December travel

David, can you be more specific? What, more exactly, do you mean by "appeal recommendations?" And where in Belgium and France are you going, and for how long in each spot? From previous posts it looks like you're already familiar with Paris and some other parts of France.

For useful lodging recommendations you really need to give us your nightly budget in euros.

Probably the Curse of Autocorrect.

Appeal...
Accommodation?
Apparel?

Other David, ah, 'apparel' might be OP David's question!

I meant apparel - as a resident of New England, I am prepared for the cold but have never traveled to France in December. We will be going to Mount St. Michele, Normandy, Bayeux, Chartres and Paris. Would like to know what to bring to wear. Thanks for your input. Also, we are bringing our 6 (yes six children) and would like advice for inexpensive places to eat but not touristy.

A general food suggestion, especially up in Normandy: Look for creperies. There should be fillings (savory as well as sweet) that will appeal to everyone, and the cost is usually reasonable.

A second tip is to eat your main meal at lunchtime; there are usually very good single-plate or 2- and 3-course deals then.

You will likely encounter very cold weather. I would recommend a long coat and some waterproof boot/shoes. We were in Italy, Germany and Switzerland a few years ago in December and even for three weeks we were still able to pack just a carry on. I had a full length down coat and waterproof merrell boots that I wore on the plane. Everything else fit in the carry on.

Agree with other recommendations for creperies in Normandy. Also look for Brasseries for sit down meals in France.

We were in Paris mid January and temps were about 35F. The Parisians were commenting that it was unseasonably cold, but your best bet would be to look at historical averages. I actually did not bring a winter coat (we were also in Switzerland where it was much colder) What I did was bring very light weight long underwear (tops and bottoms), corduroy pants, turtleneck, wool sweater, thin fleece jacket, light weight jacket (meant for about 45F), warm socks, mittens and a hat, and a rain coat. I was able to wear various combinations to adapt to any weather. We return to the Cafe St. Victor in the Latin Quarter every time we go to Paris. Have the duck!

I would agree on the waterproof footwear. I like Bogs boots which I think people think of more for kids. My pair is actually from the kids' line. They are super light and pack small. I am also sold on Allbirds Mizzles which are waterproof

It is not going to be "very" cold in December compared to the New England area. You can look up the weather averages of any city on one of the many weather.com type websites out there on Google.

With 6 kids and a desire to avoid other tourists you might like to try Flunch when you are in France.

My wife and I go to several on each trip and we're probably the only English speakers in there. You may find other French tourists.

It is where French families go with the kids.

The website is only in French https://www.flunch.fr/ Wikipedia has a short English explanation, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flunch

Also in France you might try a Hippopotamus. You will spend more there than at Flunch. https://www.hippopotamus.fr/ (all in French). A very short Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippopotamus_(restaurant)

Are you aware of the month long strikes planned in France for December?

Have you seen the current thread about that at https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france/paris-france-december-transport-strike-fyi

I don't think Hartford is much warmer than Boston...so here's what I've worn in the winter as I have found Europe pleasant compared to the cold here...mainly December travel in UK and France somewhere more than 7 times, with Amsterdam in March, which was essentially spring weather. So my uniform is layers, which I don't always need to wear together: long sleeve tee shirt or blouse, a boiled wool overshirt type or my Lands End double fleece vest that has wind protection. I then have a spring level jacket or my unlined leather jacket to wear as the outside layer. The important items are: leather gloves, scarf and ear muffs/hat. Umbrella.

I use regular leather Clark walking shoes. I've never needed waterproof shoes there. Only once in 7 years did I bring leather water resistant ankle boots and they were overkill. London was canceling work, etc. due to an allegedly earth shattering snow fall, in actuality for a New Englander, it was a 1-3" dusting that melted away quickly.

Keep in mind, if one's thermostat is set at 64 degrees, I'm stripping down to my tee shirt when the temp in the house reaches 70 degrees because I'm so hot. You can use that as a benchmark for your comparison. However, you can always buy an extra sweater over there. A long down coat would be too much for me and bulky indoors to carry. While I have a long down coat, it comes out when the temps are in the teens or less here. I do love to stop for warm drinks though...

Cold is a relative thing. A friend in Montreal thinks 25° F is cool. Living in Florida, when the temps hit 59°, I hibernate. Think November in Hartford vs. February. Having lived in Connecticut, I never found it as uncomfortably cold in France in December. Make sure everyone has gloves, a scarf and a hat. The key to comfort is bringing clothing you can layer. I wear a medium weight Lands End jacket, t-shirt, microfiber long sleeve shirt, and a sweater when needed. I also take a silk turtleneck just in case the temperature plunged. Even when there was snow in Paris, no special footwear was needed. Timeanddate.com is a great site to get weather info.

We just returned from Bayeux and Paris this week. Many restaurants in and around Bayeux were closed for the season. Especially near Utah and Omaha beaches. Bring a picnic lunch when visiting these sights. We couldn’t find ANYTHING open near Utah Beach. We made due with items from a bakery in Saint-Marie-du-Mont. I was told that ALL the restaurants in town closed in September for the season. At Omaha Beach, there was one restaurant open across from the Overlord museum. Everything else was closed, and we drove all up and down the beach looking. Don’t count on their website hours being correct either.

We had temps in the 40’s with some rain and wind. The wind can be very strong along the beaches. Bring layers, thermals, hats, gloves, scarves. I live in cold weather, but I’m not usually out in it all day as when sightseeing. It makes a difference.