I've just decided to take a trip to Paris in February. I'm not thrilled about what the weather will be like, but I need a vacation and Paris is my first love. I'm actually excited about the prospect of having the cite a bit more "to myself."

I'm not overly familiar with off-season airfares. When might I expect to see some sales? Right now, I could get a ticket in the low $700s butthat seems high to me....

Kate

The fare depends on where your departing city is.

February can be quite cold and drizzly or perhaps. I went in Feb. '04 and it was not all that cold during the daytime (50F's) and I got sunshine most days. Nighttime was around 30F's. Paris is nice no matter what the weather is.

It could be just cold in Paris in February, or it could be heavy snow. francophile03 was lucky. The metro will get you around in relative comfort, whatever the weather.


Why do you want to go there then? I'll be in Thailand in February where it's 90.F and sun every day.

I've been tentatively looking for PIT-CDG for March, and $671 is the cheapest (USAirways) I've found; this is much higher than previously for that time of year. So, $700 or thereabout does seem high, but it may be the reality. I would think if there are going to be any sales they would be taking place soon. Here's hoping!

kaneda, Paris is my travel version of comfort food. I've been there several times, and it's become my happy place. Given my interests, I'd rather walk in the rain there than sit on the beach some place warm. Plus, I can do it on the cheap. My travel budget has been tight this year and will likely be so next year too. With airfares during peak season rising, it's just better that I travel to Europe in the off-season. I'm usually climbing the walls by February so I thought it would be a good time to get out of town, even if the weather is spotty.

Kate, we always travel to Europe off season. As others have said, the weather can be anything...but a rainy day walking along the Sienne is better than a sunny day at home

That being said, fares are much higher this year than previously as grandmere mentioned. We are going to Paris later this month and paid about $100 more than we would have a couple of years ago.

I'm assuming from your name you are leaving from IND? Is that correct? If so, you might want to look into driving to Chi (only 3hrs, but in Feb ). You can probably save $100-$200 that way.

Kevin

Did you check sidestep? I just this weekend bought tickets to Paris over Easter from SFO, $618 all in. We do have to stop in AMS--compromises and all.

I've been to Paris in December and had a wonderful time. I like off-season travel and don't mind cold weather. There is so much to see and do indoors in Paris that I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Good luck with airfare.

Hi Kate!
I got a fare to Paris for January (IND - CDG) in the high $600 range, so I'm betting you might find a slightly lower fare, but I wouldn't count on it.

In my experience, it's rarely worth it to fly out of Chicago. It's not always even cheaper, and then you have the hassle of parking there, and the jet-lagged drive back home-- ugghh!

As far as the weather: I've been in Paris in the winter multiple times, and as long as you dress for the cold, it's great!

I am struck too with the increases in airfare, at least to Europe and the Caribbean. Is your flight a direct one? It doesn't sound too bad to me if it is, given the going rate. We're paying close to $600 per ticket (all taxes incl./direct flight) to Paris in December and that was through an advertised deal way back in the early fall/late summer. The flight costs in the height of the summer are crazy, sad to say.
letour

Air France's lowest fare for February is $550 RT from JFK (that includes taxes) now. So I don't think low $700 is unexpected from the midwest, if that is where you are flying from. It doesn't even seem high to me, as I thought those cheap winter fares were around $500 last year, but from New York or somewhere like that. YOu can usually get fares a little cheaper on some airline that may be in bankruptcy or about to be, or with a lot of stops or something.

Since others posted their prices I'll post mine...$580 from Cle-Cdg for later this month.

We found tickets for as cheap as $550, but the planes weren't as nice

I've found that this year much more than others prices vary wildly from place to place. Columbus, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, etc. all have very different prices than Cleveland.

It really depends on what city you are leaving from.

Kevin

Sorry...two more pieces of info...

1) We are flying Continental with a single stop in Newark.

2) We are flying open jaw...into Paris out of Belgium.

Kate,
I felt lucky to get a ticket for $850 for April 2007, so $700 for February doesn't seem so out of line for me. You might want to try Auto Europe. I just checked, and all their flights say that they're sold out, but they say to call and talk to them, if you can't find a flight, so they probably have some flights that aren't published. Here's the phone number:

1-800-359-3876

I've bought tickets from them twice before, and one of those was booked over the phone. They were very nice to deal with.

Sandy

No need to explain - I absolutely get it about Paris whenever.
February airfare to Paris should be lower than those around Christmas or in the Spring, but all in all fares are higher than in years past. A nice place to compare options is http://matrix.itasoftware.com/cvg/dispatch/
You can also wait until after the holidays to see if there are any sales. And if you are really willing to risk you can wait for last minute fares a couple weeks before you plan to go. With airlines running so full these days consolidators don't have as much to offer (plus you are often penalized in terms of FF credit).

Marcy, good to see you a response from you! I hope you're well. I've been away from the boards a bit but will be back with a vengeance getting ready for Paris Part Trois. Is your conversation group still meeting on Thursdays?

My dates are wide open for travel in January and February. Do you think one is "better" than the other? I'm more adverse to rain than the cold. Right now, my tenative reservation is for February 2-10th. Having taken a vacation this past year (I got really into cycling and it's a costly hobby), I'm just eager to get out of Indianapolis. I'm sure you can relate.

Kate

Kate,
You know I can relate!

The French conversation group is still meeting the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of each month.

Come this Thursday if you can-
7:30 at the Cornerstone Cafe (54th and College). I won't be there this week, but I probably will be in 2 weeks. Hope to see you there!

I've been watching the airfares to Paris for late spring. Yesterday, BA and VAA had a r/t from SFO-LHR for $478.00. If we went on to CDG, it was another $300.00. I think we are going to fly just to LHR and fly easy-jet onto Paris. Oh, and this was for leaving the end of March, returning in April.

Indygirl,
We flew this past January
To Rome, return from Paris.
(Out of non-hub southern town)

We waited as late as December to book flights. Sometime in early December, we found a good fare (Northwest $516) for leaving in January, returning in February. Since your dates are flexible, you might wait a few more weeks.

Going to Paris in February 07 too. Got round trip from Newark to CDG hotel with breakfast $675. Thought that was a good deal

Pay attention to the air France website for sales.

We purchased our roundtrip airfare from Washington DC to Paris in Feb on air France for $525 all-in. Bought our tickets during a sale last May, but have seen other sales since then.