Paris: Best month(s) to visit
 

Looking to plan a trip for next year and would like to go when it is not too hot, not too cold, ahhh...just right. What month or few months are the most pleasant weather wise in Paris?

IMHO, here it is in rank order: May, September, April and October. Others will revise this list. However, you might want to go to a weather site with historical data and check it out for yourself.

I'd add the month of June to that list, but with a provision that the earlier in June the better. Generally the weather in Paris is pleasant in June, but it begins to heat up late in the month. As for rain, April is the dryer month of those already named. From May through the rest of the year, based on historical data, the rainfall averages are about the same every month.

Having said all that, I would personally opt for October as my favorite time of year. It is generally cool and a little crisp, not too rainy, and there are a lot less tourists about. My second choice would be April for the same reasons, plus the emergence of spring foliage and flowers. Good luck.

I'd go with June, May, September, October.

But, it's totally unpredictable. One June, we experienced a huge (unusual) heat wave lasting the entire visit. Same dates the very next year, it was quite chilly with a heat wave at the end. When we visited in September, Fall had come early and it was alternately chilly and pleasant, with quite a bit of rain.

The longer your visit, the better your chances for some really pleasant days.

I wouldn't place too much confidence in historical weather data. 70 is the "average" of 50 and 90, and you could experience either extreme, often in the same day, in a place where the weather is as variable as Paris.

Paris is great January thru December but early June and early September are my favorites. If like me, you like to spend evenings at outdoor cafes it can get a little too cool in the late evenings in October or before late May.

Larry J

Another point is that the days are longer in June...more time to enjoy!

mdtravel:

As is appararent by now, the answer is: "It depends". :)

We were there last year in mid-to-late October. (Oct 16 to Nov 3). Crowds were minimal. It was cool, sometimes cold...rained a good bit. (But wet Paris streets just make the City of Light even prettier!). Fireplaces warmed and added ambience to many restaurants.

I love winter clothes, so I was tres happy wrapping myself in beautiful winter scarves and wearing boots almost every day/night.

The trees were turning amber when we arrived, almost bare when we left 18 days later. That meant the streets were carpeted with gold...at night they vitually glowed in the soft reflected light from the monuments.

Next time I'd go in April, just to see spring flowers and gardens in full bloom. But Autumn has a beauty of its own...a sight I'm glad we didn't miss.

Isn't there a song on this subject? "I love Paris in the springtime. I love Paris in the fall."

You can plan, but in reality there is no guarantee. I've been to Paris in July many times and the weather varied in that month from just right to very hot to very cold--even in July, I've been there several years when it rained a lot and was quite cool.

I would also suggest you view historical weather data because that is the most accurate info as it is based on statistics. If you aren't at all familiar with northern Europe weather, it can make it clearer as some people aren't aware that Paris is not as hot in the summer as a lot of the US, for example. Good historical weather data doesn't give you one avg, temperature for the entire day, only bad sites do that. If you are going to bet on the weather, the best choice is obviously actual statistical averages, as long as you understand that it can vary considerably. It doesn't vary as much in some places (eg, in Wash DC it is never going to be cool), so I think people may not realize that.

Personally, I mostly plan trips to Paris based on things other than the weather, such as number of daylight hours (very important to me) or special events I want to attend. If money is a consideration, you'll probably pay more in June than in May for airfare, for example.

I like the yahoo weather section as it has pretty good and easy to use historical data. For Paris itself, just go to the weather section on www.paris.org and it gives quite detailed stats by month (highs, lows, precipitation).

RE: jeanneb

You wrote: "The trees were turning amber when we arrived, almost bare when we left 18 days later. That meant the streets were carpeted with gold...at night they vitually glowed in the soft reflected light from the monuments."

Very nice visual image. Paris was made for romantics like you.

According to the all the historical weather data I studied for Moscow and St. Petersburg, we could probably expect temps in the high 60's for our dates in June. What we got was temps in the low 50's. Folks told us the same time last year they had a heat wave with temps over 90 every day. Read after returning home that this was the coldest June since 1941.

We ultimately picked mid-late June, though, for the long daylight hours and the White Nights.

In my opinion, any month is a good month to visit Paris. The weather is unpredictible so even if you go in July it can turn cool or you can go in October and it'll be warm.

Jean offers

>Isn't there a song on this subject? "I love Paris in the springtime. I love Paris in the fall."<

"I love Paris in the Summer, when it sizzles. I love Paris in the winter, when it drizzles".