CynR

I'm only able to eke out 1 free week this summer, and it's August 5-13. I think I've read that Paris is not a good August destination - supposed to be hot and lots of shops and restaurants aren't open. Is this true? I promised my 16 year old daughter we'd really go someplace this year. I'm a pretty easy traveler - so's she - and probably the only thing that would really be a problem would be a long 100+ degree heat wave.
Has anyone tried Paris in August? Any other ideas for moderate budgets? I know time is running out, but I have found that there are still decently priced flights. Also, any hotel suggestions for first-timers?
Thanks!
CynR

jmv

My friend took her daughter to Paris for the daughter's 30th birthday during August and they had no problems. Try to get an air conditioned hotel and take a good restaurant guide that tells closing times so you don't try to go to a place that's closed. Where are you finding these reasonably priced flights to Paris? I want to go in late August and can't find anything under $1000.

Gretchen

Your fare may depend on your hometown but check all the sites--Travelocity, Expedia, orbitz, cheapfares.com,skyauction.com,etc.

As far as weather, in Paris you absolutely never know!! Do try to get an AC room. We love the Hotel Muguet in the 7th.

Intrepid

In Paris last year in August and had no problems seeing/doing although some restaurants were closed. I would definitely NOT rent any accommodation that wasn't air conditioned regardless of what people say about windows opening, you won't need it, etc., etc.
I would also recommend you look for hotels on discount sites such as discounthotels.com and 180096hotel...to compare prices if nothing else. Soem folks are VERY VERY "into" which "district" they stay in...but remember that the Metro goes everywhere and within the city itself you are never more than a few blocks from a Metro stop no matter where you stay. Enjoy your trip.

Degas

I've taken my teen daughter to Paris twice in Aug and its never been a real problem. Paris may or may not be warm in August so get an A/C room to be safe. All the public places will be open as well as plenty of shops and places to eat. Don't worry about Paris being deserted!

If you identify your interests, it would help folks make suggestions on good things to see and do.

Check out this site for an article on three perfect days in Paris:

hemispheresmagazine.com/three/paris.htm

dominoalb

I am taking my 16 year old daughter and 13.5 year old son to paris on the 5th also for a few days on your same dates.(5) I havent made any reservations yet and still deciding where and what to do. we will be coming from london. let me know what you find out and I can do the same. Maybe we will be near each other.

McBetsy

I wouldn't let August stop me from going to Paris! Like anywhere else, the heat could be/couldn't be. I've been there in summer the last three years and have been lucky enough to arrive just after or before a heatwave. In either case, when Paris is hot it is HOT. By all means get A/C.
Crowds tend be a little less in August, but it will still be crowded at the big sights. ENJOY!

suze

I've only been to Paris once, a few years ago & it was in August. It was a wonderful trip!

To my eye, I couldn't noticed that things were weren't open as usual. It was fairly warm, but nothing that would spoil a trip. I honestly don't remember if we had aircon or not.

As far as hotel suggestions, I'd simply say to stay somewhere centrally located (i.e., 4th - 7th arrondisements).

CynR

Oops... yes, I did preview my previous post, but I obviously missed the header! I meant "Paris in August," not "is August"!!
Interests: mine are fairly eclectic - people-watching, museums, shopping. I went to Dublin and London a few years ago, and also enjoyed checking out everyday places such as grocery stores and schools - just wanted to see what everyday life was like. My daughter's interests are fairly teenage-typical - she can shop happily forever, loves modern music, adores other teenagers, but is a bit lukewarm when it comes to cathedrals and museums, although she's absolutely passionate about Anne Rice's vampire novels; I seem to recall that parts of Armand's story were set in Paris?
I live in Napa, and the flight fares that don't seem hideous to me at this late date are from San Francisco. Of course I'd prefer Oakland or Sacramento, but prices jump about $450 from those alternates.

lilybart

I took my 18-year-old daughter to Paris for 10 days last August, just before she went off to college. Go! The only problems with closures we had were a skateboard shop (where we had counted on getting souvenirs for her brothers) and our next-to-last day, which on trips I use for shopping, was the feast of the assumption so the shops we had wanted to return to--bookstores in the Latin Quarter, etc., were closed (I think this was about the 14th or 15th of August). We went to the Louvre early in the morning several times with our passes and it wasn't terribly crowded except for the Mona Lisa room. All the other museums--the Rodin, the Middle Ages, and others were not crowded, though they were busy. Very, very few Americans--seemed to be a lot of Italian high school groups. The only absolutely terrible August experience we had was shuffling through crowds of bus tours at Versailles--hot, milling, pushy. Although our passes allowed us to by-pass the line to get in (which had a couple of hundred people in it mid-morning) once in it was miserable, and my daughter had a little panic attack. The best part of that visit was sitting at a little cafe in the village watching the world go by.

So the long and short--Paris was wonderful and we didn't feel inconvenineced by the heat or crowds or closures except for what I mentioned above--and we spent hours and hours exploring the different neighborhoods, going to mass in different historic churches.

I would highly recommend our little hotel--the Toulouse-Lautrec (yes, he was born there!) about 7 blocks from the Louvre on a quiet street a block or two from the Opera. Great combination of French hotel charm with clean, small, rooms and very friendly staff. We started each day with a large breakfast in the "caves" (warning--if you purchase your hotel on expedia the breakfast is NOT included! We didn't find this out until we checked out).

I tresure the memory of those 10 days in August with my daughter: our picnic dinners on our beds (pate, boulnagerie bread, cider); the long morning to dusk walks through the neighborhoods; her first glass of wine (that I officially know of!) at a small cafe overlooing the Seine; going to concerts in historic churches; talking about her starting a new phase of life at college. . . . Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy your mother daughter trip! Looking at your dates, they seem just about the same as ours last year.

lilybart

My daughter also loves to shop. THe hotel was a few blocks from the Galeries Lafayette, and we spent a nice afternoon there. She had saved money to buy a pair of real Parisian designer shoes, but even she balked at the $450 price tags! But we had great fun trying on designer clothes throughout the Galeries. She also enjoyed the non-museum excursions--the bateau mouche, hiking to the top of the Arc de Triomphe, crepes in the Tuileries (she loved being able to get a pure sugar one), seeing a movie on the Champs-Elysees, the Salvador Dali house on Montmartre. . . .