Paris in May advice
 

We are planning another Paris visit next year. Dh & I were there 2 years ago for the firs time and had a wonderful time. We were there in December.
We are planning to go in May this time for a week with my sister and bil. It will be a 1st time visit for them. We all would like to see Versailles and Giverny. I've read that May is very rainy. We had rain most every day in December. We are considering the end of May so we can see the gardens in bloom with flowers. We are flexible with our dates. We prefer not to go in the heat and crowds of June-August. Knowing that no one can predict the weather and exact bloom time of the gardens, but some have better knowledge and experience than I, do you think May is a good time to visit?
We are considering stayingat Hotel Le Royal 212 boulevard Raspail | 14th Arr., 75014 Paris, France.
Any input on this hotel or the area? We previously stayed in the 1st Arr and liked it because we were so close to museums and metro. I chose the 14th because I think we'd like to be in more of a neighborhood with bistros, restaurants, small stores and still close to Metro.
They are not concerned with making sure they get to see every top site in Paris. They are happy wandering and taking time to enjoy whatever they have time for.
Any suggestions or advice is appreciated.
Thanks!

May can be rainy and it can be gorgeous. The horse chestnut trees in Paris should be in bloom.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...57623266287099

As for Giverny and Versailles, the trick to to keep an open schedule and go there on the days when the weather is nice, and do the museums and <i>passages</i> when it is rainy.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...57623310709181

We have been in Paris in May for the last 3 years. We have had very little rain, majority of days have been very nice. You can look up average temps and rainfall for Paris in May since my info is obviously anecdotal. I would not go in summer if you can avoid. May or October are ideal months.

We always stay in the Marais (3rd or 4th arr). I like the neighborhood and everything is very walkable. We just got back from Paris and did some exploring in the 10th and 11th arr. We liked both neighborhoods and 11th seemed like a more low key Marais. There was a wonderful market and we had lunch at Rino, one of my new favorite restaurants in Paris.

Don't know much about 14th arr. I would just make sure you are not too far from other parts of the city. We walk everywhere so I like being in a more central location.

May is the best time to visit along with late September. We have been to Paris in May for our last 3 trips. It has not been "very rainy". We have had some rain but, by and large, the weather has been very nice. In fact, last time we were there the last week of May and it was quite hot. Consider a hotel with AC.

Consider staying in the 6th. It is full of bistros, small shops, neighborhoods, etc. and is closer to the center so you can walk many of the places you plan to go. Or take the Metro. You can find advice on hotels in the 6th and 14th by using the search function at the top of this page and searching for "Left Bank Hotels".

We have been to Giverny on each of our May trips and the gardens are beautiful in May, whether early or late, as are the gardens in all of Paris.

Have a wonderful time.

Thank you, both! I appreciate your insight. I agree. I think we will try to plan to see Versailles and Giverny early on and if the weather is not agreeble, we can chnge plans and go an alternate day and spend the rainy days in museums and E-Dehillerin.
I will do some futher research into the 14th arr. We don't need to be smack in the middle of the city if there is metro close and bistros and restaurants close. We will have to take the RER to Versailles and Giverny in any case, so it doesn't matter as far as they go.

mamcalice-Thank you! It seems we were posting at the same time. I will look into the 6th arr. as well. Thank you!
September is also another consideration for us. I do prefer to see the Spring bulbs and flowers to the late summer/fall flowers, but NOW I'm being picky. I guess I'm hoping for a "May is the best! You should go!" LOL Last time we stayed right across the street from Jardin des Tuileries. It was beautiful in December. We kept imagining what it would look like in full bloom.

I usually go in May for 3 weeks. The weather is lovely, there may be some rain but that does not concern me.
I always rent an apartment rather than staying in a hotel.
I always rent in the MARAIS area .The area is convenient for me to access all my favorite places. Also a fun place to walk and browse.
I love having space and the convenience of having breakfast and some dinners in. Also it is considerably cheaper particularly if as in your case you are sharing expenses.
If renting an apartment is an option I can highly recommend the following.
Desirable apartments rent far in advance so if you are interested in an apartment , I strongly suggest starting the process very quickly.
Paris Best Lodge.com
Paris Vacation Apartments.com
VRBO #138701

I have used all of the above and was very pleased.
Hope this helps.

tdk320n- Thank you. I do appreciate it. We will not be sharing expenses. It will be a separate vacation for each of us, though spent together.

I am further looking at the location of Hotel Le Royal. It is located in the 14th arr. just outside of the 6th arr. It is between Metro Vavin and Metro Raspail. Of course, on the maps it looks like it is still pretty close in. ? It is a few, maybe 4 blocks or so from Jardin du Luxembourg. Is this area considered Montparnasse? Any experiences with this area?

I love this area. On our first trip we stayed in the 14th, then other trips the 1st and 7th, but our last trip this summer we were back in the 14th. We used the Vavin metro, which was right around the corner from our apartment. I adore this area! It is so easy to get all around Paris from there, yet it has the neighborhood feel to it. We rented through Paris Best Lodge, and everything went perfectly smooth. We stayed in one of his friends apartments, which is listed on his site, but the owner is Vicky and she was wonderful to work with and her apt had everything we could possibly need.

The location is good and the 14th is less touristy than some other areas... I was reading reviews of the hotel (looks decent) on TripAdvisor and some gormless person was complaining that restaurant menus in the area weren't in English! Most people find this is a good thing. LOL

Regarding your comment re RER... good for Versailles, yes... but for Giverny you take a regular train from Gare St Lazare. I highly recommend getting your tickets for both train and gardens in advance and get to Giverny early.

For the train, you'll be close (ish) to Gare Montparnasse or stop in at one of the many SNCF boutiques. For Giverny itself you can get the tickets at a FNAC store. I agree with the advice to play things by ear depending on the weather... the tickets bought in advance do not require you use them a particular day.

Christeen.
I have never stayed in that area so I do not feel comfortable giving advice.
The gardens are very beautiful and I usually go there at least once just to sit and enjoy the park.
I do love the Marsais area and I know there are hotels in the 3rd and 4th.
Another reason that I love PARIS in MAY is that it stays light till about 10PM. So great to have dinner and still walk about the city.
Have a great trip and enjoy the fun of planning it.

Yay! Thank you all! We are getting very excited.
mms-Perfect! Thank you!
ParisAmsterdam-Thank you! I appreciate this advice. Great idea. We will definitely get tickets in advance.

I noticed that shuttle-inter and probably others, have transport roundtrip to Versailles and maybe Giverny? I wonder if this would be worth it since we are a group of 4. Especially if they go to Giverny as well.

cristeen--Our apt was on rue Delambre, literally right around the corner from the Vavin metro stop. There was a hotel a block or so from the apt on our same street, called the Lenox Montparnasse, that looked very nice and gets good recommendations on here. I loved our apt though and the owner, so if you want to go that route, I would suggest looking into it asap. BTW, we tried to use Shuttle Inter once and it was a disaster. They were not at the airport upon arrival, took several calls to them before they came. Then verbally reconfirmed our departure with the driver as well as an email reconfirmation during the week to the company, yet they left us high and dry the morning we were to head back to CDG. Thank goodness we found a taxi so we didn't miss our flight. The kicker was they sent an email to me saying they were there and we were not. I replied with the facts and never heard back from them, not even an apology. So needless to say, I am not a fan of them and would not use them and will not recommend them. All that said, we have taken the train to Versaille and it was very easy. I have not done Giverny, so can't comment on that. But the train for Versaille is inexpensive and super easy.

mms-Thank you. We may look into it. We have found a package deal that includes hotel and airfare. The hotels are few to choose from.
I did use shuttle-inter once before with good experience. I will consider your experience, too. No one wants to be stuck coming or going especially with flights to catch!
I was thinking the train to Versaille was supposed to be easy. Also, it's another part of the Paris experience. Right?
Thank you so much for your advice. I do appreciate it.

cristeen--Glad you had a better experience than us:) For Versaille, we got there a few minutes before they opened and had the museum pass already. So we were maybe the 10th person or so in line so there was no wait at all, and we had the palace practically to ourselves for quite a while. Our pictures in the Hall of Mirrors only has us and the security guards. So it was very worthwhile for us to get an early start. BTW, the area around our apt had a great variety of wine shops, cheese, a huge Monoprix, several excellent boulangeries, etc so that is one of the reasons we loved the area. Plus it was not a bad walk at all even to the Marais.

May should be a great time to visit. Yes, it may rain - probably would on 1 or 2 days - but don't anticipate all rain. Agree just to save your visits to the countryside for non rainy days. The other point is that rain in paris is not usually tropical downpours - but is often just a mist or a drizzle - or for part of the day. In all my trips to europe I have only had one day or rain so heavy (in Rome in May) when we curtailed our plans. It was a day-ling drenching rain with the streets and sidewalks just running with water. So after a morniing in the Vatican museums and a quick lunch nearby we grabbed a cab back to the hotel - and had a nap, caught up on reding etc - and found a restaurant only 2 blocks away for dinner.

Oh - and for a hotel I would stay in the 4th, 5th or 6th - so you can walk to a lot of sights. Outer arrondisements may be fine for living - but are not that convenient for a tourist.

I often stay very near that Royal hotel in Montparnasse, it's a terrific location. It is very convenient to public transportation and all kinds of restaurants, cinema and stores (there are two metro lines nearby as well as several good bus lines, one stop is almost right across the street that goes through St Germain and then over to the Opera--that is bus line 68). If you don't have a lot of hotel choices, that sounds like a good one. I've stayed in two others that are within the same block, and have meant to try the Royal but never got around to it. That is my preferred location in Paris as it is so convenient and not as touristy as some of the areas right next to the Seine.

The Royal has kind of a young, hip vibe (at least from the lobby I've seen), and a lot of nationalities stay there.

We are also going in mid May and staying in the 7th which we like because of all the nice restaurants close by and also a short walk to the Seine to take the Batobus or Bateau Mouche for an evening cruise on the River. We also like the Isle STe Louis area too.

Been to Paris in May twice and it was great - occasional bouts of rain, but mostly beautiful. Monet's Gardens are amazing in May.

Don't worry about the weather -- Short story: We usually load our Navigo cards with a week-pass. One time, to our surprise, it was pouring when we started up the stairs out of the Metro. We just turned around and got back on the Metro, spent a few hours in the Louvre, and then continued with our plans, since the rain had, by then, stopped and the sun was shining. As mentioned by an earlier poster, you have to be flexible.

We always stay on the west edge of the Marais close to the River - lots to see and do - great walking and transport availability.

You'll have a great time wherever you stay.

Re: Monet's Gardens: We bought our tickets to Vernon (where there is a timed bus transfer to Giverny) a day ahead and got there a little before it opened -- no problems with crowds at all. We bought them at a railway station (not St. Lazare) because the SNCF (I think that's what it was) store had a long wait -- the line at the station went really fast.

SS

The Hotel le Royal is only a few blocks from Gare Montparnasse, where you can get your tickets to Vernon (Giverny) in advance. Looks to me to be 10 minute walk, at the most.
SS

My trip to Paris was in the first week of May. It rained every day but early in the morning, except for one day, so it did not disrupt much. Unfortunately, the day it rained was the only day we could go to Versaille. It rained off and on so we tried to see the inside when it was raining and the grounds when it stopped. However, we were a bit disappointed because there were very few flowers in bloom. It looked like the spring flowers had just stopped and the summer flowers had not started. You may want to go near the end of May. The horse chestnut trees were beautiful.

Great advise, everyone. Thank you so much!
I will be prepared for a bit of rain. When we were there in December 2 years ago, it only rained when we were outside. As soon as we went in to a museum or resturant, it stopped. haha. We still had a wonderful time. I can't wait to see Paris in May.
We will take all of the advise and get our Versailles and Giverny tickets ahead of time. We will be flexible and start trying to get to these 2 locations early on just in case the weather doesn't cooperate with our plans.
Thanks so much!

We went to Giverny in May and had no problems getting tickets right there. No need to order them ahead of time.

If you liked December, you will love May. I have been to Paris six times and the first five were in the fall, mostly in September and October, the first time was November. My sixth trip was for six weeks from the end of March through early May and I had an apartment near the Pigalle Metro. I really liked that time of year, when I arrived the flowers were in the gardens in Paris and it was beautiful when I left in May. Weather was great, of course you will have a rainy day hear and there, but nothing to speak of and like mentioned above be flexable in planning your schedule so you can work around the weather. This time of year has one added benefit compared to December, you have MANY more day light hours.

I have stayed in the 5th, 6th, 9th and 11th. To me the important thing about location is the availablity to the Metro. My last stay was one block north of the Pigalle Metro and was easy to get around the city, and since I was in an apartment it was near some great supermarkets. I guess the best place I stayed for location was in the Latin Quarter at the Hotel Residence Monge because there were two different Metros at both ends of the same block. The hotel has changed hands and is now called Act V, went from a two star to a three, has been redecorated and the price has increased. I was very happy with the location and there were all kinds off restaurants and services available nearby. To me Paris is a special city and I feel you can almost stay anywhere and your will make your own great memories. Paris is a city to discover. So let the explorer in you come out and enjoy.

I have been to Versailles three times, the first time was in November, it was rainy and on a Monday. We did not know the chateau was closed on Monday, hence I returned the next year. Go to the web site and find out all the details, it would also be helpful if all of you spent some time on the web site so you know what you are doing and looking at when you get there, it will make the experience have more meaning. http://en.chateauversailles.fr/homepage http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_Versailles You can take the RER to Versailles and is inexpensive and only about a half hour trip. Make sure you get on the correct train, there are two to Versailles, make sure you get on the one to the Chateau. I think on the front of the train to the chateu was a sign with the code, VICK. I really don't feel you need a ticket ahead of time, I would suggest you get there when they open and the lines won't be that long. You might try to head back to Paris sometime early in the afternoon and still have much of the day left to you.

Now for Giverny. I am sure there are going to be those who do not share my opinion, but here are my thoughts. I took a tour bus from Paris, tour near rue de Rivoli, the ride was about an hour and a half or so and the same on return. There was almost no leg room in the seats on the bus and my knees were in my face most of the trip. The gardens there were many flowers much like you would plant your radishes, carrots, and onions in your garden back home. Monet planted the flowers this way for reference and to observe the color difference in different lighting situations. The gardent at the Luxembourg Garden, Tuileries Garden and Jardin des Plantes are much more attractive in my opinion. Across the street is the water garden and I did like it, but it a long way to go to see it. http://giverny.org/gardens/fcm/visitgb.htm I like Monet's paintings, but there are none to see there, but you can see some in Paris. His home was nothing special and I thought rather drab inside. Looking back I would do something else with the time while I was in France. I would do it if it was on the way to something else like the D Day beaches. If you really want to see some nice gardens go to Angers, France. It is about an hour and half train ride out of Gare Montparnasse and you arrive in the middle of the city and many of the sites are an easy walking distance from the train station including the chateau, old part of the city, new part of the city and an exceptional garden. You could take and early morning train out of Paris and return late in the afternoon or early evening to Paris. Here are my picutes of my trip to Angers, the last few are from the garden that I would think was 30 or 40 acres in size. http://travel.webshots.com/album/97574274rPCmjg

I visited Giverny in early May - the iris were in full bloom (along with peonies and roses and pansies and clematis and poppies and an amazing array of other wonderful things). A few water lilies had just begun to bloom (really just a very few). Beautiful, glorious, and - on a gorgeous sunny Sunday - packed! Worth every moment in the midst of the happy masses. Like Randy, I urge you to check http://giverny.org/gardens/fcm/visitgb.htm for more info. Enjoy!

You can get to Giverny by train from the Gare St Lazare to Vernon station: go for a train around 8am to avoid the main rush of tour buses. A local bus to Giverny meets the train. I think they would appreciate it if you have the change to pay the exact fare.

I didn't use it when I visited in 2005, since I found it a pleasant walk through Vernon, over the bridge and turn right at an unprepossessing-looking garage, on to a path built on the line of a disused railway. Or you could take the bus there and walk back as easily.

Some pics, starting with this one:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/patrick...57604796188694

I totally agree with tdk320n. The Marais is a great area and I would definitely look at renting an apartment. My wife and I did that two years ago and it was a great experience. Our apartment was right across the street from a bakery, so breakfast included fresh bread and croissants. There was a small supermarket just up the street and at the week-end, there was the Bastille market with wonderful fresh meat and veg. We used VRBO as well and found it excellent. The package awaiting us in our apartment included wine, cheese, milk and bread together with chocalate. All very French

Randy and kja and Patrick- thanks! We are so glad with our May choice. When I read "the iris were in full bloom (along with peonies and roses and pansies and clematis and poppies and an amazing array of other wonderful things" I was thrilled. Irises are my absolute favorite. We definitely want to see the gardens but also just love the fact that they are Monet's gardens. Our hotel is close to the Luxenbourg gardens so we should have something to compare. Thank you for the links. I will check them out, too.
Thank you all!