Are you planning a trip to Paris around Easter? Finding info on what to do on Easter weekend in Paris can be tricky because a lot is in French. But I’ve got your back AND I also have a few words of caution. Paris is VERY busy around Easter because in addition to American families on spring break, A LOT of Europeans also make the most of the long weekend to visit. So, if you don’t like crowds, you might want to come at another time of year.
However, it can also be amazing and it’s certainly a great time to visit if you have a sweet tooth. Whether you’re traveling with the family or just want to experience how they celebrate the holiday here, I’ve brought together all the best things to do on Easter weekend in Paris.
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When is Easter 2025?
This year Easter weekend is a little late and will be from April 19th to 21st. An important thing to know is that Good Friday is not a public holiday in France, but Easter Monday is. Churches host special Easter masses and celebrations on Good Friday, but Easter Sunday tends to be the biggest day. Here are a few other useful bits of information about Easter weekend:
- What’s open? Most places stay open on Easter weekend, so it’s pretty much business as usual. Some smaller museums and shops may be closed on Easter Monday, but this shouldn’t really affect your trip.
- Will public transport be running? Yes, there aren’t really any changes on Easter weekend. As Easter Monday is a holiday, there might be a slightly longer wait for métro trains on that day, but I’m only talking about a few minutes. The métro actually stays open an hour later on the night before a public holiday, so on Easter Sunday, it should be running until 2 am instead of 1 am. It’s always a good idea to check your route on Citymapper or Google Maps ahead of time so you can get approximate wait times and suggested routes.
Where to celebrate Easter (in a religious capacity):
Services In French: As France is a French-speaking country, most churches conduct mass in French. However, even if you don’t understand French, it can be a moving experience to attend a mass at a special historic church in Paris (read on for some suggestions). Most Parisian churches are Catholic and host several Easter celebrations starting on Palm Sunday until Easter Monday, you can find details about these on each church’s website.
Notre Dame Cathedral might be the first special Paris church that comes to mind, but as it only reopened in December, it’s going to be super packed and you’d have to arrive really early to be able to enter or book a time entrance through the cathedral’s website. If you’d like to avoid crowds and be around more Parisians, I recommend attending a service at another beautiful historic church such as Sacré-Coeur Basilica, St-Etienne-du-Mont, St-Eustache, St-Germain-des-Prés, or St-Paul-St-Louis.
Services in English: If you would like to attend an Easter service in English there are also some wonderful English-speaking churches in Paris. These include the American Cathedral, St Michael’s Church (Anglican), and Trinity International Church of Paris.
Kid-friendly things to do on Easter weekend in Paris
Image Courtesy of Musée Rodin
Attend an Easter egg hunt in a unique place in Paris
The French are quite fond of Easter egg hunts (chasse aux oeufs in French). There’s usually one in the lovely Parc André Citroën (Sunday all day), the gardens of the Musée Rodin (Sunday hour-long time slot, reservations required), and the gardens of the Musée de Montmartre (Sunday and Monday).
Image Courtesy of Tiqets
Take in the Easter celebrations at the Jardin d’Acclimatation
Located in the Bois de Boulogne in western Paris, this historic attraction park for kids will be doing an Easter Egg hunt and other activities the Sunday before Easter as well as Easter Sunday.
Hunt down eggs at the Château de Vaux le Vicomte
This beautiful castle southeast of Paris hosts a big Easter egg hunt and could be a fun activity if you’d like to visit a castle during your stay.
Image Courtesy of Viator
Find the best Easter treats in Paris on a kid’s chocolate tour
For a more flexible and personalized “Easter egg hunt” book a private tour that will take your family to the best chocolate shops in Paris, filled with mouth-watering Easter eggs, bunnies and more.
Image Courtesy of Cook’n with Class
Make your own Easter chocolates in a kid’s chocolate-making class
This is a fantastic cooking class to do on Easter weekend In Paris with kids. You’ll make everything from chocolate bears to lollipops and even your very own chocolate bars.
Image Courtesy of Get Your Guide
Create Easter-themed macarons in a kid’s baking class
This is a great class geared towards kids and making fun macarons.
Other fun things to do on Easter weekend in Paris:
Image Courtesy of Devour Tours
Sample French Easter treats on a pastry and chocolate tour
Easter treats aren’t just for kids and if you love sweets, you’ll love this amazing tour of some of the best chocolate and pastry shops in the city which will all certainly be showcasing Easter-themed delicacies.
Image Courtesy of Classictic via Facebook
Listen to an Easter classical music concert
A few churches host special Easter concerts, or simply wonderful classical music concerts. So check out what’s on at St-Germain-des-Prés, St-Julien-le-Pauvre, or the Sainte-Chapelle during your stay.
Image Courtesy of Devour Tours
View Impressionistic flowers and gardens on a Musée d’Orsay-Giverny tour
If you’d like to do a spring themed tour, then this full day tour of the Musée d’Orsay and Claude Monet’s Gardens at Giverny is perfect. Giverny only opens April 1st and by Easter, the flowers in Monet’s gardens should be sublime!
Image Courtesy of Jardin des Plantes via Facebook
Admire the spring blossoms in the Jardin des Plantes
If you’d like to see some spectacular spring blossoms in Paris, head to this pretty historic garden. It’s known for its tulips and cherry blossoms, both of which should hopefully still be in bloom at Easter. Learn more about it in our video on places Parisians don’t want tourists to know about.
Have a picnic in a gorgeous Parisian park
Late April could have glorious weather, so you might like to stop by a food market and have a picnic in a lovely park such as the Jardin de Luxembourg, le Parc des Buttes-Chaumont or the Parc de Bercy. Some great places to get picnic supplies are included on Day 2 and Day 5 of our Paris Itinerary.
Image Courtesy of Fat Tire Tours
Enjoy the spring ambiance while biking around the city’s secret gems
With nice balmy spring weather, a fun way to see the city (and take in the blossoms), is by bike and this great tour takes you off the beaten path to some wonderful lesser visited places around the city.
If you liked our selection of what to do on Easter weekend In Paris, you might like some of our other articles on cool things to do in Paris? Read these next:
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