We're traveling to Paris in a few days for a week and just discovered that this weekend (Nov 3-5) is considered a holiday weekend! Can anyone familiar with holidays in France tell me what will and won't be open? Should I abandon ALL hope of touring, museum-ing, and shopping? Any advice appreciated. <BR> <BR>TIA - <BR>KC

Sounds like a job (question) custom made for Elvira.

kc <BR>what holiday is Nov 3-5? <BR>November 1 is a holiday, and the Louvre, for one example will be open. November 11 is another holiday, and the Louvre will be closed <BR>The best plan is to check the websites for the individual places that you most want to visit, but again, I don't know of a holiday this weekend when things would be closed. It may be an extension of the Nov 1 holiday to make a long weekend, but that shouldn't interfere with your sightseeing.

Other than All Saint's Day, November 1, I'm not aware of any official holidays for the weekend. The only thing it might be is that 'long weekend' some people take - Wed is the holiday, then workers take Thurs/Fri off for a long weekend, making travel more difficult, possibly, in certain areas (traffic tie-ups, crowded trains, etc.) It's not official, so the usual things should be open at the usual time.

Thanks, Elvira - I got this info from my sister, who is living in Paris and called yesterday to warn me about the "holiday weekend" thing. Our trip is a visit with her. Apparently a lot of people are doing just what you surmised - taking Thursday and Friday off as well to get a mini-vacation. Sis is going to check on what might be closed, but I wanted to research it from this end as well to know how to plan our days. Is there a web site that would have links to all the main attractions? <BR> <BR>Thanks. <BR>KC

I don't think attractions or stores will be closed because of the impromptu vacation (in fact, they're more likely to be open to catch the vacationers!). Maybe a small restaurant or boulangerie might close so the owners can take off, but state- and city-run attractions will be open, as well as restaurants, cafes, etc. Once October is over, some attractions have shorter hours; any guidebook will give you the info, or you can go to this site: <BR>http://www.paris.org/

Thanks, Elvira. You have put my mind at ease. I have checked a few websites for attractions and found no mention of closings for the weekend. Maybe this is a false alarm. If not, I will let you know when I get back! <BR> <BR>Thanks for your time. kc

www.britishairways.com has info to suit. You can print out a city miniguide. www.paris.org for maps. <BR>Have a nice time.