stewart_life

Hi,

I will be learning French in Nice, France for 12 weeks. While I'm there, I'm planning on going from Nice to Paris (return trip) for the weekends by train. So far, there are 3 options:
1. Long weekend of April 22-25 (Fri-Mon), in which the Sunday falls on Easter Day and the Monday falls on Easter Monday.
2. Weekend of April 29 - May 1 (Fri-Sun), in which the Sunday falls on Labor Day.
3. Weekend of May 6-8 (Fri-Sun), in which the Sunday falls on Victory Day.

The first bound train will arrive in Paris around 11pm in the evening, while the return train will leave Paris around 5pm in the afternoon. This will be my first time to Paris, and I'm planning on going to the major tourist attractions there by walking or metro/bus.

Can anyone please help make a suggestion what is the situation during those 3 public holidays in Paris? Will the major tourist attractions (like Notre-Dame, Eiffel Tower, Versailles, Louvre, etc) be open or close during the public holiday?

And can someone advise on what the best period is to go between those 3 options? Or should I just visit other places near Nice during that period?

Thanks a lot!

Christina

Do you mean you are only planning to do this once? I hope so, it's a very long trip to be making numerous times, I think.

In any case, the Eiffel Tower is NEVER closed. It's a major tourist site and run by a private company. NOtre Dame isn't closed except for certain church events, of course and at times (I'm sure it is closed in the middle of the night, for example). It isn't a tourist attraction that is closed on public holidays, it's a real working church, if you didn't know that.

Versailles and Louvre have posted hours of opening and days they are closed, you can check their websites for those. But most of those you name are big major holidays where most things closed, that only happens on a couple of them (NY day, Christmas and May Day or Labor Day (5/1) are the real big ones for closures). So I would not go on the May 1st holiday. I'd go the Victory Day for the least problems in a couple ways -- mainly that I think lots of folks travel around for holidays during Easter and the trains will be crowded and other things, and I don't know of anything that closes due to that holiday (barring unknowns like small shops or something, maybe some minor private museum or something).

Christina

in case it wasn't clear, I made a typo and meant that most of those are NOT big major holidays, only 5/1 is

mamcalice

Considering how long it will take you to get there and to return, I would choose the first weekend which gives you an extra day. Some museums are closed on Mondays and some churches for periods of time on Sundays but, otherwise, you shouldn't have problems. Be sure to consult a guidebook or the web to help you plan your itinerary so you know what is open and what is closed, if anything.

stewart_life

Hi all. Thanks a lot for the advice.

That actually will be my second time in Paris. I have planned on going to Paris in the first or second week in April as well. If the train ticket is cheap, of course I will go many weekends, but that doesn't seems to be the case here

Yes, I'm worried that in the Labor Day most of the museums and monuments will be closed, or that the public transportation is scarce.

For Easter Monday, as it will be a holiday, that might be a good long weekend. However, as I will be staying with a host family in Nice, I thought I want to experience how they celebrate Easter in French family. That is assuming they will be celebrating Easter traditionally in Nice. If not, then I waste the precious long weekend.

It seems that the May 8 (Victory Day) doesn't really have big impact in Paris. Probably that will be the best time to go then?