At a Glance
Compared to this destination's peak season Busiest in the first week, when Fashion Week fills the hotels around the Louvre and the Champs-Élysées. The second and third weeks are calmer and better value. The Toussaint school holiday, 23 October to 8 November 2027, brings French families into the museums and parks.
Paris in October — Travel Guide
By Harry Nara · Last updated
Paris in October offers some of the best conditions of the year, ideal for autumn colour, art & food. Expect temperatures of 10–17°C, around 10 days of rain, and high crowds across the city. Daily budgets typically land around €80–500+ for mid-range travellers. Book accommodation two to three months ahead — the most popular rooms sell out fast during peak visiting windows.
Contents14 sections
#Weather in Paris in October
Paris in October averages 10–17°C (50–63°F) with around 10 days of rain, and crowds are high.
| Measure | October in Paris |
|---|---|
| Daytime high | About 16.5°C / 62°F, from the high teens early to the low teens late |
| Overnight low | About 10°C / 50°F, colder in the last week |
| Rain | About 55mm over 9 or 10 wet days |
| Sunset | 7:31pm on the 1st, 6:34pm on the 30th |
| Clocks | Go back on Sunday 31 October 2027, 3am to 2am; that evening the sun sets at 5:33pm |
| Crowds | Busy in the first week, quieter after, then French families travel for Toussaint |
Figures are Météo-France 1991–2020 normals for Paris-Montsouris; sunset times are calculated for central Paris.
What that actually means for your trip:
- Dress in layers rather than one heavy coat. Mornings start cool and afternoons warm up, and the first and last weeks of the month feel like different seasons.
- The rain is frequent but light. Fifty-five millimetres across nine or ten days means showers you wait out in a café, not a day lost indoors.
- Daylight goes fast. You lose an hour of evening light across the month even before the clocks change on the 31st, so put the parks and the river walks first and keep museums and long dinners for later.
- Late October is the colour. The plane trees along the Seine and the chestnuts in the big parks turn in the second half of the month.
Early or late October? The first week still has the fashion crowd in town and the dearest hotels of the month around the Louvre and the Champs-Élysées. From the second week the city settles: the Montmartre harvest festival, the best of the foliage and the art fair at the Grand Palais all fall after it. The catch at the very end is the Toussaint school holiday, which begins on Saturday 23 October 2027 and fills family attractions. For most visitors the sweet spot is roughly the 8th to the 22nd.
#What to Do in Paris in October
The Montmartre harvest festival
Paris still makes wine: the Clos Montmartre, a small vineyard on the north slope of the Butte, is harvested each autumn, and the Fête des Vendanges de Montmartre turns the 18th arrondissement into a five-day street festival around it: a food and wine trail up the hill below Sacré-Cœur, a parade of the wine brotherhoods, concerts and a closing night. It runs Wednesday to Sunday and closes on the second Sunday of October, which puts it on 6 to 10 October 2027; the organiser publishes the programme in late summer. Most of it is free. See our Fête des Vendanges guide for the details.
Art Basel Paris at the Grand Palais
The contemporary art fair that replaced FIAC is held under the glass roof of the restored Grand Palais in the second half of October; in 2026 it ran from 23 to 25 October. Tickets are sold through Art Basel's own site. The fair also brings free public installations to sites around the city in the same week, so the art spills out even if you don't go in.
Notre-Dame, five years after the fire
The cathedral reopened in December 2024, and entry is still free. A timed reservation is optional, released a few days ahead, and it shortens the queue considerably.
The towers reopened in September 2025 as a separate paid visit, €16, with 387 steps and a limited number of places, so book them well before your trip.
The Louvre and the Orsay
Since 14 January 2026 the Louvre charges €22 for visitors from the EU and EEA and €32 for everyone else, and a timed online booking is effectively compulsory.
The Musée d'Orsay is €16. In October both are calmer than in summer, and calmest of all on the evenings each keeps open late.
The big parks in their best month
The Jardin du Luxembourg, the Jardin des Plantes and the Bois de Vincennes all turn gold through the second half of the month.
The Bois de Boulogne is the largest and the easiest to have to yourself; hire a rowing boat on the Lac Inférieur on a dry afternoon.
On the far side of the city, the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont has the best autumn view over the north-east.
Toussaint and the cemeteries
All Saints' Day, Monday 1 November 2027, is a public holiday, and in the days before it families lay chrysanthemums at the graves. Père Lachaise, Montparnasse and Montmartre are busier than usual but no less lovely, and visiting is free.
#Getting Around
Two rail lines serve the airports: the RER B from Charles de Gaulle, which takes under an hour to Châtelet, and Métro line 14 from Orly, which has run straight into the city since 2024. In 2026 a single Métro, RER or bus ticket costs €2.55 and the airport ticket €14, loaded onto a Navigo Easy card or a phone; a Navigo Week pass, €32.40, covers unlimited travel from Monday to Sunday, airports included, and suits a stay of four days or more. Île-de-France Mobilités usually revises fares in January, so check before you go. Walking is the best way to see the city in October's weather, and the Vélib' bikes are cheap for short hops along the river.
#Budget & Costs
| Travel style | Per day | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Budget | €80–120 | Hostel or simple hotel, bakery breakfasts, lunch menus, the Métro |
| Mid-range | €180–280 | Three-star hotel, bistro dinners, paid museums |
| Luxury | €500+ | Palace hotels and fine dining |
Entry fees and transport:
| What | Price |
|---|---|
| Louvre, EU and EEA visitors | €22 |
| Louvre, everyone else | €32 |
| Eiffel Tower, summit by lift | €36.70 |
| Musée d'Orsay | €16 |
| Notre-Dame towers | €16 |
| Notre-Dame cathedral | Free |
| Métro single ticket | €2.55 |
| Navigo Week pass | €32.40 |
Where the money actually goes:
- Fashion Week week costs the most. The women's shows run from the last days of September into the first week of October, and hotels in the 1st and 8th arrondissements are at their dearest of the autumn.
- The second and third weeks are the value. Hotel rates fall back once the shows have gone, and the best of the month's weather and colour falls inside them.
- The month's best festival is free. The Montmartre harvest costs nothing to walk, and so do Notre-Dame, the parks and the cemeteries.
- The tourist tax is added per person per night, rising with the star rating.
October rewards a traveller who avoids one week. Book around Fashion Week and the city is cheaper than it was all summer, with better light, emptier museums and food at its most seasonal; book inside it and you pay a premium for exactly the same streets.
#Food & Dining
October is the start of game season (gibier), and the bistros of the 6th and 7th put venison, wild boar and partridge on the board.
The markets fill with wild mushrooms, from cèpes to girolles, and the first chestnuts appear; sellers roasting marrons chauds on street corners are a sure sign of the season. The new Beaujolais is not an October event: by law it is released on the third Thursday of November, 18 November in 2027.
For the market version, the Marché d'Aligre near Bastille is the most local and the cheapest, and the covered Marché des Enfants Rouges in the Marais has counters to eat at. Lunch is the better value everywhere: the formule or the plat du jour at a neighbourhood bistro costs far less than the same kitchen at dinner.
#Nightlife
The opera and concert season is in full swing: the Palais Garnier, the Opéra Bastille and the Philharmonie de Paris at La Villette all have full calendars, and the cheapest seats go first. For something smaller, the classical concerts in the Sainte-Chapelle, under the stained glass, are best on a bright evening early in the month.
The bars of Oberkampf, Pigalle and the canal around Saint-Martin are full from Thursday, and the jazz clubs of the Rue des Lombards near Châtelet run late all week.
#Shopping
The autumn collections are in the shops at full price; the sales are not until January.
The flea market at Saint-Ouen, just beyond the Périphérique, is at its most comfortable for browsing in October, open Saturday to Monday, with the Paul Bert and Serpette markets the best curated.
The department stores on Boulevard Haussmann have their rooftop terraces open on dry days, with free views across the roofs.
For food to take home, the shops of the Rue du Bac and the Grande Épicerie at Le Bon Marché have the season's chocolates and preserves.
#Culture & Etiquette
- Say bonjour when you walk into a shop, a café or a bakery, and au revoir when you leave; skipping it reads as rude.
- Service is included in every bill. Leaving a euro or two for good service is a courtesy, not an obligation.
- The Toussaint holiday is a family time, and the days around 1 November are when Parisians visit family graves. Behave in the cemeteries as you would in a church.
- Strikes do happen. Check the RATP and SNCF apps each morning if you are travelling on a day with a national action announced.
- Dinner starts late: few Parisians sit down before 8pm.
#Essential Local Phrases
| English | French | Sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Hello / Good day | Bonjour | Bon-ZHOOR |
| Good evening | Bonsoir | Bon-SWAHR |
| Please | S'il vous plaît | Seel voo PLAY |
| Thank you | Merci | Mair-SEE |
| A table for two | Une table pour deux | Oon TAH-bluh poor DUH |
| The game dish | Le plat de gibier | Luh plah duh zhee-BYAY |
| Hot chestnuts | Des marrons chauds | Day mah-RON SHOH |
| The bill, please | L'addition, s'il vous plaît | Lah-dee-SYON, seel voo PLAY |
#Packing List
- A warm jacket that handles a shower, for the late-month evenings
- Layers: a jumper or light knit over a shirt for the warm afternoons
- A compact umbrella
- Comfortable shoes with grip: cobbles and wet leaves are slippery
- A scarf, which Parisians wear from October
- One smarter outfit for the opera, a concert or a good restaurant
- A cross-body bag that zips
- A plug adaptor (type E)
#Backup Plans
If it rains all day: spend it under the glass roofs of the nineteenth-century arcades near the Bourse, from the Galerie Vivienne to the Passage des Panoramas, with their old bookshops and tea rooms, and the Musée des Arts et Métiers is rarely crowded.
If the Louvre is booked out: the Musée Jacquemart-André and the Musée Marmottan Monet, which holds the world's largest collection of Monet's work, are smaller and calmer.
If the Toussaint crowds fill the family sights: go where children don't, the Musée Rodin garden on a dry day or the Sainte-Chapelle first thing in the morning.
If the Montmartre festival is too busy: the Musée de Montmartre, two minutes from the vineyard, has a garden café and the story of the hill.
#Safety & Health
Paris in October is safe for visitors who keep an eye on their belongings.
Pickpockets work Line 1 and Line 4 of the Métro, the RER B from the airport, the Louvre and the steps of Sacré-Cœur, where the "friendship bracelet" sellers also operate; keep bags zipped and phones out of back pockets.
Wet leaves and cobbles are slippery after rain, especially on the Montmartre steps.
Tap water is safe, and the green Wallace fountains run all year. In an emergency, call 112, or 15 for medical help and 17 for the police.
#What's New for October 2027
- The Toussaint school holiday runs from 23 October to 8 November 2027, the same dates in every zone
- All Saints' Day falls on Monday 1 November, a public holiday and a long weekend
- The clocks go back on Sunday 31 October, the last day of the month
- The Montmartre harvest festival should run from 6 to 10 October under its usual Wednesday-to-Sunday rule
- The Louvre charges €32 to visitors from outside the EU and EEA, since 14 January 2026
- The Notre-Dame towers are open again, at €16, booked separately from the free cathedral
#About This Guide
By Harry Nara (founder of WhenToWander), first written in May 2026 and rewritten in October 2026 for October 2027. Climate figures are Météo-France 1991–2020 normals for Paris-Montsouris. Facts verified against:
- French Ministry of Education for the Toussaint holiday dates
- Fête des Vendanges de Montmartre for the harvest festival
- Art Basel for the art fair
- Notre-Dame de Paris for cathedral and tower visits
- Île-de-France Mobilités for fares
For the season as a whole, see Paris in autumn, and for the month that follows, Paris in November.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is on in Paris in October 2027?
Fashion Week runs from the last days of September into the first week of October. The Montmartre harvest festival, the Fête des Vendanges, runs Wednesday to Sunday ending on the second Sunday of the month, so 6 to 10 October 2027. Art Basel Paris fills the Grand Palais in the second half of the month, and the Salon du Chocolat follows at Porte de Versailles. The Toussaint school holiday starts on 23 October.
When are the autumn colours best in Paris?
In the second half of October and into early November. The Jardin du Luxembourg, the Jardin des Plantes, the Bois de Boulogne and the plane trees along the Seine are the best places; Père Lachaise is beautiful once the leaves start to fall. Go early in the morning for the parks to yourself.
How much does a trip to Paris cost in October?
Allow about €80–120 a day on a budget and €180–280 mid-range. Fashion Week, at the start of the month, is the dearest week for hotels; the second and third weeks are the best value. The Louvre costs €22 for EU and EEA visitors and €32 for everyone else, and Notre-Dame is free.
Is Paris quieter in October?
After the first week, yes. Once Fashion Week has gone, hotel rates fall and museum queues shorten. The exception is the Toussaint school holiday, from 23 October to 8 November 2027, when French families fill the museums, parks and attractions aimed at children.
What’s the weather like in Paris in October?
Paris in October typically sees temperatures of 10–17°C with around 10 days of rain across the period. Pack lightweight layers that suit both cooler mornings and warmer afternoons.