My husband and I are thinking of going on an independent package tour to London and Paris in late March/early April. This would put us in Paris during the Holy Week and returning to the US on Good Friday. Will that week be more/overly crowded than if we took a tour that would put us in Paris the week before (late March)?

No.

Keith

Hi sheryl,

You might want to check to see what might be closed during Easter week.

I checked Musee d'Orsay and the Louvre to see what days they would be closed. What other attractions and etc. should I check? Thanks in advance!

I was in Paris Holy Week 2003 and didn't notice any difference in what was and was not open.

I don't agree with Keith and think there will be a difference in tourism between Holy Week and the week before. Easter is a busy tourist time in Paris and a lot of Europeans go there for that holiday because they have some time off work.

I haven't ever heard of anything being closed unusually that week, but Good Friday, Easter and Easter Monday are official public holidays. I wouldn't worry about closures at all if you are leaving on Good Friday.

Christina, I agree that Easter will be busy, starting about Good Friday. But that is the day they fly home.

Keith

France is one of the more secular countries. The important factor will be the dates of the school holidays. If the schools are on holiday, everywhere will be busy; if not, everywhere will be quiet. The French education system is centralised and all schools will follow the same holiday dates. I'm sure somebody will know where to look up the school term dates.

Actually, French schools are divided into zones, and the holiday dates are different in each zone. For details, see:

http://assoc.wanadoo.fr/ccc78/Agenda...res%202003.htm

We were in Paris during Holy Week in April 2003. It was a great time to visit, even with the French schools on vacation. All museums were open that week, and things weren't too crowded. (Our longest line of the week was going up the Eiffel Tower mid-afternoon on Tuesday, about a 50 minute wait.) Getting the museum pass allowed us to skip the lines at the Louvre, Musee D'Orsay, etc. Your post says you will leave on Good Friday: see if you can return on Holy Saturday, so you can see the presentation of the Crown of Thorns and the two slivers of the cross (according to St. Luois, who purchased them in the Crusades) at Notre Dame. The service was mid-day on Holy Friday, and included the cathedral choir.

For French people themselves, Holy Week per se is no big deal, and we only get Easter Monday off (except for Alsace and Lorraine, who also get Good Friday). That said, for most of our neighbouring countries, it is the big back to tourism week, so Germans and Britons (who also get Good Friday off) might flock abroad, to Paris among other destinations. The same applies to Italians and Spaniards who get most of the "semana santa" off.