My husband and I are about to leave for our first trip to Paris and have been looking at the weather forecasts with increasing dismay. It looks like monsoon season! Is anyone out there in Paris or recently returned who can tell us what it's like? We've packed the umbrellas and raincoats and will have a great time no matter what, but we just want to know what to expect. Thanks!!!!

It has rained for part of every day and every night for quite some time. Many people are walking around in winter coats. At the moment the sun is out (3:45 pm Paris time) and the temperature is almost tolerable, but definitely cooler than it should be.

We just spent four days in Paris. We packed summer clothes but found we should have packed the winter ones instead. Used my jacket everyday and the umbrella. Still we had a great time and would have loved to stay longer. We are near Cahors now and the weather is still colder than we expected.

global warming?

definitely global warming, we spent last August in France and it was unseasonably cool in every region we visited. luckily cool and even rainy weather doesn't prevent a wonderful time in France have a great visit to Paris, srasaenz Deborah

We just got back from our week long stay. We had packed for cooler weather and rain per weather.com forecast. We wished we had packed a few more summer things. Most days were like this, cool cloudy start, warm mid day, cloudy perhaps a light shower late day with a nice evening. The weather we had was not what was forecast. It was much warmer and sunnier. However I did wear a jacket on most days. Most tourists were underdressed. Now on Tuesday the day we left, it was much cooler and rainy and that was supposed to be the trend.

Well, if it helps you any, right now it is 61 degrees F at 6:47pm. You will need long pants, long sleeves and a jacket if the weather of the past three weeks holds.

we leave in the am... I am dismayed as well.

I live in Paris. It's not constant rain and cold temperatures. Yes, it will rain once (or twice) a day, but it doesn't rain all day. Pack an umbrella and more than one pair of comfortable walking shoes, because one pair might get soaked. Use the rain as an excuse to pop into a cafe and have a drink. The rain will likely be over in 15 minutes to half an hour (but it will be very heavy while it rains). Despite the rain and cooler than usual temperatures, I still find Paris to be somewhat muggy, so I wear lightweight layers (e.g. a long or short sleeve tshirt and a jacket on top). Without the jacket, it feels too cold when I start out in the morning, but in the metros and often if I've been walking for 10 minutes or so, the jacket feels too warm. I think that a winter coat would be overdoing it, but a spring raincoat or a lightweight leather jacket would be good, or even a blazer and scarf.

The other place to shelter from the rain is the shops. You will be arriving in Paris just as the famous semi-annual sales get going (they started today). There are still loads of bargains, at 20-50% or more off. So pray for rain and drag your travel companion into a shop to escape from the weather.

Just returned from dinner and drinks -- it is 0:40 (40 past midnight) Paris time. It is raining and cool.

It's now midnight 45 and Paris weather says 57 degrees F, but we've got the windows open and it feels cooler than that. It just quit raining in this part of the city a few minutes ago. Time to close the windows and go to bed.

Thanks Kate... I was wondering if I really needed that heavy rain coat. I have several travel umbrellas that I will pack (there are 2 adults and 2 children). I threw a couple more sweaters in the luggage and two more shoes... somehow my packing light is going to the birds the closer it gets to me leaving! Less then 14 hours

Thanks everyone . . . this is very helpful. Thanks to this forum we've been able to add a couple of sweaters and extra shoes while still packing light (those compression bags really help, my clothes now look like they've been shrink-wrapped!) Thanks for the reminder that Paris in the rain is still going to be wonderful. We leave in 8 hours!!!!

I unfortunately agree with DeborahAnn, Global Warming - last August we spent 16 days in Germany and Switzerland and it was rainy just about every day and cold - we had to wear pants, sweatshirts and jackets, which of course we had to purchase over there as we only packed summer clothes.