Fashion week Sept 23-Oct 1....our dates for Paris Sept 22-28
 

Will it be a mistake to make our plans to be in Paris during fashion week, i.e., rooms pricier than normal, restaurants difficult to get into, sights crowded? We have not booked our flight yet, but plan to asap. We are visiting Strasbourg for 4 nights and could possibly do that at the end, but would prefer to end in Paris.

I was hoping our trip would overlap Fashion Week but we are just missing it.

I didn't think that any fashion industry people would want to sleep or eat at the places I can afford, though. I was just hoping to see something on the streets.

We were in Paris last fall during Fashion Week and we loved it. There were lots of people everywhere and saw lots of neat fashions but it didn't really hurt our trip at all, except we paid a bit more for our hotel room. We thought it was a great week to be in Paris.

I used to be in the fashion business, although the low and moderate end. However I did come to Paris during fashion weeks every year.

General observations which may be helpful
Day before shows start, airport mobbed,long lines for customs and cabs
We stayed at 4 star hotels but had to make reservations months in advance
Cabs hard to find and the metro mobbed
Dinner at nice restaurants not necessarily gourmet but reservations also difficult to make
Streets any where near where shows were held were difficult to walk

Most peple comng to the shows have been to Paris many times and they are there to work. We never had time to sightsee.
We did shop the boutiques for trends and to see what was being sold .
This was years ago when it took a yeat for clothes to go from runway to USA retail copies .

I am not a clothes horse but I must admit it was fun to see some of the extreme outfits worn by some .

Do not mean to ramble but this question brought back many good memories

Thank you for your replies. We are having trouble getting a reservation at any of the recommended hotels during those dates. Guess we will push out to next week or two.

We have had to flip our dates several times due to fashion weeks in both Paris and Milan.

It wouldn't make much difference if you don't frequent high end restaurants and hotels, really, most people are NOT in the fashion business. I've been there at that time and didn't even notice. The only thing is you have to book your hotel up in advance, but that is true of September in general and since it is near the end of July, it could just be that you are having trouble because Sept-October are very busy times in Paris and it is best to reserve months in advance if you have specific hotels you want.

Fashion show attendees are not visiting the Eiffel Tower, believe me. Some hotels do raise prices a bit for those weeks, but not very many. But prices are higher in September than some other months regardless of that, it's just a busy time in Paris, that's all.

you know, I was just toying with a trip to Europe and was thinking of Paris during the end of September, also, and suddenly thought -- gee, I'm not following my own advice, I should check hotels.

Here is one chain I often use, for example, they alone have 3 nice hotels with vacancies during your dates. I have stayed numerous times at the Aiglon and like it a lot. http://www.esprit-de-france.com/

That's just one example, I bet you can find dozens of hotels with vacancies on www.booking.com.