French - Places & Opening Hours

Lesson 151 of 159

Learner looking at a French café sign about opening hours, practicing phrases about open and closed.

Goal: Common French phrases for shops, toilets, and availability

Free French lessons with guided practice, audio, and speaking support.

Bonjour! Ready for a short, useful French lesson about places and opening hours in France? We'll hear key phrases, practice them, and then you'll say them aloud.

Level A1: In this short CEFR-aligned lesson (151) you'll learn how to say if a place is open or closed, ask opening and closing times, find the toilets, and check if a seat is free. You will hear phrases, try quick quizzes, and practice saying each line out loud.

After this lesson you'll be able to:

  • Recognize and say simple phrases about open/closed and availability (A1).
  • Ask and answer 'What time does it open/close?' in French.
  • Ask where the toilets are and whether a seat or room is free/occupied.
A traveler asking a café employee for opening hours and the location of the toilets in French; useful for places in France.

Ready? Let's go!

When you tap play on phrases, we track your progress through this lesson.

1. Reading + Listening Practice

Hear core phrases, repeat aloud.

C'est fermé.

It's closed.

Meaning: It's closed.

When to use: Use when a shop, restaurant, office, museum, or restroom is not open for visitors.

Désolé, c'est fermé aujourd'hui.
Sorry, it's closed today.
La boutique est fermée — c'est fermé jusqu'à demain.
The shop is closed — it's closed until tomorrow.

C'est ouvert.

It's open.

Meaning: It's open.

When to use: Say this when a place is currently welcoming visitors or customers.

Bonne nouvelle, c'est ouvert pendant les vacances.
Good news — it's open during the holidays.
Le café est prêt : c'est ouvert maintenant.
The café is ready: it's open now.

Ça ouvre à quelle heure ?

What time does it open?

Meaning: What time does it open?

When to use: Ask this when you want to know the opening hour for shops, museums, restaurants, or offices.

Tip: Don't forget the question structure—'Ça ouvre à quelle heure ?' is the natural spoken form.

Excusez‑moi, ça ouvre à quelle heure demain ?
Excuse me, what time does it open tomorrow?
Le marché, ça ouvre à quelle heure le samedi ?
What time does the market open on Saturday?

Ça ferme à quelle heure ?

What time does it close?

Meaning: What time does it close?

When to use: Use this to ask the closing time for shops, museums, cafés, or other places.

Le musée, ça ferme à quelle heure le dimanche ?
What time does the museum close on Sunday?
Avant d'entrer, je demande : 'Ça ferme à quelle heure ?'
Before going in, I ask: 'What time does it close?'

Les toilettes, c'est par où ?

Which way are the toilets?

Meaning: Which way are the toilets?

When to use: Ask in cafés, restaurants, stations, or public places when you need to find the toilets.

Pardon, les toilettes, c'est par où ?
Excuse me, which way are the toilets?
Avant la visite, quelqu'un a demandé : 'Les toilettes, c'est par où ?'
Before the tour, someone asked: 'Where are the toilets?'

C'est occupé.

It's occupied. / Someone's in there.

Meaning: It's occupied. / Someone's in there.

When to use: Say this when a toilet, seat, room, or phone line is currently in use.

Désolé, la cabine est prise : c'est occupé.
Sorry, the stall is taken: it's occupied.
Tu peux attendre, la salle est occupée maintenant.
You can wait, the room is occupied right now.

C'est libre ?

Is it free? / Is this available?

Meaning: Is it free? / Is this available?

When to use: Ask about a seat, table, room, or time slot to check availability (not price).

Tip: Don't use this to ask about price—'libre' asks about availability, not cost.

Excusez‑moi, cette place est libre ?
Excuse me, is this seat free?
Avant de poser mon sac, je demande : 'C'est libre ?'
Before I put my bag down, I ask: 'Is this free?'

2. Conversational Listening Practice

Hear phrases in a real mini-conversation.

Anna and David at a small museum café.

Two people in a small museum discussing whether a place is open or closed and asking for directions to the toilets.

What does Anna ask David first?

Portrait of Anna in a French lesson dialogue

Anna

Les toilettes, c'est par où ?

Which way are the toilets?

Portrait of David in a French lesson dialogue

David

C'est par là, au fond à droite.

They are over there, at the back on the right.

Portrait of Anna in a French lesson dialogue

Anna

Merci. Le musée, ça ferme à quelle heure ?

Thanks. What time does the museum close?

Portrait of David in a French lesson dialogue

David

Il ferme à 18h. Et la boutique ?

It closes at 6 pm. And the shop?

Portrait of Anna in a French lesson dialogue

Anna

Je pense que maintenant c'est fermé.

I think it's closed now.

Portrait of David in a French lesson dialogue

David

Oui, c'est fermé, mais le café est ouvert.

Yes, it's closed, but the café is open.

3. Guided Practice

Quizzes and matching to lock in meaning.

Which phrase means 'Is this seat available?'

How do you ask 'What time does it close?' in French?

If someone says 'C'est occupé.', what do they mean?

You arrive and a shop's door is closed. What would you say (or read)?

The café is closed. We'll come back tomorrow.

Le café ___ . On reviendra demain.

At the restaurant I asked, 'Excuse me, which way are the toilets?' I was looking for the restroom.

Au restaurant, j'ai demandé : « Excusez‑moi, ___ ? » Je cherchais les WC.

Before I sit down, I always ask: 'Is this free?'

Avant de m'asseoir, je demande toujours : « ___ »

Match the core phrases

Match the extra phrases

4. Speaking Practice

Say phrases yourself (mic/recording).

Recording stays on your device only. Check speech uses your browser's speech tools when available.

Say this phrase out loud:

C'est fermé.

It's closed.

Say this phrase out loud:

C'est ouvert.

It's open.

Say this phrase out loud:

Ça ouvre à quelle heure ?

What time does it open?

Say this phrase out loud:

Ça ferme à quelle heure ?

What time does it close?

Say this phrase out loud:

Les toilettes, c'est par où ?

Which way are the toilets?

Say this phrase out loud:

C'est occupé.

It's occupied. / Someone's in there.

Say this phrase out loud:

C'est libre ?

Is it free? / Is this available?