Basic hours of business
are 8 or 9am to noon or
1pm, and 2pm or 3pm to
6.30pm or 7.30pm. In big
city centres shops and
other businesses stay
open throughout the day,
and in July and August
most tourist offices and
museums are open without
interruption. Otherwise
almost everything closes
for a couple of hours at
midday, or even longer
in the south. Small food
shops often don't reopen
till halfway through the
afternoon, closing
around 7.30pm or 8pm
just before the evening
meal.
The standard closing
days are Sunday
and/or Monday, with
shops taking turns to
close with their
neighbours; many food
shops such as
boulangeries (bakeries)
that open on Sunday will
do so in the morning
only. In small towns
you'll find everything
except the odd
boulangerie shut on both
days. This includes banks
, which in cities are
usually open Monday to
Friday from 9am to 4pm
or 5pm, making it all
too easy to find
yourself dependent on
hotels for
money-changing at poor
rates and high
commission. Restaurants
and caf้s also often
close on a Sunday or
Monday.
Museums tend
to open between 9am and
10am, close for lunch at
noon until 2pm or 3pm,
and then run through to
5pm or 6pm, although in
the big cities they will
stay open all day. Closing
days are usually
Tuesday or Monday,
sometimes both. Admission
charges can be very
off-putting, though many
state-owned museums have
one day of the week
(often Sun) when they're
free or half-price, and
you can often get
reductions if you're a
full-time student (with
ISIC card), under 26 or
over 60. Cathedrals
are almost always open
all day every day, with
charges only for the
crypt, treasuries or
cloister and little fuss
about how you're
dressed. Church
opening hours are often
more restricted; on
Sunday mornings (or at
other times which you'll
see posted up on the
door) you may have to
attend Mass to take a
look. In small towns and
villages, however,
getting the key is not
difficult - ask anyone
nearby or seek out the
priest, whose house is
known as the presbyt่re
.
Public holidays
There are thirteen
national holidays (
jours
f้ri้s ), when
most shops and
businesses (though not
necessarily
restaurants), and some
museums, are closed.
May in particular is a
big month for
holidays: as well as
May Day and VE Day,
Ascension Day normally
falls then, as
sometimes does
Pentecost.
January 1
New Year's Day
Easter Sunday
Easter Monday
Ascension Day
(forty days after
Easter)
Pentecost or
Whitsun (seventh
Sunday after Easter,
plus the Monday)
May 1 May
Day/Labour Day
May 8
Victory in Europe Day
July 14
Bastille Day
August 15
Assumption of the
Virgin Mary
November 1
All Saints' Day
November 11
1918 Armistice Day
December 25
Christmas Day
