Going to Paris and Provence in mid-June for 2 weeks. Do the French have the unfortunate practice of cranking up the air conditioning in museums, stores and restaurants like they do here in the U.S.? If not, I don't need to be prepared with jackets and sweaters for the interior "winter weather" and that will help out with keeping luggage to a minimum.

Nothing like the US. Some hotels/museums/shops have A/C but it is relatively mild compared with the very powerful A/C systems you tend to find in the US. Leave your winter weather gear at home.

Suz -

If you find you need winter weather gear in mid-June in Provence (indoors or out) you can feel free to stop on by and watch me publicly announce that I've had now "seen it all"...

As for our Paris - well, that's a another story altogether.

-Kevin

Alright -- maybe not "winter weather" -- but it is a real pet peeve of mine that in the summer I am comfortable going outside, but freezing when I go into a restaurant! We are dressed for the summer, so why the meat locker feel once you enter a building!? It requires that I lug a jacket or sweater for myself and my DD.I resent having to carry around this "stuff" in order to have a comfortable meal when I am out and about and seeing the sights.

Not much a/c to worry about in Paris from my June experiences.

Many places don't have AC at all - and the ones that do usually have it turned way down by US standards. You're far more likly to be to hot than to cold.

No, and you won't get ice in your drinks either.

My goodness! I opened the thread assuming it was one of the regular/frequent questions asking for recs for accommodations . . and "good a/c is a must."

I think this may be a Fodors first

Euro A/C is very wimpy by North American standards.

We found the Galeries Lafayette store at Montparnasse uncomfortably hot and humid in Paris 2 years ago... much to my amazement my wife and teenage daughter suggested we leave!

Believe me, that has never happened before! ;^)

Rob

I will echo all the above. We were in a heat wave in Paris in June 2002, and having AC in our hotel was a must...we wouldn't have slept a wink otherwise, and we could retreat to the room in the heat of the afternoon after going out in the morning. In Europe in the summer I wouldn't book a city hotel room without air conditioning.

In late June/early July '97 we stayed in a Gite in the Dordogne - and froze. Had to purchase a sweatshirt and the little space heater we had was sitting on the dining room table 3 feet from us while we had dinner. Next went to St Remy in Provence and the owner of the restaruant where we dined handed out sweaters to the guests who were dining outside on a covered terrace. We asked to be seated inside, but there was no room available and everyone was smoking anyway.

Stu Dudley

We stayed in a cute little hotel in Le Marais in mid-June 2005
and there was no a/c in our hotel. It was so hot we almost died. At night we would drink a bottle of champagne that we purchased at the market in our room at midnight in order to fall asleep. We had two floor fans aimed at our bed and still we tossed and turned all night for 5 nights. But we still had a blast and can't wait to go back. I remember the
Louvre being freezing, but never the restaurants.