rivoli, 01-44-58-10-09, www.meuricehotel.com)? General Manager Dominique Borri keeps this intimate, gleaming palace hotel au courant with a stream of innovations, the latest of which is the mille-feuille madness at the hotel’s two-Michelin-star restaurant. A bespoke version of the classic dessert is the brainchild of 23-year-old head pastry chef Camille Lesecq, and here’s how it works: A generous serving of mousse is followed by a coating of rich sauce and sprinkling of dried fruits, pistachios, or caramelized pine nuts. The headwaiter then cuts a large piece of puff pastry. At each stage, the lucky diner gets to choose the flavors – chocolate mousse, vanilla sauce, and coffee-flavored pastry is just one possibility ($29 a person).

Until January 2, the Meurice’s lobby, gallery, and gilt salons are adorned with Christmas trees as imagined by top Parisian florists such as Stephane Chapelle, Fabienne Descamps, and Christian Tortu. All this adds up to beaucoup de Yuletide spirit. There are Christmas and New Year’s packages starting at $1,410 for two nights.

If you want to paint the town rouge on a budget, consider staying in your own flat. Of the many furnished-apartment rental agencies I have had dealings with in Paris over the years, none compares to Absolu Living (01-44-54-97-00, www.absoluliving.com) for quality and service. Catering to a gay clientele but friendly to all, Absolu offers an array of cool pied-a-terres in the Les Halles and Marais districts starting at about $115 a night.

In keeping with the spirit of the season, I will close on a shamelessly materialistic note. For the best shopping deals in Paris, head to La Vallee Village (3 Cours de la Garonne, 01-60-42-35-00), a designer outlet center before Disneyland Paris on the RERA commuter train. Here you can snap up ready-to-wear from the likes of Christian Lacroix, Agnes B., and Givenchy at prices discounted by a third or more. A 10% off coupon is yours for the asking at the welcome center, and if you spend more than 184 euros (roughly $240) in any one store you can receive another 13% or so off when you leave the country. Check www.lavalleevillage.com for directions from Paris.

Excerpts of Mr. Grant’s books “Access Paris” and “The News from Paris” can be found at www.bonjourparis.com.