France in early April

We were in Paris and Alsace in early April and it was very cold in both places, hats, mittens and gloves needed.

I was in Paris, Normandy, Brittany and the Loire Valley the last two weeks of April in 2018 and the weather was lovely. It was the first really warm weekend in a Paris (in the 80’s) and everyone was out! It was a little cooler in Normandy. I had previously been in France in September and preferred late April as everything was green and lush.

You can take a look at actual, day-by-day, historical weather statistics for your planned destinations (or nearby cities) on the website timeanddate.com. The data goes back at least 10 years; I'd want to check at least the most recent three years, and five would be smarter. Weather changes from week to week as well as from year to year. Looking at the daily data should give you a decent idea of the range of what you might experience.

For high-level rain statistics you can check the monthly averages included on the climate charts included on most cities' Wikipedia pages. Normandy tends to be overcast and damp in general. Rouen (lovely place) has precipitation more than one day out of three in March (and 3 days of snow on average), and the average high temperature is down in the low 50s (F). The average low is about 38. Since those are averages, you'd have to expect some days to be cooler. That would not be acceptable for me, given the expected amount of rain, but I am unusually cold-natured.

My experience in Normandy/Brittany/northern Spain is that the rain doesn't often come in downpours. It's more often a persistent drizzle that comes and goes, with few days when you're confident you can leave your umbrella and rain jacket in the hotel. But that's just my experience, and from later in the year, not March/April.

I don't know anything about mountain trail conditions at that time of year, but I don't see how they could be snow-free, even in late April.

I was in Paris in the first week of April 2016 and it was fine -- sunny some days and not so sunny on others and light jacket weather for me. If I recall correctly, it drizzled many days but no all-day rain. You may want to check at worldweatheronline.com where you can enter dates and see exactly what the weather was, which will give you a sense of what the first week of Aprils tend to be like as opposed to anecdotal evidence.

If you have a choice, I'd suggest late April rather than early. We were in Paris late March/early April some years back, it was cool and cloudy with some rain. I remember too much time in the hooded shell parka with a layer underneath. But didn't matter that much in the city. Normandy would be cooler/wetter that time of year. I haven't been to Lyon or the Alps, but I'd expect that mountain hiking would be limited by snow on the trails if not from the sky. Conditions in all these places would improve as April passes along. We returned to Paris in early May that year, it was sunny and warm and the chestnut trees were in flower.

But you know that you're better off looking at multi-year daily (not monthly) averages than collecting data points from this miscellaneous collection of past travellers.

The Alps will be either snowy or muddy for hiking in April. For your other destinations, the end of April is nicer than the end of March. The Normandy coast can be cool, wet and gray any month.

Early April means school holidays, so places will be busier and more expensive, so avoid if possible. May would be better than April for the outdoors.

Another anecdotal view...I spent 3 weeks in Paris, Belgium and Netherlands this last spring, arriving the last week of March. I am cold tolerant and I thought it was fine. The locals were still wearing their wool coats in the Metro but I was comfortable in either 2 layers ( SS tee shirt and a LS dri-fit or in Belgium a LS Tee and the LS dri-fit) along with a puffy vest or with a rain jacket. I wore light glove liners a few days in Paris - more often in Belgium and Netherlands where it was very windy. For myself, it was warmer than I had been in my North Idaho home and there was certainly NOT 3 feet of snow on the ground like I left behind, lol. I guess it just depends on what you want for a vacation and where you are from. If you get cold easily you may not enjoy it.

I have not been to Normandy this time of year but have been the end of April and it was windy and cold the year I went.

To me Paris is always a good idea!

In case you are interested - a link to my Trip Report with a packing list so you can see what kind of clothing was comfortable for me.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/tours/trip-report-rs-belgium-holland-4-6-4-16-2019-plus-time-in-paris

April is likely to be cold and rainy especially early April. April is gorgeous for flowers in Paris -- the chestnuts are in blossom everywhere and the bulb flowers are lush in the gardens in mid April. but plan on rain -- with rain proof shoes and rain coats with layers underneath for cold. If you are lucky it will be sunny and pleasant and cool -- but it is likely to be cold and rainy so plan on lots of indoor activities -- of which there are plenty in Paris. Consider operas or concerts at the Philharmonie (the building is worth the trip; of course museums are great on cold wet days.

Normandy will be definitely cold and wet.

The end of April is likely to be cold and wet but you could also have temperate sunny weather. We have had fair luck then.

Sorry, couldn't help this perfect description of Paris in April, perhaps the most changeable and unpredictable month weather wise.

April is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.

This is the exact time that I'm almost always in France for work. My main takeaway is that it's very similar to back home (at least for me). Sometimes it's beautiful and warm. Sometimes it's drizzly and chilly. Once or twice I've even had a day or two of light snow. Sometimes all of these things can happen on the same trip. Last year I remember bragging to my husband about the great weather we were having when it was chilly and snowy back home, then bam, I woke up to snow the next day!

I've done some hiking during that timeframe without any issues, but in the Vosges, not the Alps, so that part I can't really speak to. When I've done hiking in bigger mountainous areas in the States I know I've had to wait until later in the season for less snowy conditions.

If you come prepared with layers, you'll probably be fine. As far as school vacations affecting crowds go, they are staggered throughout the country, so anytime in April someone will be on vacation, but it shouldn't be a huge factor. You can check out the vacation zones here if it's of interest!

Will the weather be OK? Not by most people's standards. That doesn't mean you shouldn't go, just be prepared for wet and cold (good rain shell, warm clothes, wool socks and walking shoes that do fine when it's rainy).

Normandy should be mostly rainy and likely windy too. On the occasional nice days that time of year in Normandy, people will flock from Paris and surrounding areas - so it could go from feeling like you have the place to yourself to fighting crowds overnight.

Lyon is a city so even if it's cold and rains, everything is open.

The Alps will be open but you will be there at the end of ski season. Most of the ski areas will either still be open (on a good year) or recently closed for the year. Hiking won't be an option, at least on higher trails, until June (on warmer years) or July (on normal years).

Hi,
I have traveled in southern France few years ago in May. The weather was just perfect we even had a chance to swim in Nice!
The overall experience was 10/10 it wasn't cold or hot it was perfect.
I wish you have safe travels!

I would wait until the end of April when you would have a better chance of good weather.