Guests are arriving at a country hotel where Giselle works as a chambermaid and her mother, Berthe is the housekeeper. Count Albrecht, who is in love with Giselle, arrives disguised as a commoner. Jealous, he tries to separate them and a fight ensues.
Villagers return from the fields to celebrate the grape harvest.
The wilis haunt the forest seeking their revenge on young men by forcing them to dance to their death. The shooting party arrives, led by the Duke of Courland and his daughter Bathilde, Albrecht's fiance. Giselle and Bathilde meet. Giselle is crowned Queen of the Vine but during the celebration Albrecht's identity is revealed. Giselle, destroyed by grief at Albrecht's duplicity, loses her mind, stabs herself and dies.