When is it best to visit Paris?

Paris in the Spring

The springtime is a fantastic time – usually with great weather, the city of Paris makes sure there’s lots of flowers all over Paris! It’s the perfect time for a walk by the river, through the beautiful parks or biking using Paris’ great Vélib system to get around the wonderful streets.

The Spring is when the rooftop and outdoor terraces in Paris start to open again so I would suggest visiting these as a top spring activity before the height of the summer crowds!

Spring in Paris is best to visit those wonderful Parisian gardens that compliment many of the Parisian attractions such as the Musée Rodin or Versailles! March, April and May mean springtime blossoms that’ll be sure to make visiting these places just that much nicer. Our top spring activity in Paris is definitely visiting Versailles and it’s gardens!

The temperature during Spring in Paris varies depending on the month for example in March it has lows of about 4°C/39.2°F to highs of about 12°C/53.6°F. For April the lows are 6°C/42.8°F with highs of 16°C/60.8°F. And for the average temperature for May in Paris it is a bit warmer at 10°C/50°F for the lowest and up to about 20°C/68°F.

Spring is the driest season for Paris in terms of rainfall.

Spring is one of the ‘Shoulder seasons’ for tourism in Paris – this means you can enjoy the best of both Peak season and Off-peak season, less people but generally good weather means it’ll be one of the best times to visit Paris.

Paris in the Summer

Summer is the most visited season of the year for tourists coming to Paris and it’s clear to see why! Hot weather and blue skies mean you can spend your days wondering through Paris’ many streets and enjoying everything it has to offer. It is the perfect time to have a picnic in one of it’s fantastic parks and there’s even a company that will deliver a Paris picnic directly to you in any park in Paris!

Paris hosts many other Summer only events throughout the whole season such as the magnificent Paris Plage! For a lot of Parisian children, they don’t get much chance to go to the seaside due to it being quite far away and because of their family working so the city of Paris has set up a fake set of beaches all along the Seine banks for them to enjoy a seaside away from the seaside! A great idea and fun for that hot Parisian weather. Along with this, another great idea to do in Summer is the check out the outdoor Villette cinema to watch great movies without being trapped indoors!

August in Paris is a great time to visit and features many great things such as the Rock en Seine festival, one of the best festivals that France has to offer it always has a great line up and you won’t be disappointed! However, be advised, a lot of Parisians leave Paris in August for their holidays so some smaller shops and restaurants are closed until they return!

Paris in the hottest in the Summer with July being the hottest month of the year at average temperatures of 15°C/59°F and highs of 25°C/77°F – it is not unlikely for Paris to get up to temperatures of 30+°C / 85+°F though during Summer! June is the coolest month during Summer for Paris with lows of 13°C/55.4°F and highs of 23°C/73.4°F. August in Paris is hot also with lows of 14°C/57.2°F and highs of 24°C/75.2°F.

During Summer, the duration of daylight means it is bright until about 11pm during Summer and the public parks and gardens close later than usual to about 9pm or even 10pm meaning everybody picnics in the late evening and night!

Summer is the peak / high season for tourism and has a fair amount of rainfall! 

Paris in the Fall / Autumn

If you visit Paris at the right time in the Autumn or Fall it will truly be a trip to remember! Along with all the great things suggested in the ‘What do the Parisians think?’ paragraph such as less stuffy metro, and the perfect weather – Paris can actually be really hot in the Fall! Due to the phenomenon of an ‘Indian Summer’ – Paris can experience periods of unseasonable warm and dry weather. So all the things you would do in Summer, you still can!

Fall is the time of year when many new exhibitions in Paris open so you’ll be some of the first eyes in the world to see them! For example, the exhibition ‘tout est art?’ or ‘is everything art?’ by the artist Ben has just opened at the Musée Maillot as a world premiere. Every year in September, Paris is also home to the ‘Journée sans voitures’ which is effectively a day without cars in Paris. It’s a day of celebrating cycling, rollerskating and walking – head over to the Champs-Elysées for a walk along the iconic roads without all the traffic!

Paris is a great time for fashion and Fall colours and wardrobe. Every year Paris hosts the amazing Paris Fashion Week which is not something to be missed!

The average temperature of Fall / Autumn is where Paris begins to get colder. In September in Paris it will still feel like summer with lows of 12°C/53.6°F and highs of up to 21°C/69.8°F! In October in Paris the temperature drops a little bit to lows of 8°C/46.4°F and highs of 16°C/60.8°F. And finally, the temperature in Paris in November drops even more to lows of 5°C/41°F and highs of 10°C/50°F – definitely coat weather!

Paris in Fall / Autumn is another ‘Shoulder season’ for tourism, best of off-peak and peak all rolled into one with a fair amount of rainfall but nothing too heavy!

Paris in the Winter

Winter is the season of love and Paris is the city of love, what do you get when you add those two together? A perfect match! Winter in Paris meaning hand holding, wrapped up in scarves, exploring the city by walking through the beautiful intertwining picturesque streets in the crisp winter air. A romantic river cruise in Paris would be the perfect place to propose or to share a romantic moment. There’s plenty of activities to do in winter in Paris including Christmas markets along the Champs-Elysées and in La Défense and you can even go ice-skating under beautiful lights at the Grand Palais!

Winter in Paris is definitely the coldest season with January being the coldest month of the year! It has a fair amount of rainfall but nothing too heavy!

Paris gets darker much earlier in Winter with it being dark at 6pm! However, with the Christmas lighting and the crisp weather it makes Paris more picturesque than ever. Winter is the best time to visit Disneyland Paris – especially for them New Years Eve fireworks at Disneyland! Click here to book your 1-Day tickets!

Winter is the off-season for tourism in Paris which means it will generally be cheaper with less people! Obviously it is still busy around New Years Eve and it has a fair amount of tourism for the Christmas markets.

The weather in Paris in the Winter is the coldest with January being the coldest month of the year! December in Paris has lows of 2°C/35.6°F and highs of 7°C/44.6°F. The temperature of January in Paris is 1°C/33.8°F with highs of only 6°C/42.8°F, it is not uncommon for Paris to drop into minus temperatures so bring a big coat! February temperatures in Paris are also quite low at 1°C/33.8°F but are slightly warmer at highs of 7°C/44.6°F!