By Harry Nara · Last updated
Paris works in every month, so the real question is what you are optimising for. The two sweet spots are May into June and September into October: mild weather, long light, and the cultural calendar either still running or restarting after the summer. Winter is the honest value season, cold at 2–9°C but the only genuinely low-crowd stretch, with hotel rates at their lowest in January and February. July and August are the hottest and busiest, redeemed by the fact that the best of a Paris summer is free. Four 2026 changes are worth knowing before you book: the Louvre now charges non-EEA passport holders €32 against €22 for EEA visitors, a 45 percent increase that took effect on 14 January; the Eiffel Tower summit is €36.70 by lift; Notre-Dame has reopened with free entry, its Bell Towers a separate €16 ticket since September 2025; and RATP fares rose on 1 January to €2.55 a single ticket and €32.40 for a weekly Navigo.
Paris Month by Month
| Month | Temperature | Rainy Days | Crowds | Budget / Day | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3–8°C | 10 days | Low | €65–120 | Bargain Hunters & Foodies |
| February | 3–9°C | 9 days | Low | €65–130 | Romantic Getaways |
| March | 7–14°C | 10 days | Low | €75–500 | Fashion Week, Rugby & Early Blooms |
| April Best | 8–17°C | 9 days | Medium | €80–150 | Garden Strolls & Runners |
| May Best | 11–20°C | 9 days | Medium | €85–160 | Outdoor Culture Seekers |
| June Best | 14–23°C | 8 days | High | €90–175 | Music Lovers & Nightlife |
| July | 16–26°C | 7 days | Very High | €95–185 | Families & Fireworks |
| August | 16–26°C | 8 days | High | €85–170 | Solo Explorers & Beach Trips |
| September Best | 13–22°C | 8 days | High | €90–175 | Fashion & Fine Dining |
| October Best | 6–18°C | 10 days | High | €70–5,000+ | Fashion Week, Foliage Photographers & Art Visitors |
| November | 6–11°C | 10 days | Low | €70–130 | Wine Lovers & Introverts |
| December | 2–9°C | 11 days | Medium | €65–350+ | Festive Markets & Families |
How to Choose Your Month
May and June. May runs 11–20°C on about nine wet days with the parks in full use and crowds still moderate; June warms to 14–23°C, brings the longest light of the year, and opens with the Fête de la Musique on the 21st, when every street, courtyard and café terrace in the city becomes a free concert stage. June is busier than May but it is the month Paris feels most alive outdoors, and both sit below the July and August peak.
Late September and October. The August tourists have gone, the cultural season starts in earnest with new gallery openings and the literary prizes, and the avenues turn amber. October runs a wide 6–18°C and is dense with events: Nuit Blanche, the all-night contemporary art festival, on Saturday 3 October in 2026, Paris+ par Art Basel from the 22nd to the 25th, and the Salon du Chocolat from the 28th into 1 November. Hotel rates drop noticeably from mid-September once Fashion Week clears.
June and July, when the best of Paris costs nothing. The Fête de la Musique on 21 June turns the whole city into an open-air concert. Bastille Day on 14 July is the single most spectacular date in the calendar, with the military parade down the Champs-Élysées from 10am and fireworks over the Eiffel Tower at 11pm. Paris Plages turns the Seine banks into urban beaches through the summer. The catch is 16–26°C heat and the year’s heaviest crowds in July.
January and February, the only properly low-crowd months Paris has, at roughly €65–130 a day against €90–185 in summer. Both are cold, 3–9°C on nine or ten wet days, which makes them a museums-and-long-lunches trip rather than a terrace one. The upside is real: the Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay at a human pace, and the Soldes d’Hiver, the winter sales fixed by French law to run 7 January to 3 February, cutting 30 to 70 percent across the city.
April, at 8–17°C on about nine wet days with moderate crowds. The Schneider Electric Marathon de Paris runs on Sunday 12 April in 2026, with bib pickup from the 9th to the 11th at Porte de Versailles. The city’s big cherry-blossom event is the Hanami at Parc de Sceaux, just south of the centre, and the first properly warm terrace day of the year tends to land in April, which Parisians treat with something close to ceremony.
December. La Magie de Noël at the Tuileries runs from 15 November to 3 January and draws around 13 million visitors a year, and New Year’s Eve on the Champs-Élysées is free with no tickets required. Expect 2–9°C on about eleven wet days, the shortest daylight of the year, and moderate rather than extreme crowds outside the Christmas-to-New-Year fortnight, which is the one expensive window in an otherwise cheap season.
Paris Season by Season
Spring
Spring is Paris warming up and filling its calendar. March is still cool at 7–14°C but it is the event-dense month: France hosts the Six Nations at the Stade de France on two March Saturdays most years, Fashion Week fills the first half, and the HOKA Semi de Paris half marathon runs through the east of the city. April brings 8–17°C, the Schneider Electric Marathon de Paris on Sunday 12 April in 2026, and the Hanami cherry blossom at Parc de Sceaux. May settles into the best weather of the half-year at 11–20°C, with the parks in constant use and crowds still moderate before June arrives.
Summer
Summer is hot, busy, and largely free if you want it to be. June opens with the longest light of the year and the Fête de la Musique on the 21st, when the entire city becomes an outdoor concert. July is the peak of everything: 16–26°C, the heaviest crowds of the year, Bastille Day on the 14th with the Champs-Élysées parade at 10am and fireworks over the Eiffel Tower at 11pm, and the summer soldes, fixed by French law to late June and July, cutting 30 to 70 percent. August holds the same temperatures with slightly thinner crowds, and Paris Plages keeps the Seine banks in use throughout.
Autumn
Autumn is the season Parisians quietly rate. September is still warm at 13–22°C and the cultural year restarts all at once, with Fashion Week in the back half and hotel rates dropping once it clears. October is the richest month for events across a wide 6–18°C: Nuit Blanche on Saturday 3 October in 2026, Paris+ par Art Basel from the 22nd to the 25th, and the Salon du Chocolat from the 28th, all while the avenues turn amber and gold. November is the quietest and among the cheapest months at 6–11°C, with the museums empty and the Christmas markets going up at the end.
Winter
Winter splits into the festive month and the two cheap ones. December is 2–9°C and the most atmospheric, with La Magie de Noël at the Tuileries running from 15 November to 3 January and drawing some 13 million visitors, and a free New Year’s Eve on the Champs-Élysées that needs no ticket. January and February are the genuine bargain, the only properly low-crowd months Paris has, at roughly €65–130 a day, with the Soldes d’Hiver fixed by law to 7 January through 3 February. The trade-off across all three is cold, short days, and nine to eleven wet days a month.
Seasonal Guides
Browse Every Month
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the best time to visit Paris?
May into June, or September into October. May runs 11–20°C with moderate crowds and the parks in full use; June brings the longest light of the year and the Fête de la Musique on the 21st. On the other side of summer, September is still warm at 13–22°C with the cultural season restarting and rates falling once Fashion Week clears, and October is the most event-dense month of the autumn at 6–18°C. April is the other strong option if you want blossom and the Paris Marathon. July and August are the ones to weigh most carefully: the free programming is at its best, but so are the crowds and the heat.
What is the cheapest time to visit Paris?
January and February, at roughly €65–130 a day against €90–185 in summer. They are the only months when Paris crowds are genuinely low rather than merely thinner, so the Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay are walkable and restaurants are bookable. Expect 3–9°C and nine or ten wet days a month. The Soldes d’Hiver, fixed by French law to 7 January through 3 February, cut 30 to 70 percent across the city and make January especially good value. November is the other cheap month at 6–11°C. The exception to low winter pricing is the Christmas-to-New-Year fortnight.
What has changed in Paris for 2026?
Four things that affect what a trip costs. The Louvre introduced a two-tier price on 14 January: €22 for EEA passport holders and €32 for everyone else, a 45 percent increase for non-EEA visitors, so a family travelling on different passports can pay different prices at the same window. The Eiffel Tower summit is €36.70 by lift, with the second floor at about €23. Notre-Dame has reopened and entry remains free, but the Bell Towers became a separate paid attraction at €16 in September 2025. And RATP fares rose on 1 January to €2.55 for a single t+ ticket and €32.40 for a weekly Navigo, which beats singles after roughly fourteen rides.
When are the Paris sales?
Twice a year, and the dates are set by French law rather than by the shops, which makes them easy to plan around. The winter sales, the Soldes d’Hiver, run 7 January to 3 February, four weeks rather than the six many older guides claim. The summer sales run through late June and July. Both cut 30 to 70 percent across every major store and boutique, and the first week of each is the most frenetic. If shopping is a real part of the trip, January is the better of the two: the sales overlap with the cheapest hotel rates and the emptiest museums of the year.
Is Paris worth visiting in winter?
Yes, if you accept the cold and plan indoors. Winter is 2–9°C with nine to eleven wet days a month and the shortest daylight of the year, but it is the only genuinely low-crowd season, and the museums that require timed tickets and long queues in summer become walkable. December is the atmospheric one, with La Magie de Noël at the Tuileries from 15 November to 3 January and a free New Year’s Eve on the Champs-Élysées. January and February are the value months, with the Soldes d’Hiver running from 7 January and hotel rates at their annual low outside the Christmas fortnight.
Does Paris Fashion Week affect hotel prices?
Yes, locally and predictably. Paris hosts Fashion Week twice, in early March and again from late September into early October, and both cause congestion and hotel price spikes concentrated around the 1st and 8th arrondissements, near the show venues at the Grand Palais, the Tuileries and the Palais Royal. Exact dates move year to year, so check the FHCM calendar before booking. The practical read: if you want the street-style spectacle, which is free and open to anyone, time your trip to it; if you do not, the weeks immediately after are noticeably cheaper, and mid-September onward is when autumn rates start falling.
📚 Explore More
View all Paris guides • Browse by month • All destinations