We will be visiting Normandy and Loire valley in early October, does every store and restaurant close on these days?, or is it just in certain areas.Im guessing these days would not be a good idea to explore a town or city?, maybe visit a tourist attraction instead?.Would we need to plan ahead and go to the supermarket and plan a picnic on these days or is there usually some place open to eat?Thanks, just trying to be prepared
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
You're wise to keep it in mind but you won't starve. It would have to be an awfully tiny town to have all restaurants closed on Sunday. In general, I've judged it to be about half. Not every establishment chooses the same (or any) day off. In the example of Chinon again, Rick's France book mentions closed days for 2 out of 5 restaurants listed, and that's not all the restaurants in town. The towns where Mom and I were limited to a single restaurant open on a given night last October were Beynac and Sainte-Mère-Église, both small villages, but not without that service. On another Sunday at another "middle-of-nowhere" tourist stop (Jumièges Abbey), a few restaurants were open for lunch but already full at 14:00, leaving us with "only one" choice, a slow but serviceable creperie.
Supermarkets are more often open on Sundays than they used to be, especially large ones (which may be near highway interchanges as well as in towns). For instance, the Carrefour City supermarket in Chinon is open 9:00 - 13:00 on Sundays. It is worth thinking about in advance, but then you may find the answer in your book, or by walking or driving by, or on Google Maps.