I plan to travel to Paris in March with my 15 y.o. daughter. We plan to stay for 9 nights sometime between 7 March and 24 March. Are there any "bad days" in that time period? By which I mean bank holidays, school holidays, special events, whatever, that would either make Paris more crowded than usual or close lots of stores, restaurants and museums. As always, thanks for your help.

March 23, 2008 Easter

Monday, March 24, 2008 Easter Monday French holiday

No specific events that I know about but the pro is that you'll be there off-season so it'll be a little more affordable. The con is that it might be rainy. But dress accordingly and bring an umbrella and you'll still have fun!

Don't forget Good Friday, too.

Some of France will be having school holidays at that time -- and probably some of Europe also. France is split into 3 different school holiday zones, which stagger their holidays over certain periods like Easter.

NanBug, Good Friday is not at all a holiday in France -- but it is in half of the other countries (UK, NL, etc.) which will rush to Paris for that weekend.

I never knew that, Kerouac, thanks.

I assumed that France observed it along with Germany, Netherlands, etc etc. You know what they say, when you assume...

Thanks! We'll plan to travel during the early part of March. Fodorites are the best!

Here are the school vacation dates for next year:

<b>winter</b>
zone a 16 F&eacute;vrier au 3 Mars 2008
zone b 9 au 25 Fevrier 2008
zone c 23 Fevrier au 10 Mars 2008

<b>spring</b>
zone a 12 au 28 Avril 2008
zone b 5 au 21 Avril 2008
zone c 19 Avril au 5 Mai 2008

Zone C is the Paris metropolitan area and Bordeaux, so those vacations are the ones that could possibly affect you the most. No problem for hotels (since Parisians live at home!) but more crowded for attractions of interest to children.

Now all you need are the British, German, Italian and Belgian dates, because they ALL come to Paris for those vacations, as well as Easter weekend.

kerouac, useful information for anyone planning a winter/spring visit to Paris. I've gotten this information in previous years but could not remember where I found it thanks, deborah

The only thing I can think of is the 6 nations rugby tournament. France have a home match against Italy on the 9th March, so I would expect hotels to be a bit busier than normal. However if you are booking now you should be OK.

I don't find it a bad time. I've gone during that period for many years and never had any problems. Happy Travels!

We were in Paris over Easter this past April and it wasn't a problem at all.

Hi

My wife and I went to Paris during Easter last year and we had a good time even if the weather was a bit on the cold side. You can see my trip report with pictures, links, maps etc on my homepage http://gardkarlsen.com/Paris_France.htm . Maybe you can find some useful information there.

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

Palm Sunday, Good Friday, Easter - but none would really be a problem. March is usually more winter-ish than spring-like so it be prepared for cold weather. But other than probably not picnic weather, it'd be a great time to visit.

In the old days, Easter kicked off the annual tourist season in Paris, which would end on October 31st. Now the tourist season represents 11 months of the year with only February being somewhat deserted by tourists.

I'll be there for zone a spring--busy museums?

School groups come through museums all through the school year. If you run into about six groups in a row, it can become tiring...

I took my 13 year old granddaughter over her spring break in March. It was very crowded everywhere we went. Lots of student groups, both American and European. I hate crowds and the Louvre was like being in a sardine can. That was a weekday morning. I guess I just didn't realize how busy spring break season is in Paris. But we had a great time anyway!

&quot;Good Friday is not at all a holiday in France&quot;

Actually it is a public holiday in Alsace-Moselle. No doubt due to the area's Germanic heritage.

(Just being pedantic)