What to do? I am trying to figure out what to do for family vacation planning for the year. We are a family of 5, adults are 40YO, kids range from 4-19YO. We have managed to travel to Europe annually since 2002, mostly we visit Paris and another city (Example: London and Paris, Germany and Paris - open jaw). Only once have we left Paris off the agenda. Besides the fact that we LOVE the city it is nice to return to a place we are comfortable with, there is of course always something new to experience and it is nice to just be there and not have an agenda on what sites to “see”. We just enjoy spending time in the parks, walking the city and of course the food.

Usually we travel to Europe the last week of May to the first week of June, typically at least 10 days on the ground. We are budget conscious, we rent apartments for all stays and this time of year is nice as it is not in the heat of tourist season. Also, we reside in Florida and prefer temps that are too cold, cool and chilly are fine, but I have never travelled in the coldest time of year as I felt if the 30’s at home keep me inside I imagine it would be a wasted trip if I did not feel conformable enough to get out and see the city due to the temps.

For this year we are considering shortening our trip, going earlier or not going at all for several reasons. Our typical time will interfere with some work obligations, one child is in college that we are covering with without loans, and if we buckle down we could stock away some savings. Also, plane prices have been insane for our typical travel time, although it might be too early yet to know.

So … what to do??!

- We could stay local and just doing a few mini-vacations as we have plenty to do in Florida. This would definitely be cheaper and have more chances to get away. But I would sooooo miss Paris!

- We could go for spring break which is the end of April for us … but is this too cold??? Prices from MCO-CDG look pretty good for this time frame so it is appealing. Also the vacation would be shorter, maybe 5 days on the ground so that would be cost effective. But the temps have me a little apprehensive.

- Other ideas?

We will of course end up doing was works best for us but I thought it would be fun to get others perspective/opinions/insight and also get an idea of what the temps feel like at the end of April.

Thanks for taking the time to read!

My husband and I were in Paris last year from April 26-May 3 and it was lovely. Temperatures were from 60-70, tulips were blooming, trees were beginning to flower..sigh.

...and I've been there when it was a lot cooler than anticipated, and I regretted only bringing one thin scarf! That's the thing about April: it's not very easy to predict the weather. But they don't sing about Paris in Springtime for nothing!

It is very unlikely it will be in the 30's. (I'd say that more strongly but don't want to jinx anything LOL.) Check out historical weather data on wunderground.com to help get an idea. IMO, there's never a bad time to go to Paris - the city herself always makes everything better!!

I seem to always be in Paris in Feb/early March and I don't find it too cold. With a scarf and lightweight jacket (never a coat), I stay plenty warm with all the walking I do, and all the cafes have heaters outdoors. Avg April high is around 57 degrees (probably higher at the end of the month), so your chances are good of having weather you can tolerate.

April is a beautiful time in Paris.

mabern2: I'm from L.A. and hate real cold weather and really don't do well in it. I have difficulty in breathing when it's too cold. But, I have made it, many times, through Paris in March and April, though March has been a booger bear on me, as my body temperature just doesn't seem to warm up. Some Marches were really uncomfortably cold for me. I did better one November than I did in one March.

I layer with a long-sleeved pullover, a cashmere sweater, a coat, muffler or scarf ,gloves and cap. That's for daytime temps. Then I'm fine.

What's a normal temp to one person might be freezing cold to another, depending on what one is used to.

The spring temperature in Paris is about what it is in winter here in L.A. I just came in tonight and it was around 55F out. I didn't have gloves on as I forgot them, but I did have on a cotton T-shirt, a cotton turtleneck, a cotton sweatshirt fabric, zip-front sweater jacket, and a short down-style coat over that. Plus a scarf, knee boots and thick socks. Then I felt warm enough. And thank goodness it wasn't far to my heated car. And to think, I never heat my residence. But, I sleep under Scandinavian goose down. LOL! Happy Travels!

The average high temp is in the 60s. April is also, statistically, a relatively dry month for Paris. Of course, any individual day can deviate substantially from the average, so you might want to be prepared.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/c...ml?tt=TT003570

Honestly, I don't really understand these threads. If you get any decent number of responses, then you should expect the answer to tend toward the average conditions anyway, so why not skip the anecdotes and go straight to a weather website?

Mostly travel to Paris in late March and I have never been uncomfortable., often wearing just a light sweater. And I too am from Fl so would feel the cold.

http://www.weather2travel.com/climat...tination=paris

Late 50s early 60s during the day usually little rain...

Sweater coat weather at night sometimes when windy...

Usually catch great deals on the Meridiens bidding priceline

www.betterbidding.com from $80/nt recently for me the Etoile.

Super nice for price... Happy Journey,

I'm not going to comment on the weather in April - which can be anything from cold to warm, wet to dry, often all of the above in one day.

I am going to say that it seems like a lot of money to spend for just 5 days in a city you have visited many times before. It is a lot of carbon miles, and a lot of $$.

Maybe you should consider whether this year you should skip Paris, save the money and visit next year for a longer period.

I think that is very sensible myself. But I don't have tons of vacation time and money to blow on vacations that are just okay at best. I wouldn't worry about the weather so much, April iosn't the coldest time of year, of course. But I can't imagine not going anywhere becuase it was only in the 30s, either.

I also don't understaned why ask for anecdotes from a few people, just go to a weather website that has longtern, accurate, historical trends.

Well … as I anticipated there are GREAT responses so thank you again for taking the time to give your insight and opinion.

Justbronwyn – I guess that goes to show there are exceptions to the average temps. How lucky you were! That would be ideal weather!!

ggreen – thanks for the website, have not ran across this one yet. I agree the comment I made about the 30’s would not be the temp at that time of year, I was just reflecting back on our recent record setting wheather here and how I did not want to get out from under the covers!! Bbbbrrrr!

Sidny – I did not think about the heaters being out, I imagine they make it pretty cozy. These are the kinds of things I would have no idea about never being there that time of year. And the walking is a good point, we always layer up if it is cool and unlayer as the temps rise as we are doing all that walking.

Guenmai – I think weather may affect you more than me! LOL! You sure do know how to layer up though! It’s 58 here tonight and I could tolerate walking around with just some minor layering. Paris espresso always warms me up when need be too!!

Travelgourmet – agreed, we always are prepared for the weather differences in the same day. We know it can rain one minute and get a bit warm a bit later especially being we head out in the morning and return around dinner time we always make sure we are prepared as much as possible.

Avalon - nice to hear from a fellow Floridian on your perspective for this time frame … thanks!

Qwovadis - thanks for the bidding website, I have not seen that one before will definitely check it out. I have to say we have used Priceline for local stays and loved the prices for great accommodations. Thanks!

I do understand those of you that pointed out the obvious that I can just look at weather websites, which I did, but I wanted input from those that have experienced this time of year as I have found that the same temperature is not the same FEELING in different cities. Example, here in FL I feel it is colder (to me) than the same temp in Indiana as it is more of a wet cold … being surround by water I suppose. So in my opinion experience is better than statistics and records.

Also, it is fun to communicate and hear your different perspectives, get good tips and join in the conversations.

The time may seem short but this is the typical amount of time we spend in Paris given we are heading to or from another city.

Agreed, we are considering staying local for the reasons I mentioned and we do not have money to “blow” and if we could not afford it we would not even consider it, but I do not feel something like this blowing money. These are life experiences that I love to share with my family and expose the kids too, share the moments that make memories. And like I said, this is the same time frame we would typically be in Paris so it would work for us.

So thank you all for your response, much appreciated!! You all had good input as always!!!

mabern, you're most welcome. You mention about the same temp feeling different in different climates and I agree. Actually, I meant to say earlier that Paris tends to be a damp cold rather than a dry one, which it sounds like you can relate to. Even coming from the US Northeast, in France it can feel colder for the same temp - I always felt it had to do with all that stone architecture that just sucks in and stores the cold LOL. Thick (rubber) soled shoes definitely help!

I think April is a marvelous time to visit Paris. Yes, you can always have freak weather patterns, need a jacket in the mornings or evenings, but that's why you do layers, plan appropriately.

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