Paris in August???
 

Considering taking family vacation to France in late July - early Aug. Will most of France be shut down for holiday? Will it be easy to find accommodations with air conditioning? Just starting to plan and any advise would be helpful

Thanks,
smoot in TN

Many people prefer Paris in August (without a lot of Parisians :) ) Poeple have posted here that each year, more places stay open. The top restaurants will be closed but plenty will be open. I think the biggest challenge will be finding hotel(s) with <b>good</b> a/c. Many people have reported booking a hotel with A/C that didn't work-or was turned off during the day etc.

Do a text search here for Paris AND august.

Exactly, the key is not a hotel with AC - but a hotel with American-style AC - so the room is cool enough that you can sleep - not just a little less hot. When we travel in the midst of the summer we always go for major chain hotels that we know have real AC (much as we hate them the rest of the time - and you might as well be in St. Louis as Paris - the charm is just not worth sleepless nights).

A hotel with really good A/C is the charming little Aviatic (in St. Germain, but actually closer to Montparnasse. I've stayed there twice and the A/C was wonderful, (everything was updated there a couple of years ago). It's also very convenient for transportation options (Air France bus from CDG to Montparnasse, plenty of good metro stops, restaurants, etc.) I loved that hotel.

The myth that Paris is closed is just that--a myth. A lot of French people come to visit their capital on THEIR holiday also. Plenty to do.

&gt;The myth that Paris is closed is just that--a myth.&lt;

True, but it does slow down.

I recall a Letter to the Editor (to Le Monde, I think) from a Parisian who was incensed that every August he had to walk an extra two blocks on the way home because his baker closed for the month.

We were in Paris for the last 3 days of August and found that that museums in particular were much less crowded than at other times we'd been. We actually had the main Impressionist galleries of the Mus&eacute;e d'Orsay to ourselves for a whole hour in the morning.

And every year, more and more restaurants stay open.

We've ended our European trips in Paris during August several times. It may be hot, but not necessarily anymore than in June or July. Yes, get an air-conditioned hotel. They are only harder to find if you drop below three stars.

We have found a handful of restaurants closed -- two last year that we were hoping to eat at (although one was actually closed the last week of July). But there is still plenty of choice -- and it's a great time for late night dining outside.

Shopping? There are incredible sales on summer clothing. I hit a sale at a wonderful men's store on St. Germain. Beautiful linen shirts that are normally a little over 100 euro each for 25 euro. I found two in my size in colors I really liked. They are two of the finest shirts I own.

We were in Paris in August 1997.

Even if your hotel has good A/C, a lot of public places don't. We stayed at the Holiday Inn ST. GERMAIN DES PRES and the A/C was great. And the location was ideal.

Since you'll be doing a lot of walking, it can be very uncomfortable in August.

As for restaurants, there were plenty to choose from. Only word of advice - get recommendations. I'm sure there were very good meals to be had, but we didn't do our homework.

And it appeared that only the very high-end stores were closed.

Welcome to Mrskenney.

This is her first post.