Greetings All. We are headed to Paris for our 9th trip in early May and have managed to hit both French national holiday on it - May 1 and 8. My questions are these: how difficult will it be to move around Paris on those days by taxi or public transit? Since they both fall on Sundays I assume there will be even fewer restaurants open, so how limiting will that be? Any suggestions for how to participate in or find out about events and parades etc.? I actually was able to book a lunch cruise on Alan Ducasse’s beautiful boat (which we also enjoyed last Paris visit) on the 8th, but suspect dining opportunities will be hard to come by. We are staying in an apartment so I’m thinking cooking in may be an option. Thanks in advance for the help - And sooooo glad to have this resource now that CH is gone.
We have never experienced these holidays as Sunday bookends, but have often found that our restaurants of choice were closed for the entire week in which either fell. I’m sure you will book early and well. I doubt that transport will be an issue, maybe just holiday schedules. A place to start… re “what’s on”.
Visiting in May means a holiday every week. We used to joke about not working an entire week the entire month of May. (You have Ascension and Pentecost the second half of the month)
I’m sure there are some somewhere, but I don’t recall any parades or celebrations for either date in the 5 years I lived in Francw. There may well be a demonstration on May 1, but it will be easy to avoid.
It likely wont affect Sunday an iota…the holidays will likely be observed on the Monday. Metro and buses will run the Sunday & holiday schedules and many restaurants are closed Monday anyway.
1 May is a major holiday like Christmas and 1 Jan, and many places, including some tourist attractions like the Louvre, will be closed. There are huge labour union marches in eastern Paris, usually involving places République, Bastille, and Nation that create severe traffic congestion in the afternoon… but very little effect on the tourist zones. There are also some much smaller far-right anti-demos, usually in the place des Pyramides (statue of Jeanne d’Arc, a favourite symbol of the far right) that affects traffic on avenue de l’Opéra and rue Rivoli) earlier in the day but they are usually brief.
Many more than the usual number of restaurants will be closed.
8 May is a minor holiday and, since it falls on a Sunday this year, hardly noticeable except for a military parade on the Champs Elysées. Restaurants, shops and tourist attractions usually open on a Sunday will be open.
Ascension is May 26, so Pentecost actually falls in June this year.
