Private Jet Golden Week 2027: Paris, Riviera and Champagne

Seven days in France, from 29 April to 5 May 2027

Take Friday 30 April off and Golden Week 2027 lasts seven days, from Thursday 29 April to Wednesday 5 May. Leave Tokyo late on the evening of Wednesday 28 April and you land at Paris-Le Bourget early on the 29th, after about 14h45 on a route that keeps out of Russian airspace. The date that decides the Riviera falls earlier: the slot coordinator for Nice takes no one-off request for the summer season before 1 February 2027. Our Paris office prepares Le Bourget and our Nice team the coast, both filing as soon as your dates are set: request a quote for your Golden Week in France, answered within the hour.

Four Japanese holidays, three French ones: the 2027 calendar

The Cabinet Office list of national holidays places four dates in Golden Week 2027. Friday 30 April is not one of them.

• Thursday 29 April: Showa Day.
• Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 May: the weekend in between.
• Monday 3 May: Constitution Memorial Day.
• Tuesday 4 May: Greenery Day.
• Wednesday 5 May: Children's Day.

Without a day off, the break lasts five days; with 30 April, seven; with 6 and 7 May as well, eleven, until Sunday 9 May.

France has its own holidays in the same fortnight, as listed by service-public.fr: Labour Day on Saturday 1 May, Ascension on Thursday 6 May, Victory in Europe Day on Saturday 8 May. Ascension falls the day after Golden Week ends and, with the Friday bridged, gives France a four-day weekend. From 28 March 2027, summer time puts Paris seven hours behind Tokyo.

Saturday 1 May: the Louvre and Versailles stay shut

1 May is the only French public holiday on which work must stop for every employee, apart from activities that cannot be interrupted. On their websites in September 2026, the Louvre closes on 1 January, 1 May, 25 December and every Tuesday; the Palace of Versailles on the same three dates and on Mondays.

Between 1 and 5 May, both are open only on Sunday 2 and Wednesday 5 May. For a family that landed on 29 April, Saturday 1 May is therefore the day to fly south, and we place the Nice leg there.

Le Bourget, Nice, Cannes: the airport for each leg

The long-haul jet lands at Paris-Le Bourget, open around the clock with customs on site. The French legs that follow are short:

• Paris to Nice: 1h30 in a Citation Mustang, as on our Paris to Nice route.
• Paris to Cannes-Mandelieu: 1h30 in the same aircraft, to the airfield closest to the Croisette.
• Champagne: about 25 minutes from Le Bourget to Reims, a day trip from Paris.
• Provence: Avignon in about 1h05 from Le Bourget, or half an hour from Nice.

Two rules set the order. Cannes-Mandelieu turns away jets above 35 tonnes, and a Global 7500 weighs up to 52 tonnes at take-off, so an ultra long range jet from Tokyo lands at Nice. A jet whose operator is not European has no right to carry paying passengers between two French cities (European cabotage rules, Regulation (EC) No 1008/2008): we then charter a European jet for Paris to Nice, and the long-haul aircraft waits at Le Bourget or joins you empty in Nice for the flight home.

Organise your Golden Week in France with IBC Aviation

IBC Aviation has no office in Japan. Our Bangkok office, two hours behind Tokyo, answers your assistant within the Japanese working day. The Paris team books Le Bourget, the handling and the domestic legs; our Nice office files the slot for flights to or from Nice, asks the airport to approve any stay over four hours, and books the helicopter to Monaco, about 7 minutes away.

Before quoting, we check the long-haul operator's authorisations and each passport. Send us your dates, the number of travellers and the cities: our Paris and Nice teams return one itinerary, every leg priced.

From 1 February: the Riviera slot window

Nice is coordinated all year: each business flight needs a slot from COHOR, the French slot coordinator, requested through the handling agent. For the summer season, which starts on 28 March 2027, COHOR does not consider a one-off request before 1 February.

Weekends weigh most. Nice's AIP provides for business jets parked as far as the south-east zone of their apron from Thursday noon to Monday noon, local time, throughout the summer season, and for the whole of events such as the Cannes Film Festival. Golden Week covers the weekend of 1 and 2 May, and an eleven-day stay reaches the Ascension weekend too. We therefore request the slot and the parking approval in the same file.

The 80th Cannes Film Festival follows from 11 to 22 May 2027, and COHOR applies specific procedures at Cannes-Mandelieu during it, as for the Monaco Grand Prix on 4 to 6 June 2027. A family flying home by 9 May leaves before both. For a longer stay, see our pages on the Cannes Film Festival by private jet and the Monaco Grand Prix.

No visa for 90 days, fingerprints on the first entry

An ordinary Japanese passport enters France and the rest of the Schengen area without a visa, for up to 90 days in any 180, according to Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It must remain valid three months beyond the planned departure and be less than ten years old, which we check before confirming the date.

The first landing at Le Bourget enrols each passenger in the Entry/Exit System, fully in service since 10 April 2026: a facial image, plus fingerprints from the age of 12, with nothing to file beforehand, as the French embassy in Japan explains. ETIAS, the future online authorisation at EUR 20, was not in service in September 2026; the embassy expects it in the last quarter of 2026 at the earliest, and we recheck it before you fly. Our EES and ETIAS briefing covers both systems.

What each leg costs, from EUR 3,500 to 12,000 per hour

Tokyo to Paris has no fixed fare. An ultra long range jet such as the Global 7500 costs EUR 9,000 to 12,000 per flight hour; a heavy jet, from EUR 6,500 per hour, has to stop on the way.

Within France, a one-way Paris to Nice flight costs for example EUR 9,000 in a four-seat Citation Mustang, for 1h30 in the air, and Paris to Cannes EUR 8,500 in the same aircraft. A family of five to seven moves up to a light jet such as the Phenom 300, seven seats, from EUR 4,000 per hour. Reims and Avignon have no set fare and are priced by the hour, from EUR 3,500 in a very light jet. Our private jet charter rates set out every category.

Five to eleven days, three French holidays, two airports on the coast: send us the dates your family has in mind.

Our offices · France +33 1 41 69 88 88 · Switzerland +41 22 880 28 88 · Luxembourg +352 26 20 25 53 88 · Dubai +971 55 303 5161 · Bangkok +66 92 372 4680 · contact@ibc-aviation.com

Frequently asked questions

How much does a private jet for Golden Week in France cost?

The Tokyo to Paris flight is billed by the hour, with no fixed fare: EUR 9,000 to 12,000 per hour in an ultra long range jet. Within France, a one-way Paris to Nice flight costs for example EUR 9,000 in a four-seat Citation Mustang, and Paris to Cannes EUR 8,500 in the same aircraft.

How long is the flight from Tokyo to Paris by private jet?

About 14h45 to Le Bourget, on a route that keeps out of Russian airspace, depending on the aircraft and the winds. Paris is seven hours behind Tokyo in May, so a departure late on the evening of 28 April lands in Paris early on the 29th.

What are the Golden Week 2027 dates?

Thursday 29 April, then Monday 3 to Wednesday 5 May, with the weekend of 1 and 2 May in between. Friday 30 April is a working day in Japan. In France, 1 May, Ascension on Thursday 6 May and 8 May are public holidays.

Do Japanese passport holders need a visa for France?

No, for up to 90 days in any 180, if the passport is valid three months beyond departure and was issued within ten years. The first entry records a facial image and fingerprints in the Entry/Exit System. ETIAS was not yet required in September 2026.

When should a Golden Week flight to France be booked?

As soon as the dates are fixed. The slot coordinator for Nice accepts one-off summer requests from 1 February, and any stay longer than four hours on the apron needs the airport's approval. We file both together, as soon as your dates are set.