Paris: March or May?
 

I'm trying to decide when to book a Paris vacation. We're both teachers so bound by the school year. Our Spring Break is March 7-14. I suspect prices won't be as high as May and perhaps sites will be less crowded. The downside is the vacation would be rushed and we would return to school with jet lag. In May, prices may be higher and Paris more crowded, but we would have more time to recover after the trip. Any thoughts from the experts?

I realize this may be an issue of six of one, half dozen of the other...

I've noticed some hotels are already booked up, but I'm waiting to hear about some scheduling matters before booking. Should I be worried?

Thanks!

I've never been in Paris other than from May through the first week of October. But I will say, Paris is one of my favorite "outdoor" cities. I love walking or strolling. I love eating outside at cafes. I love stopping to have a glass of wine or drink at a sidewalk cafe in the afternoon. Somehow March seems a little cold for me to thoroughly enjoy it, but then I'm from Florida. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if I were used to colder weather. I'd go for May if I were you.

We've been there in May twice, and the last week in April once. May was much nicer :) and more predictable, however we also lucked out and had decent weather in April. I think March might be more iffy, I'd go for May.

How are you determining the hotels are booked up? Some booking sites will tell you a particular hotel is booked up, when what they really mean is that the site does not have access to any rooms. Maybe some are, but just make sure you are actually getting the information straight from the source - the hotel itself.

May is definitely better. Trees will be in leaf and flowers in bloom - and even thought Paris isn't a garden city - everything will be prettier. Plus it will be warmer and light much later in the evening - great to enjoy cafe sitting.

Patrick makes a great point about the relative nature of weather. Living in the northern U.S., it is almost invariably milder weather in Paris than what I'm leaving behind so I don't mind early March in Paris. It also provides access to very low airfares. I've therefore gone to Paris in March for the past half dozen years.

Where you are flying from in the U.S. matters, too. For example, I can work on the day that I leave because the flight I catch out of a regional airport isn't until around 5:30 p.m. and the transatlantic flight is at 9:20 p.m. I often work the day after my return because I get in at 7:30 p.m., but I don't recommend that to people who aren't accustomed to it. If you left on a Saturday and returned the following Friday, you would have five nights in Paris with plenty of time to regain your bearings upon your return. There would also be a little margin built in to cover any unforeseen glitches with your return flight or the opportunity to take a bump. Everyone has their own travel style and I know a lot of people prefer trips of longer duration. My own style is for shorter, more frequent excursions.

May is going to be warmer, the leaves will be on the trees and with the other advantages you cite, maybe it is worth the incremental additional cost. Only you can decide what is best for you. You will still be out in front of the largest crowds of the year by going in May so that's not going to be that much of an issue, IMHO.

You've been given the obvious conventional wisdom. More likely to be warmer and nicer in May than March. That said I can tell you I was in Paris once in March with little kids in t-shirts and in May once with snow on the ground. Go figure. Whatever you do, hope you enjoy it immensely.

well, I think May would obviously be nicer weather, but there are several holidays in that month to consider (French holidays) in your planning. March should be less busy with tourist, I'd agree. I suppose some popular hotels could be booked up already, that's only four months away.

Don't expect anything to be cheaper in March except perhaps air fare, though. I would never consider going in March instead of May if the reason is prices and crowds.

My last trip to Paris was the last week in May of this year and I would say to definitely go in May for one reason - it stays light much much later. I remember it being light out until at least 9pm, maybe 10pm. That might not sound like a big deal to you now, but it made a huge difference in our trip. It was like having twice as many days!! We would walk around all day and enjoy the parks, shopping, etc. and then go to the museums in the evening when they weren't crowded. The Louvre and Musee D'Orsay are both open late certain nights of the week so we visited those museums on their late evenings (and stayed about 5-9). It is also fun because then you can eat late (10ish) with the locals.
I am a big fan of off season travel but for us it was well worth the extra $100 or so for a May plane ticket versus the March. Last year anyway, between the political situation and the economy, it didn't feel like there were many tourists. I suspect this year will be the same.

Like the other posters said, you can't predict the weather (although in May this year it must have been the start of the crazy heat wave paris suffered this summer because it was in the 80s by the end of our trip. March 2001 when we were in paris was sunny but cool and in the 40s).

Having done spring break in Paris 2000, let me offer the following observations...... If you are museum people, you will find the lack of crowds in March to be to your advantage. Your vacation dates are too early to experience Paris in the springtime, however. We were there the last week in March and the trees were just starting to bud out. The weather was damp and cold; definately a wool coat, gloves, and an umbrella were required on a daily basis. The weather did work to our advantage at major tourist sites though. Imagine having the observation deck on the Eiffel Tower to yourself while you watch a storm front come into the city and walking through the gardens at Versailles in the rain without anyone else in sight. It's a tradeoff and you'll have to decide what works best for you.

Since my husband is a teacher too we are limited to March or the end of June though since he works for a boarding school he has two weeks in March. We just booked our airfare for March 2004. The airfare in June would have been twice the cost of March so that was a big incentive for the earlier trip. We went two years ago on March 18th and the daffodils were already up. The weather was cool but sunny everyday so it was better than March here. We brought stuff for layers and I got a rain coat with a zip out lining. During the day I didn't need the lining but I put it in at night. We had a marvelous time but how can you have anything else if you are in Paris?
The suggestion to fly out on Friday March 5th, if you can manage it, with a return the following Saturday is a good one. Then you will have a day to recuperate. Also on that Friday, when the kids are driving you nuts, you can tell yourself 'Tomorrow I will be in Paris!!'

I've been to Paris in December, January, February and May. When it comes to crowds, Paris is much like NYC. Unless you go to where large tourists congegrate, you'll hardly notice them. The city is just too big with too many things to see for crowds to really matter. Just don't show up at the Louvre at 11 AM and expect to walk right in. Given that, May is the obvious choice.

I can also only go in March or July and have been a couple of times each. As everyone here has said there are definite tradeoffs. I haven't been in May so don't know about that but between March and July I definitely noticed a difference in the crowds. Yes it's a large city and you can certainly get away from tourists at any time, BUT, I assume you will want to see some of the things most people want to see in Paris and for this you will be around other tourists. I found a difference not just at museums and monuments. Walking down the main street on the Ile St Louis in March I felt like I could imagine living there. In July it was like Disneyworld. Same for the area around Sacre Cour, among others. Museum lines were definitly shorter.

Yes it gets dark earlier in March (around 6:3-7) but that's still about 12 hours of daylight and I personally find Paris so delightful to walk around after dark - it is the city of lights, after all. Museums that have evening hours have them in March as well as May or July. I actually prefer March to summer because I have a few more hours of darkness to explore.

My vacation is about a week later than yours (I usually go around the 12th) but I found at that time the grass was green, flowering shrubs and trees were in bloom, tulips and daffodils flowering, and buds on the other trees. Paris in the summer is also beautiful but I realy liked the way it looks in March. Plus, if you are coming from a northern area like I am the contrast is more striking. In the summer I leave a pretty place and go to a pretty place but in march I leave an ugly place and go to a pretty one.

And as far as weather, well that's anyone's guess. Two years ago I had temps in the 50s and 60s with quite a bit of rain. The same week last year Paris had 60s and 70s and sun everyday (I was in London and had the same great weather, but my friend was in Paris and said it was fantastic). I've also been to Paris two different Julys in the last few years and while one was beautiful summer weather the other time it was worse than my March trip's temps of 50s for highs in the daytime and rain for two weeks! So the weather is definitly a crap shoot. At least in March I had the proper clothes for the weather.

I didn't find any difference in prices except the airline tickets (which can be significant). Hotels, if they have different prices at all, raise them on March 1st so that won't help you.

You'll have a great time which ever you choose.

Thank you for all the thoughtful responses. We are from the Northern U.S., so Paris will undoubtedly be milder as Flyboy and others suggested. I think we would also be able to arrange our flights so that we have at least a day of rest between vacation and school. Your posts have made both March and May sound appealing. I still haven't decided, but I'm sure enjoying the planning.

Can we do both ? May is better if you are planning trips out of the city to Giverny or Fountainbleu, etc. as flowers will be blooming, etc. Cost wise March is probably cheaper & tourists will be fewer. We went for my wife's Spring Break this year (& were there when the war broke-out) & the weather was a little chilly but we had a wonderful time.

We are taking our kids this year, so being bound by the school calendar, we had the same issue. We chose March. Last time DH and I were in Paris was the last week of December, so we've been there in the cold. I like the idea of lower crowds - esp. since we intend to take the kids to Disneyland.