Hi everyone,
I have booked the 2020 RS Tour Loire and the South of France for Oct 4 through Oct 16 with the idea of spending about 5 days before the tour in Paris and 5 days after the tour in Antibes.
I’m wondering about the weather in Paris and during the RS Tour. The basic idea is to try to avoid the crowds as much as possible in Paris. The RS Tour has a canoe trip and I am wondering if it may be a bit on the cool side or if it is too late in the season to do the canoe trip.
I figure since Antibes is on the med the weather should be fine but things may be closing up for the winter.
Plan B may be to move my RS Tour up a month for better weather , etc.
Love to hear from someone that had a similar itinerary in the past and any recommendations.
Thanks for your help
Liam
Posted by
Washington DC
27216 posts
You can find actual historical, day-by-day weather statistics on the website timeanddate.com. They go back about ten years. I'd check five years' worth of data to get a pretty good idea of the range to be expected during your potential travel weeks. I've linked to the stats for Paris in October of this year.
Monthly averages indicate that October is quite a bit rainier than September. Of course, that varies from year to year. One thing that doesn't change is the number of daylight hours. In combination with the expected/probable rainier weather, it makes for a lot less sunshine in October. That would matter a lot to me, but many people don't care much (or at all) about sunshine and would definitely prefer to travel during a less-busy period.
Posted by
Paris
6920 posts
September can be very busy in Paris due to congresses, Fashion weeks, etc. October is quieter. Weather-wise... who knows.
Posted by
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA
14042 posts
I've traveled to France in September and October a number of times. This Fall I did a Road Scholar tour to Provence which started in Aix October 12 and ended in Arles Oct 23. There were a couple of days in the 80's, the rest in the 70's mostly and quite a bit of off and on rain. Even though there were periods of rain at no time did I feel chilly, lol so I would have been fine canoeing during any of that time. I left Arles Oct 23 and returned to Paris.
As Balso indicates, no way to tell on weather. It felt much warmer to me this September (arrived on Sept 26 to Paris) and October than previous years. I also am pretty cold tolerant whereas I am NOT heat tolerant! By the end of October a number of locals seemed to have pulled out their winter wool coats while I did not need that level of outerwear.
If you think you will do the 5 nights before in Paris (VERY good idea, by the way) go ahead and get your lodging in place now. Things do fill up as September is busy as indicated. In my view it's NOT too busy to enjoy but it is not a shoulder season.
Posted by
Chicago
8097 posts
when it comes to expenses there is no 'shoulder season' in Paris with the implication of reduced cost. In fact August is cheaper generally especially in hotels than September and October. IMHO Mid September though October is the best time to be there. September is the most booked and most expensive month for Paris.
We have been in the. Dordogne and Riviera in September though and many things are closing up e.g. the summer night markets are mostly over by the end of August (we found the very last one on September 5) It is still possible to canoe and we have canoed in the Dordogne in May as well but of course many fewer people on the river. The weather is very nice in the south if you like us don't care for hot weather.
Posted by
Florida, USA
12172 posts
My favorite shoulder season times (so far) are mid September and the first weekend in October.
First weekend in October is usually the White Night in Paris when ephemeral art displays are set up all over Paris. They're ephemeral because they open at dusk and are dismantled at dawn. I can now prove chain saw art is art because they were doing it on the Pont Neuf one White Night. ;-)
I stayed in Juan les Pins in late September. It was still a little warm but my price for a small apartment (Airbnb) was cheap (approx. 50 euro per night). Price should get even lower in October but it will likely only be comfortable - past any beach weather.