traveler12

Planning a extended trip to France and will be in Paris for the first 2 weeks of September.
What type of jacket is needed. I'll have a lightweight rain jacket for sightseeing but may need a nice coat for evenings. Can anyone recommend something nice, not too heavy. I'm thinking of a lightweight Trench Coat.

Robert2533

It should still be fairly warm in Paris the first two weeks of September. You might want to consider layering.

bilboburgler

Staying in the city will be warmer than the country

kerouac

September is still part of summer and often the warmest month.

nytraveler

Doubt you will need a coat unless the weather is very unseasonable or you are used to living in the tropics. I would think a light raincoat is the absolute most you wold need - and very probably not that.

suze

I don't think you need a trench coat in Paris in September!

Christina

I've been there several times at that time, I just have a lightweight coat I may wear at night. It's hip-length, just a quilted thing (hard to explain, a short thinner raincoat may be fine) that gives a little warmth but it's not much. It can be cool at night or first thing in the morning, but layering should work for that (sweater, long-sleeve T, etc.).

If you have one of those packable ultra-lightweight down jackets, you could take that. I have a beige one without a hood that can go with anything, including nice pants and skirts.

annhig

personally I'd pack a nice cardigan; it's probably all you'll need in September in Paris unless you are very unlucky.

nytraveler

I think any sort of down anything or line anything is definitely overkill. My experience in Paris is that in early Sept you may get 60's at night - so a thin sweater or wrap. Granted you can get a couple of days of unusual weather - but you're still taking about summer.

When there in mid November I took a leather jacket (unlined but not a blazer and that was plenty at night and too warm for during the day - for that I used a lightweight rain jacket - the kind that folds up into a little pouch.

Caveat: I am not from a very warm climate. I know people used to heat fee the cold more - we had a niece visit from FL and she wanted us to turn the heat on when the temp hit 70 - and everyone else was sitting around in tee shirts. We had to explain in NYC you don't get heat until much later in the year - and they only heat the indoors to 55 at night - and 68 during the day - not 75 the whole time.

tuscanlifeedit

I absolutely don't think you need anything more than a cardigan and layers. Your lightweight rain jacket is as much as you'll need. I won't even add a caveat. It's summer.

Coquelicot

If you're going to places other than Paris, temperatures may be cooler. We've come across days in the 50s in September in the Loire and Normandy.

denisea

I would take some layers and a large scarf/wrap for restaurants.

kimharp

Last year the second week of Sept was unseasonably cold and wet. I was happy to have my trench coat in Paris! There were some hot days for sure but also some cool wet ones.

Christina

I've needed more than a cardigan and rain jacket in summer in Paris, so that doesn't mean much. It isn't the same in September as July due to shorter hours. It just often does have a tinge of autumn in the air, regardless of temps. Depends when you want something more than a rain jacket (which to me is extremely thin and has no lining and provides no warmth). If you have a rain jacket that is warmer, then it probably would work. It just depends how light you want to pack or how prepared for any weather (and how much you typically want to wear in such weather).

Averages are that in September, it can often be down to the low 50s at night and in the early morning. That is cool to me. IN fact, I was just in Mexico City where the temps were similar to Paris in September, and lots of people were wearing more than a rain jacket in the evenings.

September in Paris is not the same as July.

annhig

Christina, she already has a rain jacket. a cardigan would go underneath the jacket to add warmth if needed [if she gets your idea of September in Paris] or be worn by itself if she gets mine.

nytraveler

Well it does depend on how much you feel the cold. I don;t wear anything more than a thin jacket (over a cardigan if necessary) until the temps go into the 40s. But if you're too cold at 75 - then you need to be prepared.

kerouac

Okay, this is meaningless in terms of what tourists think about the temperature, but in city-operated subsidized apartments, the heat does not go on until after October 30th unless there has been an exceptional cold snap.

But it should at least give you an idea that September (and even October) are not considered to be cold months.

annhig

kerouac, you are right of course. The fact is that none of us, tourist or local, can know what the weather is going to be like on a particular day in a particular place. We can rule certain things out - snow in Paris in July, for example - but otherwise virtually anything is possible.

Which is why layers are the way to go on almost any trip at home or abroad.