I will be in Paris from May 4 to 11. I'm assuming May 8th will be a national holiday. Will everything (cafes, museums, markets, etc.) be closed? Alternatively, will there be vicotry celebrations? May 8th also happens to be my birthday, so at the very least I'd like to celebrate it somewhere with my wife.

Please see the info at this link, which I posted earlier. I'll be there as well, and thankfully for us, not much is closed at all on the 8th.

http://tinyurl.com/m3fbp

I'll be in Paris from May 1 to May 12. Maybe we should plan a Fordor meet?

May 8 is a French national holiday every year (and is in many other European countries).

No, everything will not be closed. Is everything closed on May 8th where you come from? It's not one of the biggest holidays (which are Christmas, New Years and May 1). Of course they have a commemorative ceremony in the morning at the Arc de Triomphe, but don't expect tons of hoopla, parades, parties, etc.

Hi, Anglophile. VE Day is my birthday, too. I was in Paris once on May 8th and rather disappointed to find out that the entire city did not come to a halt in my honor. Anyway, don't worry, plenty will be open.

However, this year the 8th is a Monday, which is the normal closing day for many museums and restaurants, so that may affect your plans. The Louvre's closing day is Tues. and it's open on the 8th; you can check most museums easily online. This year, I'm celebrating on the 9th in Venice, because the restaurant I'm being taken to is closed on Mondays. Such a hardship.

Thanks to all of you for the input. My concerns were, in part, driven by the fact that I was in the UK on May 8th a number of years ago and it's a bank holiday there meaning most everything is in fact closed - that's certainly not the case in the US, though Memorial Day is a different story. Thanks again and happy birthday KT!

The French celebrate victories? Have to go back to Napoleon's time for one of those. More pre-emptive surrenders in recent times.

I was there on VE Day in 2001. Do not, I repeat, do not go to Versailles that day! Picture Disney during school vacation...