Holidays & Festivals

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 January 1 (New Year’s Day), Easter, Ascension Day (40 days after Easter), Pentecost (seventh Sunday after Easter), May 1 (May Day), May 8 (VE Day), July 14 (Bastille Day), August 15 (Assumption of the Virgin Mary), November 1 (All Saints’ Day), November 11 (Armistice Day), and December 25 (Christmas).

Festivals:
From Christmas, Chopin and cinema to raï music, Chinese New Year and gay pride, there is always a celebration in Paris. Cultural festivals in the city are especially good and often provide an opportunity to experience an enormous range of Parisian, French and international music or cinema, sometimes for free.