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Best time to visit Paris
The City of Lights shines all year long, making it difficult to determine when is the best time to visit Paris. Each season has its particularities, such as important events and attractions, and also a charm that changes according to the season.
Take a walking tour to really get into these particularities, and if you want to know when is the best time to visit Paris, read this article!
Is winter the best time to visit Paris?
Winter is a beautiful period to visit Paris with your family or as a couple. The city of Paris celebrates Christmas and decorates itself with plenty of lights. This period is great because it gives a special and unique look to the city. The Galeries Lafayette, the Printemps that are both close by the Garnier’s Opera, and the Bon Marché, that is located in the sixth district, have fantastic shop fronts.
The most famous fashion creators used to compete to design those window displays. For the past decade, it was all about “haute couture”, but now they try to mix luxurious brands and enchanting arrangements that make kids dream.
And if you enter the main hall of Lafayette’s Gallery, you will find a huge Christmas tree. If you want to enjoy Paris as a fairyland during wintertime, you also may wish to ice-skate.
There are famous places for this fun activity. You will find one is next to the Eiffel Tower which is open from the month of December until February. There’s music and there are even nocturnal openings. It’s a great thing to do if you’re coming to Paris in Winter. It’s a fun way to have fun with your kids and family and exercise at the same time, with the Eiffel Tower right in front of you.
If you are lucky, you may even get to know what is like Paris covered with snow. For me, it changes the city completely, life slows down and enables the Parisians to enjoy Paris in its white coat. A long time ago, during the Winter, people used to ski on the Montmartre‘s mound and in the wide avenue.
After a cold day, you may want to warm up in delicious tearooms such as Angelina, located at rue de Rivoli, or at Ladurée on the Champs Elysées. For dinner, I would personally advise that you pick restaurants that can provide you with generous plates. My favourite one is an Alsatian brasserie that is close to the Bastille Square, named Bofinger.
Then, if after some days of museum visits or walking in the cold winter you want to relax, I can tell you about the perfect place for you. It is the Montparnasse Tower, the ugly brown tower in the sixth district. Let me explain to you how it can be the best way to spend a good day. If you want an overview of Paris, it is the best one. It is less crowded than the Eiffel Tower, it offers you a view of our Iron Lady and of Paris as a whole.
Close to the Montparnasse Tower, there are also many cinemas such as Gaumont Parnasse, UGC, that provide movies in original versions, most of the time. Moreover, there are many restaurants, and creperies that you have to try close to it.
There are so many things to do in Paris during the winter! You won’t even have to spend a fortune to enjoy the best of the city. Just make sure you bring warm clothes, because the winter in Paris can be very harsh! Read our recommendations.
Is spring the best time to visit Paris?
The city is reborn in the spring, and you will meet very happy people when you visit Paris during this time of year. With the first flowers, it’s time for me to have beautiful walks in the parks, spend hours sitting on a terrace, or on the banks of the Seine with friends, enjoying this “back to life” experience. Good humour surrounds Paris, and there are not as many crowds of tourists as you would expect.
Moreover, most of the students finish their current year in May, and they seize control of the city again, giving it a youth impulse. There are also many important events such as the Marathon of Paris that takes place every year in April, and which usually gathers more than 38,000 competitors.
In sports, there is also the tennis contest of Roland Garros in June. You can follow all matches for free, thanks to a huge screen that is usually set up in the Town Hall Square. I can assure you, you will love Paris during Spring. And if you want to refresh by sipping delicious and revitalising beverages, my personal advice is to go to Le Paradis du Fruit, on Saint Michel Square.
You may also really enjoy the river cruises. The weather is perfect and it is really pleasant to stay an hour and a half on a boat’s roof, and you will love to see the city from a new perspective. My favourite river cruises company is Les vedettes du Pont Neuf, that departs every thirty minutes in Île de la Cité, the City Island.
You should also know that at the end of each of our free Paris walking tours, you’ll be handed a Perks Package. Inside the package, you’ll find many discounts that will make your visit to Paris even more special and unique, including discounts for the Vedettes du Pont-Neuf boat cruises.
Is summer the best time to visit Paris?
Parisians are more relaxed when they are back from their holidays and will be happy to talk about their vacations. The city is very calm before the general “back to work” storm at the end of September. There are different places if you want to enjoy summer activities.
There are also many sellers of traditional ice creams and fresh beverages, and branches of the most famous brands of the surrounding neighbourhoods such as Berthillon for ice cream.
Unfortunately, it is forbidden to swim in the river since 1923. Nonetheless, in summer, I really appreciate relaxing in the water, to refresh myself during the warmest days. My perfect spot is the Joséphine Baker swimming pool settled on the river close by the metro station Quai de la gare, in front of Bercy Village in the east of the city. Check this article if you want to discover about other amazing places where to swim in while in Paris.
Parks are also the perfect places to sunbathe or to read peacefully under the trees. For this, I would advise you to go to the Luxembourg Garden, Monceau park in the seventeenth district, Buttes Chaumont in the nineteenth district, and the Tuileries Garden close to the Louvre Museum.
At night, the weather is still warm, and it is the moment of the day I prefer. You can have a small promenade along the banks, or decide to walk from Notre Dame to the Eiffel Tower following the river. I highly recommend you to join a night tour if you want to enjoy the whole charm of Paris, because Paris is even prettier at night, with all the landmarks enlightened. It looks so mysterious and romantic. As it slowly gets darker, the city has new beautiful colours when the sunset comes.
Summer is also important for me because the 14th of July is our national day. The military celebrations take place in the Champs Elysées. All army soldiers and prestigious guests are gathered in front of thousands of people amazed by the show. Summer is also the season of festivals, especially if you are fond of music. In June, you can go to the Solidays festival and in August the Rock en Seine one. If you want to know even more things to do during the summer without spending a dime, I recommend you to read this article!
Is autumn the best time to visit Paris?
Autumn is quite an unpredictable season. One day can be kind of warm and the next day can be a bit chilly. Autumn starts on September, 22nd and ends on December, 21st, marking the beginning of Winter. During this season, the city of Paris dresses itself with golden colours. All the gardens and parks are full of warm colors, such as red, orange and yellow. The season’s colours give a special look to the stunning city of Paris. It slowly loses its summer coating to prepare for winter.
I think autumn is one of the best time to visit Paris because the weather is actually really nice and the fashion is the best. In Autumn there are plenty of interesting events, such as exhibitions, autumn festivals, wine harvests, fashion shows, and many more! You just have to pick according to your interests.
Mornings and nights are quite cold but the weather during the day is actually very pleasant. It’s perfect to visit the city of Paris, all its landmarks and the gardens and parks filled with warm colours.
Plus, as it is considered the off-peak season, the prices for flat rentals and for activities are much cheaper. So it’s definitely one of the best time to visit Paris!
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this article and that it has been useful! Paris is a beautiful city and it is worth visiting any time of the year. Each person experiences Paris in his own way. Some people like to visit all the museums, to absorb all the knowledge and history. Some people love to check the architecture, the buildings of the city they visit. Others travel to experience the lifestyle, the culture. Paris is an amazing city to visit, so any time is the best time to visit Paris!
See you soon in Paris!
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