France in November

johnathan,

You should see little effect from the timing of your visit on what you are able to do. Certainly, warm weather-oriented experiences may be unavailable in colder weather, and in some smaller towns you may find restaurants, hotels, gites, or other businesses that are seasonally closed in response to declining tourist visits, but in general you should expect to experience little material effect on your choices of lodging, restaurants, and activities.

Having said that... what are your interests? Knowing that might help folks provide more targeted suggestions.

No reason to avoid that time of year. I think the further south you go the better the weather in the regions of Provence or Occitanie (formerly Languedoc Rousillion) or Dordogne. Keep reading the guide book to see what strikes your own interests. We went to the Dordogne the first week of January this year and it was pretty warm compared to Paris; but a lot of stuff was closed in the small towns. Things are generally closed in the month of August and then from Xmas to the end of January in small towns.

My experience is a little different.

November 1 is the Day of the Dead in France. It's an important holiday and many things will be closed. Afterwards, in many places there will be bus routes that do not run and some sights will be on shorter hours. There is a lot less daylight, of course, for sightseeing.

You can still have a great time but I would plan ahead and list the things you want to see, and not just expect to figure things out on the ground. Check transit connections and hours before you go.

We visited the Normandy Beach area in November and found that we were able to see everything without the hordes of tourists. All of the museums and sights were open, there was minimal traffic and it was quite peaceful, as opposed to the time we were there in mid-June. It was easy to find accommodations in Bayeaux, but we did need to be aware that some restaurants closed a bit earlier in the evening during that time of year.

I was going to go to Basque France and Dordogne this fall but when my trip got pushed into November and I noticed that area tends towards rain and is a bit chilly in November. We decided to go somewhere else and save that area for another time. I don't think weather really matters that much for Paris, but for other parts of France, you might spend more time outside. I would think Provence would be nice. For other areas, I would evaluate how much of your activities are indoor vs. outdoor. We've been to France a couple times in October. Some places closed earlier than in the summer, but we didn't run into places that were completely closed.