Visiting Paris Easter week with 4 other family members (two have been & three 1st timers so we're planning to visit the most popular sites). To what degree does the city close down during this week? Gotten mixed feedback from tourism sites and guide books. The major museum websites mention nothing about the holiday schedule. Anyone know of a website/source for info specific to traveling to Paris for Easter week? Thanks!

"Gotten mixed feedback from tourism sites and guide books"

Mixed is the operative word, so in a way you got accurate feedback - there is no hard and fast rule, so I doubt that there is one unified source of all information. It is truly case by case.

The city as such does not close down at all, just individual sites may close on Easter Sunday even if they are normally open on regular Sundays. Easter Monday is a public holiday, of course, unlike in the US, so if it says "Closed Sundays and public holidays" that would include closing on Easter Monday.

Make a list of targets you plan on visiting, and look them up individually - when in doubt, make a phone call and mark them on your list.

For example, the Musée d'Orsay is very explicit in its English version of the website:

open from 9.30am to 6pm daily, except Mondays
late night on Thursdays until 9.45pm
last tickets sold at 5pm (9pm Thursdays)
museum cleared at 5.30pm (9.15pm Thursdays)
group visits, pre-booked only, Tuesday to Saturday, 9.30am to 4pm (Thursdays until 8pm)
closed on Mondays, on 1 January, 1 May and 25 December
So you can expect it to be open on Easter Sunday.

Lots of people make it a long weekend, some tack on an extra day or two, so expect increased traffic beginning on Wed. right through and into the next week. Some family-run businesses may close to take time off, that sort of thing, but overall the city remains very functional.

I was in Paris last year over Easter, and the only effect I noticed was that some restaurants and shops were closed on Sunday and Monday. I went to the big market at the Bastille on Easter Sunday morning, and it was hopping. I saw a play at the Comedie Francaise that afternoon.

On Monday I did some shopping in the Marais, bought some jewelry. Some shops were closed though. And that evening there was a Fodor's get-together at a restaurant. We had checked ahead to make sure it was open.

One word of advice to take from someone who was there during Easter week: If you wish to go to the Eiffel Tower, be there on a week day at 9:00 a.m., when the ticket booths open. Trust me on this. Every European teen on spring break wants to go up to the top of the tower that week!

Other than that, we had no problems anywhere--even the Louvre.

Thanks everyone for the sound advice - I had not realized that Easter Monday was a National Holiday - researching the specific museum/historic site webpages rather than depending on guide books alone will prevent showing up to a site to find it closed. I expect Paris, like NYC, is fabulous anytime of the year.

One of the fun things we did on Easter Sunday was a Fat Tire Bike Tour. We were taking kids (ages 5,7) and were a little hesitant about the traffic (they were on tandem bikes). We chose that day thinking there would be less traffic.

We had a great time! They actually minimize the time spend on streets with cars. You learn to cross the street together like a pack. Part of it is spent walking the bikes through the Tuileries (not allowed to ride them) and then stopping for lunch.

I would recommend it in a heartbeat!