Holidays & Festivals

London

Holidays:
In England, public holidays include New Year’s Day (January 1), Good Friday, Easter Monday, May Day (May 1), spring and summer bank holidays (last Monday in May and August, respectively), Christmas Day (December 25) and Boxing Day (December 26).

Festivals:
Many of London’s best events capitalize on the river, while throughout the year innumerable individual festivals enliven other parts of the city. Some festivals are important dates in the social calendar: the Chelsea Flower Show, Wimbledon, the Proms, Boat Race and Notting Hill Carnival. Each event is unique to each city. Whatever the time of year, there’s always likely to be some kind of celebration going on near you.

Paris

Holidays:
Holidays in France are known as jours fériés. Shops and banks are closed, as well as many (but not all) restaurants and museums. Major holidays include New Year’s Day, Easter Monday, Ascension Day (40 days after Easter), Pentecost (seventh Sunday after Easter), May Day, VE Day (May 8), Bastille Day (July 14), Assumption of the Virgin Mary (August 15), All Saints’ Day (November 1), Armistice Day (November 11) and Christmas Day.

Festivals:
From Christmas, Chopin and cinema to Chinese New Year, raï music and Gay Pride, somewhere in Paris something is being celebrated. Cultural festivals in the city are especially good and often give visitors an opportunity to experience a range of Parisian, French and international music or cinema, sometimes for free.