Easter - Hints and Help

I'm planning a trip to England, tentatively leaving in late April. I intended to start the trip a few days after Easter but learned that many schools may be on a holiday break. While the break might not be the same for every part of the country, in general what dates are schools likely to be closed, which could affect availability of lodging etc., if a lot of families are on vacation. The trip will start in London, no matter when we leave.

France is a much more religious country than the USA. My calendar show that the 18th is a State holiday, as is the following Monday (the 21st). And as noted already, the week after Easter is the Spring Break for much of Europe. I would expect most major services to be shut down or severely limited over the 4 day weekend. Only Christmas is a bigger family holiday.

You need to check with your hotel, they should be able to tell you what's open and, if needed, make reservations. And yes, the prices will reflect that you are making them work when they should be off.

I would disagree that France is "much more" religious than the U.S. I'm confident statistics would suggest that the U.S. is the more religious country of the two. And certainly the separation of church and state is much stronger in France than the increasingly permeable separation in the U.S.

The strongest religion in France, though, might be observing their holidays, religious or not, so there is a strong allegiance for taking holidays. They take them seriously -- not religious ones, necessarily -- all of them.

Dining out on Sundays in smaller towns in France is dicey even when it's not Easter. You're better off buying a pre-made salad at a grocery store (buy before they close at noon or 13h), a baguette sandwich at a boulangerie (same advice) or, do what so many French families do on Sundays and visit a world-famous restaurant.

Edited: I should add that one reliable option if all else fails would be to make your way to an Autoroute and stop at an "aire" that has a grocery and food service. They'll be open pretty much no matter what.

Thank you - I am taking a small packable cooler so we can plan ahead and purchase food for picnic. Good to know about what time we need to purchase by so we have items and we are never above a trip to the arches - we usually as we find it fun to try the local specialty items not available in the states. We will be doing our special dinner in Rouen on Saturday evening so just making adjustments for lower price points after that splurge.

yoda_615
I have found that many restaurants are open on Sunday only through "lunch" time (up to about 2:00). Families often go out for their main Sunday meal. The restaurateurs go home after for their Sunday evening meal. (Or if a smaller family establishment, they may stay and eat at the restaurant themselves after closing.) This is for any Sunday. For Easter, I definitely recommend reserving your meal that day as soon as you can find a restaurant you want. Best of luck in finding one that is open.
Bonne Fete de Paques!

I have to agree with Bob that France is not religious but it follows traditions such as family gatherings, particularly for holidays and Sunday lunch. Therefore, if you find a restaurant that you can reserve, the meal will probably be special for the holiday with traditional dishes and would be a nice experience. Bob says groceries are open in the morning where he lives, but where I live, they aren't. So you need to check ahead to be sure you'll be able to get what you want if you go the picnic route.

An FYI: It's very difficult to find an open restaurant on Sundays, and even Mondays, where I live in France's 7th largest city, so your experience isn't surprising.

French holidays are confusing to newcomers and visitors and can lead them to believe this is a religious country when, in fact, it's strongly secular. The above poster from Germany is probably familiar with bordering Alsace Lorraine departments, whose history has made them exceptions to the rest of France.

The above poster from Germany is probably familiar with bordering Alsace Lorraine departments, whose history has made them exceptions to the rest of France.

True, and the more I travel in France the more aware of this I become. I should learn to preface my comments with that.

Well, KGC, I did spit out my coffee when I read we were more religious than the US, but I knew where you live and have most of your travel experience in France. ;-))
Even Cesar remarked that the Gaules liked to party.