I will be in Paris on May 1st this year. I know museums will be closed. I was wondering if anyone knows if the major churches like Sacre Coeur and Notre Dame will be open. I know the Eiffel Tower is open every day. What else can I do on Labour Day in Paris?
Posted by
victoria, Canada
11507 posts
Notre Dame has an english website go and look. I am only saying this rather then looking it up myself as I don't think people realize how most sites in Paris do have good websites, and are in english( look for little flag or english symbol and click on it once on site if its not already in english).You can google almost anything,, really, try it,, Versailles, the Lourvre , the Arc, tons of stuff!
Posted by
US Pacific Northwest
10344 posts
This question was asked a year ago, here's the link to those answerswhat's open in Paris on May 1st?
Posted by
Grapevine, TX, USA
875 posts
Lots of places are open........however, that will be a MAJOR holiday weekend -- not just 1 day, and there will be more people in Paris than you can even imagine. Forget going to the Louvre or the d'Orsay as you will feel like a sardine once inside. The wait to get into the d'Orsay was almost 2 hrs, so we skipped that and went to the Louvre. Big mistake. It was a miserable experience. Glad I went the year before! I would choose the less visited museums (Cluny, Marmotten, for example) which will be less crowded. Some restaurants will be closed for the weekend. If you have your heart set on a place, you might want to check before you get there.
Paris is huge, and there will be plenty to do and plenty of places open. For the most popular, go early or late.
Posted by
Sydney
275 posts
I was there on Labour Day last year and whilst Notre Dame was open there was a huge queue to get in. I am not sure why. I ended up spending most of the day walking along the Seine. I also spent a fair bit of time on Ile St Louis where a lot of shops and restaurants were open, and it was not as crowded as Ile de la Cite.
Posted by
Columbus, OH, USA
2085 posts
We were in Paris May 1 through 7 2008 and it was mobbed. Walking through Notre Dame in that crowd my feet never touched the ground; not a religious experience mind you, just swept along by the masses (pun intended). I think it was also school holiday time (never really knew) but that and the French tendency toward turning a single holiday into a 4 day weekend may impact your plans. May 7 was Liberation day, and turned into another 4 day weekend when hours were altered and crowds were huge. But I'd be back in a heartbeat!