FESTIVALS

Avignon Festival
Avignon, France - July - 3 weeks
Avignon’s immaculately preserved medieval buildings provide a magnificent backdrop for its prestigious festival (www.festival-avignon.com), a feast of culture that draws performers and art enthusiasts from around the world. Non-commercial

Bastille Day
Paris and across France - July 14 - 1 day
France celebrates its national holiday (la fête nationale) with a combination of pomp and circumstance, street parties and a general letting down of hair. Declared a holiday for all French men.

Giants of Douai
Douai, France - July - 1 day
Many towns in northeast France and Belgium hold festivals involving giants made of wood or papier-mâché. But the one in Douai is the oldest, the biggest and the best. Built.

Inter-Celtic Festival
Lorient, France - August - 10 days
One of the largest Celtic gatherings in the world, the Inter-Celtic Festival (www.festival-interceltique.com) draws crowds of around 350,000 to this small Breton town from the first Friday to the.

Mondial du Snowboard
Les Deux Alpes, France - October - 3 days
The French Alpine town of Les Deux Alpes kicks the snow season off a bit earlier than its near neighbours with the mammoth Mondial du Snowboard (www.mondialdusnow.com), the wildest.

HOLIDAYS

January 1 New Year's Day

March 24 Easter Monday

May 1 Labour Day

May 8 Fête de la Victoire 1945 (WWII Victory Day)

July 14 Bastille Day

August 15 Assumption of Mary

November 1 All Saints

November 11 Armistice Day

December 25 Christmas Day

You should know:

Holidays falling on a weekend are not moved.

Metal workers have the holiday of St. Eloi on 1 December

Note that when a holiday happens to fall on a Tuesday or Thursday, many French workers may take the Monday or, respectively, Friday, off as well. This is not official and does not apply to institutions such as banks or government, but is sufficiently commonplace to cause difficulties doing business on occasion.

Weekend: Saturday, Sunday