Paris, Rome - August Weather
Jul 11th, 2006, 07:40 AM
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Paris, Rome - August Weather
Hello,
Most people would not recommend going to Europe in August but as they do, better to go in August than not go at all.
Anyways, I have been reading up a lot on the weather and I found that the average high temp for Paris is 75 deg F. See link below:
http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/w...170&refer=
and the avg high temp for Rome is 83 deg F. See link below:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv...rome_italy.htm
Obviously if you are based in a colder region of the world, you would find this HOT. I am based in the northeast and the weather can get pretty nasty June through August. I'm talking about mid-90s.
Considering this, I'm thinking to myself that Paris and Rome in mid-Aug shouldn't be too bad for our honeymoon.
Comments awaited...
Most people would not recommend going to Europe in August but as they do, better to go in August than not go at all.
Anyways, I have been reading up a lot on the weather and I found that the average high temp for Paris is 75 deg F. See link below:
http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/w...170&refer=
and the avg high temp for Rome is 83 deg F. See link below:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv...rome_italy.htm
Obviously if you are based in a colder region of the world, you would find this HOT. I am based in the northeast and the weather can get pretty nasty June through August. I'm talking about mid-90s.
Considering this, I'm thinking to myself that Paris and Rome in mid-Aug shouldn't be too bad for our honeymoon.
Comments awaited...
Jul 11th, 2006, 07:58 AM
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I live in Paris, and this is the start of my second summer here. (I also spent July and Sept in other parts of France before, Strasbourg and Grenoble.) I'm from Toronto, where the typical daytime summer temperature ranges from about 20C to 33C (68F to 91F).
One thing that makes Paris feel a lot hotter than Toronto, for example, is the lack of air-conditioning. I live in an un-airconditioned building, walk to work, and work in an unair-conditioned office. Restaurants, shops and museums often aren't air conditioned or only have just enough AC to take the edge off. Sometimes it's brutal, but at least I wasn't here in the summer of 2003. By contrast, in Toronto, you're never far from air conditioning. In fact, sometimes the AC is too cold - and you react more to the heat because you're moving between 18C and 33C. By contrast, in Paris, I seem to be gradually building up a tolerance for the temperature, provided that it cools down enough at night to let me get some sleep (and it usually does). It's also rather muggy here.
Also, when you're thinking about temperatures, you shouldn't focus on the average. You need to look at the range of daily highs and lows. We spent part of our honeymoon in Morocco last year (in late May) and it was VERY hot. At least in the mountains, however, it cooled down at nights to the low teens, whereas Marrakech temperatures stayed at about 25C or higher. This made it much more uncomfortable, because you never got a break. In Paris so far, it hasn't been too bad because the heat waves (so far) haven't lasted more than about 7 days and the temperature usually drops to 20C or less at night. Now I've probably jinxed it ...
One other thing. It rains a lot in Paris in August, but not all day. If the weather looks like anything other than cloudless blue sky in the morning, take an umbrella with you, because it's probably going to rain at least once, for 30-60 minutes.
One thing that makes Paris feel a lot hotter than Toronto, for example, is the lack of air-conditioning. I live in an un-airconditioned building, walk to work, and work in an unair-conditioned office. Restaurants, shops and museums often aren't air conditioned or only have just enough AC to take the edge off. Sometimes it's brutal, but at least I wasn't here in the summer of 2003. By contrast, in Toronto, you're never far from air conditioning. In fact, sometimes the AC is too cold - and you react more to the heat because you're moving between 18C and 33C. By contrast, in Paris, I seem to be gradually building up a tolerance for the temperature, provided that it cools down enough at night to let me get some sleep (and it usually does). It's also rather muggy here.
Also, when you're thinking about temperatures, you shouldn't focus on the average. You need to look at the range of daily highs and lows. We spent part of our honeymoon in Morocco last year (in late May) and it was VERY hot. At least in the mountains, however, it cooled down at nights to the low teens, whereas Marrakech temperatures stayed at about 25C or higher. This made it much more uncomfortable, because you never got a break. In Paris so far, it hasn't been too bad because the heat waves (so far) haven't lasted more than about 7 days and the temperature usually drops to 20C or less at night. Now I've probably jinxed it ...
One other thing. It rains a lot in Paris in August, but not all day. If the weather looks like anything other than cloudless blue sky in the morning, take an umbrella with you, because it's probably going to rain at least once, for 30-60 minutes.
Jul 11th, 2006, 08:37 AM
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Totally agree that it's better to go in Aug than not at all. This is one of those toughies since weather is so unpredictable. We've been to both places, including trips in Aug. One trip Rome was just fine and another they were having a heat wave - 100+. Same with Paris. Being from the northeast, I don't think you'll find them unbearable if you hit a hot spell. I would suggest, especially in Rome, you try and get hotel with AC just in case. FWIW, there is a separate thread on this forum about Aug in Europe. One advantage is we found that there is often fewer crowds in larger cities during Aug. One thing I do now is check the 15 day forecast on weather.com before leaving and adjust packing accordingly.
Jul 11th, 2006, 09:24 AM
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We may have to rethink our sightseeing strategy. I had looked at the maps, top attractions, proximity,etc. and had come up with a plan. We probably ought to make sure that during 11am-4pm we visit indoor sights or go back to our hotel room for a siesta. Hopefully there would be decent amount of sunlight until 8pm...
Jul 11th, 2006, 09:47 AM
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You are looking at average tmeps - not highs. If you look at the average high temp in NYC do you think it would be any lower than Rome? But obviously you can easily have days - or spells - that are 95 or 100 and humid.
The key difference is that in the US everything has AC - and in Rome most places don;t have AC (most shops, restaurants, many hotels, most sights) - never mind the fact that you will be outdoors much more than you typically are at home.
Think about a week in NYC in August with no AC - and how uncomfortable that would be.
Paris is somewhat cooler - but again - can have days well into the 90's and humid. And again - very little AC.
So - it's not that the temps are much worse than the Northeast it's that without AC the overall conditions - and how much you are enervated by the heat, and perhaps your inability to sleep in the heat - are worse.
The key difference is that in the US everything has AC - and in Rome most places don;t have AC (most shops, restaurants, many hotels, most sights) - never mind the fact that you will be outdoors much more than you typically are at home.
Think about a week in NYC in August with no AC - and how uncomfortable that would be.
Paris is somewhat cooler - but again - can have days well into the 90's and humid. And again - very little AC.
So - it's not that the temps are much worse than the Northeast it's that without AC the overall conditions - and how much you are enervated by the heat, and perhaps your inability to sleep in the heat - are worse.
Jul 11th, 2006, 10:43 AM
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I live in Waco, Texas where it is hot and humid. Much more so than the northeast. Kate_W is right, the lack of AC in Paris really catches up with you. We were there two weeks ago, and I thought is was particularly hot. All the walk, the warm Metro, lack of AC etc. made allof us more than ready for a late afternoon shower before heading out to dinner. I would not want to be there in August.
All of that being said, last July we were cold in the morning and late at night while in Paris. You just never know.
All of that being said, last July we were cold in the morning and late at night while in Paris. You just never know.
