The French are renowned for their unique working hours. The French lunch hour is sacred and attempts to introduce open-all hours or 24 hour service have been met with strong resistance. When travelling in France, you can find yourself easily thrown off track by not adapting to the opening hours practised throughout the country. It’s usually a bit more relaxed in major cities, but the last thing you want to do is find yourself in a small village, looking for a grocery store at 1:30pm! Following these guide lines to ensure you don’t find yoursef stranded:
- Major Cities v. Countryside: In the countryside, almost everything closes for lunch, which can be any time between 12:30 and 3:30pm. More and more chain supermarkets are staying open all day. Almost everything is shut on Sundays, including supermarkets. It is also traditional that stores remain shut on Mondays although this is becoming less wide spread.
- Shops and Banks: Banks tend to be open between 9am and 4:30/5pm, Monday to Friday. But some do close for lunch between 1pm and 3pm. Some are open on Saturday mornings but this is not standard. Shops are usually open from Tuesday to Saturday from 9am to 7pm. You may find that some businesses open on Monday but shut on Saturday. Once again most shops will shut for lunch.
- Holidays: The French tend to go on holiday at the same time every year. August is the most popular time for vacations and this means that country may seem virtually shut down in some areas. There will usually be signs on store fronts indicating when the owners will be back from holiday. If you are planning a long-term trip to France, be aware that any administrative and bureaucratic issues will most likely not be resolved during the July/August holidays.
- Public Holidays: Expect to see most stores, banks and post offices shut on public holidays. Also, the French businesses often practice what is known as “faire le pont” (make the bridge). This means that if a public holiday falls on a Thursday, the business will shut from Thursday until Monday. Or if the holiday falls on a Tuesday, the previous Monday will also be taken as a holiday. This can be frustrating because it means you can get stuck with fours days in a row where nothing is open.
- Pharmacies: The French have a reputation for being hypochondriacs. This stereotype is upheld by the number of pharmacies you will see upon visiting France. Even the tiniest village will usually have a pharmacy, even if they don’t have a police station or post office. Pharmacies can be identified by the neon green cross that will be on or flashing if the place is open. Pharmacies keep usually keep standard business hours, with a lunch break. However, if you need a pharmacy at night or on the weekend you should be able to find details (usually posted on your local pharmacy’s door) for the nearest night pharmacy or weekend/holiday duty pharmacies.
- Gas Stations: While most gas stations will close for lunch, more and more provide automated credit-card pumps for people who need gas during closing hours, so if you are renting a car or driving through France, make sure your credit card works abroad!