Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
New Year's Day
(Jour de l'An) 1 January
Easter Sunday & Monday
(Pâques & Lundi de Pâques) Late March/April
May Day
(Fête du Travail) 1 May
Victory in Europe Day
(Victoire 1945) 8 May
Ascension Thursday
(L'Ascension) May (celebrated on the 40th day after Easter)
Whit Monday
(Lundi de Pentecôte) Mid-May to mid-June (seventh Monday after Easter)
Bastille Day/National Day
(Fête Nationale) 14 July
Assumption Day
(L'Assomption) 15 August
All Saints' Day
(La Toussaint) 1 November
Armistice Day/Remembrance Day
(Le Onze Novembre) 11 November
Christmas
(Noël) 25 December
Safe Travel
In general, Paris is a safe city and random street assaults are rare. The city is generally well
lit and there's no reason not to use the metro until it stops running, at some time between
12.30am and just past 1am. As you'll notice, women
do
travel alone on the metro late at
night in most areas, though not all who do so report feeling 100% comfortable.
Metro stations that are best avoided late at night include Châtelet-Les Halles and its
seemingly endless corridors, Château Rouge in Montmartre, Gare du Nord, Strasbourg St-
Denis, Réaumur Sébastopol and Montparnasse Bienvenüe.
Bornes d'alarme
(alarm boxes)
are located in the centre of each metro/RER platform and in some station corridors.
Nonviolent crime such as pickpocketing and thefts from handbags and packs is a problem
wherever there are crowds, especially packs of tourists. Places to be particularly careful in-
clude Montmartre (especially around Sacré Cœur); Pigalle; the areas around Forum des
Halles and the Centre Pompidou; the Latin Quarter (especially the rectangle bounded by rue
St-Jacques, bd St-Germain, bd St-Michel and quai St-Michel); below the Eiffel Tower; and
anywhere on the metro during rush hour (particularly on line 4 and the western part of line 1).
Take the usual precautions: don't carry more money than you need, and keep your credit
cards, passport and other documents in a concealed pouch, a hotel safe or a safe-deposit
box.
Vigipirate is a security plan devised by the Paris city council to combat terrorism. Both cit-
izens and visitors are asked to report any abandoned luggage or package at all times. When
the full Vigipirate scheme is put into action, public litter bins are sealed, left-luggage services
