Public holidays and Sundays in France

NORMAL SERVICE IS SUSPENDED......... don't be caught out.

Unlike in the UK, when a public holiday falls during a weekend in France, there is no extra compensating holiday on the following Monday. However, "le pont" - the bridge - is a popular French institution, and when a public holiday falls on a Tuesday or a Thursday, many workplaces remain closed for the Monday or Friday too, meaning that certain services will be closed for four days. However, shops and banks and post offices tend to open normally when there is a "pont".
Note also that most public museums are closed on TUESDAYS - but this is not always the case.

• For information on Paris museums, see Paris Tourist Attractions .
• For information on roads and traffic congestion, see Driving in France

Normal shopping hours and closing times

The standard shopping day in France, from Monday to Saturday, starts at 9 a.m. and finishes at 7 p.m.
Most large stores and shopping malls will remain open all day, with some outlets in them opening earlier and closing later. Most traditional shops, specially in smaller towns, will close for two hours at lunch time, from 12.00 to 2 p.m.. Some will close for longer, specially those that remain open longer in the evening.
  Many small and independent shops are closed on Monday morning, some stay closed all day on Mondays, notably those that have been open all day on Saturday. Opening patterns may depend on the town, though decisions remain ultimately with individual shops.

Sundays in France, when most shops are closed

Don't expect to find shops open in France on Sundays. Sunday in France is still for most people a day of rest, and most shops are not allowed to open, except in specific locations at at certain times of year. Sunday is a day for window shopping in French towns, for most of the year. Large shops are now allowed to open on Sundays in tourist resorts (including parts of Paris) in the holiday period (which in Paris means all year); elsewhere, in the cities, Sunday opening is only allowed on a limited number of Sundays in the run-up to Christmas
   Nonetheless, small corner shops and essential services (such as boulangeries, small supermarkets) can open on Sundays if they want to, and indeed Sunday is the busiest days of the week for many patisseries. So in any town, it is usually now possible to buy fresh bread and groceries on a Sunday, particularly on Sunday morning. More information on the Shopping in France page.
  In recent years, French shops and shoppers have been increasingly demanding more freedom to open on Sundays. Since 2015, shops have beeen given more freedom to open on Sundays - notably  garden centers  furniture stores and shops in tourist areas.

Sunday shopping in Paris

Paris now has seven "tourist zones" - including the Champs Elysées, the rue de Rivoli, the boulevard Saint Germain, Montmartre and the Marais, where shops can open on Sundays. In addition big Paris department stores Galeries Lafayette and BHV le Marais are open Sunday.
  On the outskirts of Paris two large shopping centres ("zones commerciales") are open on Sundays. One Nation Paris at Les Clayes sous bois, near Versailles, is the largest fashion factory outlet village in France. La Vallée Village Chic is a large factory outlet shopping village near Disneyland.