Dreaming of your next getaway? Whether you're planning a trip to France or just chatting with a French-speaking friend, you'll want to know how to talk about holidays. But be careful! The English word 'holiday' can mean a few different things, and French has specific words for each one, from a national celebration to your personal vacation time.

Getting them right is key to sounding like a local and avoiding any confusion.

So, let's dive into 9 essential ways to say 'holiday' in French!

1. The Standard 'Holidays' or 'Vacation' – Les Vacances

The most common and standard way to say “holidays” or “vacation” in French is les vacances. This is your essential, go-to term for any period of time off from work or school.

A key rule you must remember is that vacances is always a plural noun in French, even when you're talking about a single vacation or holiday period. You will always see it with a plural article like les or des, or a possessive like mes or tes. Using la vacance is a common mistake for learners.

Les vacances can refer to any extended break. This includes:

• School holidays: les vacances d'été (summer vacation), les vacances de la Toussaint (All Saints' break).
• Work holidays: A period when an employee is not working.
• A specific trip or getaway.

In French, you don't 'take' a vacation. Instead, you use specific verbs. The two most important are:

• être en vacances: to be on vacation.
• partir en vacances: to go/leave on vacation.

It's important not to confuse les vacances with un jour férié. A jour férié is a single public holiday (like a bank holiday), such as Bastille Day (le 14 juillet). Les vacances refers to a longer period of multiple days off.

To wish someone a good holiday, the universal phrase is Bonnes vacances !. Notice the adjective bonnes is in the feminine plural form to agree with vacances.

💡 * Je suis en vacances la semaine prochaine, donc je ne travaille pas.

• Où est-ce que vous partez en vacances cet été ?
• Les enfants attendent les vacances de Noël avec impatience.
• Enfin ! Demain, c'est les vacances !
• Passe de bonnes vacances en Italie !

The 'public holiday' or 'bank holiday' – un jour férié

The 'public holiday' or 'bank holiday' – un jour férié

When you need to talk about a public holiday, bank holiday, or a statutory day off in French, the go-to term is un jour férié. This masculine noun literally translates to a "holiday day" and refers to a specific day when most businesses and schools are closed for a national, cultural, or religious celebration.

Let's break it down: jour means "day," and férié is an adjective derived from the old French ferie, from the Latin feria, meaning "holiday" or "festival day." So, un jour férié is quite literally a day designated for rest and festivity.

You'll hear this term used when people discuss their work schedules or plan activities. For example, someone might ask, Tu travailles lundi ? (Are you working Monday?), to which the answer could be, Non, c'est un jour férié. (No, it's a public holiday).

France has several official jours fériés, including well-known ones like le 14 juillet (Bastille Day), le 1er mai (Labour Day), and Noël (Christmas). The month of May is particularly famous for having multiple public holidays.

A very common cultural practice linked to jours fériés is called faire le pont (literally, "to make the bridge"). This happens when a public holiday falls on a Tuesday or Thursday, and people take the Monday or Friday off to create a four-day weekend.

💡 * Le 1er mai est un jour férié en France, c'est la Fête du Travail.

• Est-ce que la banque est ouverte demain ? Non, c'est un jour férié.
• Le prochain jour férié tombe un jeudi, alors beaucoup de gens vont faire le pont.
• Nous avons de la chance, il y a deux jours fériés ce mois-ci !

The 'leave' or 'time off' from work – le congé

When talking about time away from your job in French, the essential term you need to know is le congé. It's the primary word for 'leave,' 'time off,' or a 'day off' in a professional context.

Le congé refers to an authorized period of absence from work. It can be for vacation, sickness, parental leave, or other personal reasons. Unlike the general term les vacances (vacation/holidays), le congé is specifically linked to your employment.

It's important to remember that congé is a masculine noun. Therefore, you will always see it preceded by masculine articles like le or un, as in le congé or un congé.

The word congé is often combined with other terms to specify the type of leave:

• un congé payé: paid leave
• un congé maladie: sick leave
• un congé de maternité/paternité: maternity/paternity leave
• un congé sans solde: unpaid leave

To use congé correctly in a sentence, you'll typically use two key phrases:

• Être en congé: To be on leave. (e.g., Je suis en congé. - I am on leave.)
• Prendre un congé: To take a leave/day off. (e.g., Elle a pris un congé. - She took a day off.)

The plural form, les congés, often refers to a longer period of vacation time granted by an employer, such as les congés d'été (the summer holidays/leave).

💡 * Je suis en congé demain, donc je ne travaille pas.

• Combien de jours de congés payés as-tu par an ?
• Il a dû prendre un congé maladie pour une semaine.
• Nous allons poser nos congés en août pour partir en Italie.

The 'festival' or 'celebration day' – la fête

The 'festival' or 'celebration day' – la fête

The word la fête is a feminine noun in French that translates to 'party,' 'festival,' 'holiday,' or 'celebration.' It's a highly versatile term used for everything from a small birthday gathering to a large national holiday.

From this noun, we get the extremely common expression faire la fête, which literally means 'to make the party' but is the standard way to say 'to party' or 'to celebrate'.

You will often see fête used to name specific holidays. For example, France's national day is called la Fête nationale (July 14th), and Mother's Day is la Fête des Mères.

💡 * On va faire la fête pour son anniversaire. (We're going to party for his birthday.)

• C'était une très belle fête de village. (It was a very beautiful village festival.)
• La Fête de la Musique a lieu le 21 juin. (The Music Festival takes place on June 21st.)
• Bonne fête ! (Happy holiday! / Happy name day!)

The 'long weekend' made by taking an extra day off – faire le pont

The French expression faire le pont literally translates to 'to make the bridge.' While you might imagine building a structure over water, its common meaning is a beloved cultural practice related to holidays and time off.

In practice, faire le pont means taking a single day off to connect a public holiday to the weekend, thus creating a four-day long weekend. It's the 'bridge' day that links the holiday to the weekend.

This typically happens when a public holiday falls on a Tuesday or a Thursday. For example, if a holiday is on a Thursday, many people will take Friday off to 'bridge' the gap to Saturday and Sunday.

This isn't just a quirky phrase; it's a major part of French work-life culture. Many companies and schools even close for 'le pont,' and it's a very popular time for short vacations, so expect more traffic on the roads!

The phrase is used as a verb. You can say, 'Je fais le pont la semaine prochaine' (I'm taking the long weekend next week) or ask a colleague, 'Tu fais le pont pour le 1er mai ?' (Are you taking the day off for the May 1st long weekend?).

💡 * L'Ascension est un jeudi, donc beaucoup d'employés vont faire le pont.

• Je suis en congé vendredi, je fais le pont !
• Est-ce que ton bureau fait le pont la semaine prochaine ?
• Avec tous les jours fériés en mai, on peut souvent faire le pont.

The 'day in lieu' for working extra hours – la RTT (Réduction du Temps de Travail)

In the French professional world, you'll often hear the acronym RTT. This stands for Réduction du Temps de Travail (Reduction of Working Time) and is the French system for compensating employees who work more than the legal 35-hour workweek, essentially their version of a 'day in lieu'.

The concept of RTT is directly linked to France's 35-hour workweek law. Many contracts, especially for salaried professionals (cadres), are based on a work schedule longer than 35 hours (e.g., 39 hours). To compensate for these extra hours worked, employees are granted additional paid days off throughout the year.

These compensatory days are called jours de RTT. An employee accumulates them over the year and can take them as paid leave, similar to vacation days. The number of RTT days granted annually varies depending on the company's collective agreement and the employee's contract.

Discussing RTT is a normal part of French office life. Key phrases you'll hear are prendre un RTT (to take an RTT day) or poser un RTT (to formally request/book an RTT day). It's common to use an RTT day to create a long weekend, an activity known as faire le pont (to make the bridge).

💡 * Je vais poser un RTT vendredi pour faire le pont.

• Il me reste cinq jours de RTT à prendre avant la fin de l'année.
• Peux-tu valider ma demande de RTT pour mardi prochain ?
• Grâce à mes RTT, je peux prendre une semaine de vacances en plus.

The 'stay' or 'trip' – un séjour

The 'stay' or 'trip' – un séjour

The noun un séjour refers to a stay or a trip in a particular place. It emphasizes the period of time spent at a destination, rather than the journey (le voyage) itself. It's commonly used for vacations, business trips, or any temporary residence.

It's important to note that séjour is a masculine noun, so you will always use masculine articles and adjectives with it, such as un séjour (a stay) or le séjour (the stay).

💡 * J'ai passé un excellent séjour à Paris. (I had an excellent stay in Paris.)

• Nous vous souhaitons un agréable séjour dans notre hôtel. (We wish you a pleasant stay in our hotel.)
• Son séjour linguistique en Espagne a duré trois mois. (His language study trip in Spain lasted three months.)

The 'short getaway' or 'break' – une escapade

The 'short getaway' or 'break' – une escapade

The French noun une escapade translates to a 'getaway,' 'break,' or 'escape.' It perfectly describes a short trip taken specifically to break free from a daily routine, often with a feeling of spontaneity and freedom.

Unlike the more general term des vacances (vacation/holidays), an escapade implies a briefer, more impulsive journey. Think of a weekend trip to the coast or a quick city break. The word is closely linked to the verb s'échapper, which means 'to escape'.

Be aware that une escapade can also be used figuratively to mean a 'fling' or a brief affair, especially in the phrase une escapade amoureuse. The context will make it clear whether the escape is from work or from a relationship's commitments.

💡 * Nous avons fait une petite escapade à la campagne le week-end dernier. (We had a little getaway to the countryside last weekend.)

• J'ai besoin d'une escapade pour oublier le stress du travail. (I need a break to forget the stress of work.)
• Leur voyage était une véritable escapade romantique. (Their trip was a true romantic getaway.)
• Le magazine a révélé l'escapade de l'acteur. (The magazine revealed the actor's fling.)

1. The 'Break' or 'Respite' from School: La Relâche

The French noun la relâche is a key term for understanding holidays, particularly in Canadian French. Its primary meaning is a break or holiday from school. It is a feminine noun, so you would say une relâche or la relâche.

In Quebec and other parts of French-speaking Canada, la relâche almost always refers to the annual winter or spring break from school, which typically occurs in March. It is the direct equivalent of 'Spring Break'. While les vacances is the general term for 'vacation' or 'holidays', la relâche specifically designates this school-free period.

While its main use is for the school holiday, la relâche can also be used more broadly to mean a 'respite,' 'pause,' or 'break' from any demanding or continuous activity. This stems from the verb relâcher, which means 'to release' or 'to relax'.

When you hear or use la relâche, the context is most often the school system. If you want to talk about a general break from work, it's more common to use terms like une pause or des congés. However, using la relâche for a non-school break can add a slightly more dramatic or formal tone, emphasizing the need for a real respite.

💡 * Qu'est-ce que tu fais pendant la semaine de relâche ? (What are you doing during the break week?)

• Les enfants attendent la relâche avec impatience. (The children are eagerly awaiting the school break.)
• Après des mois de travail intense, j'ai enfin droit à une petite relâche. (After months of intense work, I finally get a little respite.)
• La relâche scolaire a lieu en mars cette année. (The school break takes place in March this year.)

Are there other ways to say 'holiday' in French?

Are there other ways to say “holiday” in French?

Our guide features the most common ways to talk about holidays, from les vacances (vacation) to un jour férié (a public holiday). However, French offers many other nuances, including regional terms and specific words for different kinds of breaks.

You can uncover more specific terms by doing an online search for “calendrier des fêtes en France” or “expressions pour les vacances au Québec” to see regional and cultural variations.

Pay close attention to context. For instance, un congé usually refers to a day off from work, while une fête can mean a party or a specific festival. Always check a word’s meaning to ensure you’re using it correctly.

As you immerse yourself in French culture by reading, watching shows, and listening to music, you’ll notice how people talk about their time off. This is the best way to learn the subtle differences naturally.

For a deeper dive into related vocabulary, like words for travel, relaxation, or celebration, the Larousse dictionary entry for vacances is a fantastic resource to explore synonyms and related expressions.

I hope this article helps you talk about your well-deserved breaks in French. To finish, here is a perfect quote about the value of holidays: Le voyage est la seule chose qu’on achète qui nous rend plus riche. (Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.)