Paris — France
Paris is a compact capital: the historic city fits inside a ring road, and most of what visitors come for lies within walking distance of the Seine. One number sums up the stay: 655.4 mm of rain a year, but spread across 110 separate rainy days.
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Why go
Paris is unusual among great cities in that its centre was never rebuilt around cars or towers. The result is a continuous nineteenth-century streetscape, dense, uniform in height, and readable on foot, with the older medieval quarters and the royal set pieces embedded inside it. That is why a first visit feels overwhelming: the monuments are famous individually, but the real subject is the fabric between them, the courtyards, passages, canal locks, staircases up to the hills.
It rewards travellers who slow down and pick two or three quarters rather than ten monuments, and anyone interested in art, food, architecture or bookshops. It works in any season, which few capitals manage. It is a difficult destination for travellers who need space and quiet, for wheelchair users on the older metro lines, and for tight budgets, since accommodation is the most expensive part of any French trip. It is also the wrong place to expect warmth: this is a northern European climate with a southern reputation.
Month-by-month climate
The temperature curve is unremarkable; the rain pattern is what matters. The cold bottoms out in January, 7.5 °C by day and 2.5 °C at night, with December just behind at 8.6 °C. Spring moves fast, 13.2 °C in March, 16.8 °C in April, 20.5 °C in May, and summer peaks modestly at 27 °C in July and 26.7 °C in August, with nights near 15.8 °C.
Rain falls all year and rarely hard. We measure 655.4 mm over 110 days with at least 1 mm, which is close to one day in three. December is the most persistent month, 12 rainy days for 66.5 mm, with January and November at 11 days each. Volume peaks in June, 70.1 mm, but across only 9 days, because summer rain arrives as thunderstorms. April is the driest month at 36 mm.
What that means in practice: no season is a washout and none is reliably dry either. A folding umbrella beats a rain plan, outdoor seating is a gamble in any month, and the summer heat spikes matter more than the averages suggest, because many buildings have no air conditioning.
| Month | Avg. high (°C) | Avg. low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Days ≥ 1 mm | Days ≥ 5 mm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 7.5 | 2.5 | 60 | 11 | 4 |
| Feb | 10.1 | 3.4 | 46 | 8 | 3 |
| Mar | 13.2 | 4.8 | 53 | 10 | 3 |
| Apr | 16.8 | 6.6 | 36 | 8 | 2 |
| May | 20.5 | 10.2 | 67 | 9 | 4 |
| Jun | 25.0 | 14.3 | 70 | 9 | 4 |
| Jul | 27.0 | 15.8 | 40 | 6 | 3 |
| Aug | 26.7 | 15.5 | 49 | 7 | 3 |
| Sept | 23.0 | 12.8 | 54 | 9 | 4 |
| Oct | 17.8 | 9.8 | 61 | 10 | 4 |
| Nov | 11.4 | 5.5 | 53 | 11 | 4 |
| Dec | 8.6 | 3.7 | 67 | 12 | 5 |
Source: Meteostat — Paris (France) station, 14.2 km away, 10 sample years. Monthly totals rebuilt from daily averages.
When to go
Mid-April to June, then September to mid-October. Days run 17 to 25 °C, terraces are open, and the light is long without the August heat. Late June holds the longest evenings. July and August empty the city of Parisians and fill it with queues; December is dark and wet, at 12 rainy days, but the shop windows and short daylight have their own appeal.
The most favourable months, on these records
- May
- June
- July
- August
- September
What to see in 2, 4 and 7 days
In 2 days
- Walk the two river islands first: the cathedral from outside, the flower market and the old bridges.
- Choose one big museum, not two, and book a timed entry before you leave home.
- Cross into the Marais for its mansions, narrow streets, falafel counters and small museums.
- Second afternoon, climb to the Montmartre hill by the back streets rather than the main stairs.
- End on a bridge at dusk: the river is the only viewpoint in Paris that costs nothing.
In 4 days
- Add the Left Bank: the Latin Quarter, a long stop in the Luxembourg gardens, and the bouquinistes.
- Give a morning to the impressionist collection in the converted railway station on the river.
- Spend an afternoon in the eastern cemetery, then climb to the Belleville heights for the skyline.
- Follow the canal north through its locks and footbridges, a very different Paris from the centre.
- Do the tower at night, when the queues thin and the lighting does half the work.
In 7 days
- Take the suburban train to the royal palace west of the city, arriving at opening time.
- Balance it with a modern day: contemporary art, the business district's arch, or a redeveloped industrial quarter.
- Book the underground ossuary well in advance, as daily numbers are strictly limited.
- Spend a Sunday at the northern flea market or a street market, the city's most local hours.
- Use one day for a single neighbourhood only, eating where the queue is made of residents.
- Head south-east by train to the forest and hunting palace for a day among rocks and sand.
- Keep the last afternoon free: Paris rewards repetition more than it rewards coverage.
Getting there and around
Orly (ORY) is 14 km out, Charles de Gaulle (CDG) 23 km, and Beauvais (BVA) 70 km, which is a coach ride rather than a city airport, worth it only for the fare. Both main airports connect to the centre by rail, and the journey from Charles de Gaulle takes about as long as a taxi at a fraction of the price. In the city, the metro is dense enough that the next station is rarely far, buses are slower but far better for sightseeing, and central Paris is genuinely walkable end to end.
Nearest airports
- ORYParis Orly Airport14 km from the centre
- CDGCharles de Gaulle Airport23 km from the centre
- BVABeauvais-Tille Airport70 km from the centre
Budget
Country price level compared with France : on a par
Price index for restaurants and hotels, France = 1000, from European purchasing power parities. It is a country average: it says nothing about one hotel in particular.
Estimates only. Paris is dearer than the rest of France, and the difference shows first on the hotel bill. Between 130 and 250 € a night covers most mid-range doubles, with winter outside the holidays pulling that down towards 100 to 160 €. For food, count on the order of 40 to 80 € per person per day, much less if lunch comes from a bakery and dinner from a neighbourhood bistro. Museum and transport passes are worth the arithmetic only if you plan several sites a day.
Common mistakes
- Booking by monument rather than by neighbourhood. A room near a famous tower often means eating badly for a week.
- Turning up at the big museums without timed tickets, then losing half a morning in the security queue.
- Forgetting weekly closing days: the Louvre shuts on Tuesdays, the Orsay on Mondays, and many smaller museums follow suit.
- Cramming three districts into one day. The pleasure of Paris is in the streets between sights, not in the checklist.
- Taking taxis across the centre at rush hour, when the metro underneath is moving three times faster.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a first visit last?
Four full days is the honest minimum for the classic circuit without exhaustion: two for the river, the islands and one large museum, one for the Left Bank, one for Montmartre and the Marais. A fifth day lets you add the royal palace outside the city. Below three days, drop the outer sights entirely and stay within walking distance of the Seine.
Does the rain really fall one day in three?
The figures bear it out: 110 separate days above 1 mm, adding up to 655.4 mm. The important part is the ratio. Those totals are small, so most rainy days mean a shower or persistent drizzle rather than a downpour. A compact umbrella and shoes you do not mind soaking are enough; rescheduling a day around the forecast rarely is.
Updated on 12 September 2026