High temps in France and Spain - how to cope?

Most people are locked in to their vacations this summer, and may not have had a choice to begin with, so the the most obvious solution, travel in a different season, does not apply.
However, these do:
Stay in air-conditioned hotels. You would not rent a place without heat in the winter, so why rent a place without air conditioning in the summer.
Unless you are spending all your time in inner cities, rent a car. It can be an escape of last resort from the heat.

Last year we were in Rome in early Sept and the temps were quite hot. We were lucky in that our apartment had AC and was central (right by the Colosseum) and we would usually go back to the room during the worst of the afternoon to rest and cool off, maybe take another shower, have a nap - generally from about 2-5pm. If there were days we were too far away, we tried to do 'indoor' things like museums, churches (always nice and cool inside), or go to a shady park to relax.

Best to try and get out in the morning and early evening to see the sights if possible and take a siesta in the afternoon. Take a bottle of water with you. We are going to NYC in a few weeks and I am dreading the temps, but we will either do museums in the afternoon, chill out in Central Park, or head back to our room if it's really bad.

The mid-Atlantic's been dealing with temps in the 90s most of June except it has cooled down this weekend. Things that work here:
Consider a skirt/skort instead of pants or crops.
Do outdoor things early and late.
Take advantage of the siesta.
Spend the hottest periods indoors or as mentioned in the shade.
Have your own water bottle for walks during the day. Sparkling water can be psychologically refreshing as well-just watch the sodium content.
Eat small, light meals.
Take it slow. It truly is okay to "do nothing" every now and then. Better than getting physically ill from pushing too much in the heat.
Take your exercise indoors (e.g., walk stairs inside AC building.)

I think our biggest enemy is simply trying to do too much. Slowing down is okay.

Have a great trip!

Thank you for your reassuring words and ideas. If we can just get the teenage boys on board with the up and out early routine, I think we will be in good shape.

I'm relieved that the hotel has an ice machine, knowing how challenging it was to get ice last time! I think my insulated thermos will be my water bottle of choice, filled with ice. Seems like a silly thing to be relieved about...but it is a relief!

Laurie

It's just like here in the US, life goes on as usual. I remember the SNCF has signs a few years ago saying that we were in the middle of a heatwave and advised people to take water with them and for the elderly and young to pay special attention. I was living with a host family at that time, so no air conditioning (was in Tours). We kept the shudders closed during the day to keep the sunlight in and drank plenty of chilled Rosé .

Alexander beat me to it. I was going to say: Drink plenty of rosé.

My keeping-cool strategy -- I carry a cooling scarf (got mine at REI, but many sporting goods stores carry them) which contains a water-holding gel that can cool your neck for hours. Before you activate with water, the scarf in its dry form doesn't trigger TSA "gel" limitations. Can be dried out and rehydrated over and over. Not as good as air-conditioning, but it makes a big difference for me.

Laura, I'm a fan of those cool ties, too, and have one packed. I've recommended them for other travelers too-and am wondering if my friends in Madrid are using them in that hot weather right now!

Good point about waiting to hydrate the tie until I get there-thanks for that hint!

Laurie

Remember it can be a big mistake to open the windows and shutters in the middle part of the day for this just let hot air into what may have been a cooler room. Beware of the radiant heat, and hydrate.

As the others mentioned......

• Be sure to get hotels with A/C
• Try to get out touring early and then take a "siesta" in the mid afternoon.
• Take frequent breaks so that you don't wear yourself out in the heat. Especially in Spain, you'll probably find that many restaurants have "Misters" and they work surprisingly well.

Bring you sun hats! They really do help.

All of the ideas helped - thank you! Here's how we coped:

The record breaking 102 degrees in Paris day we decided to spend in the Louvre. We found varying levels of coolness there. We were there for about 5 hours, including a relaxed lunch at the Cafe Mollien. Then back to the hotel for an air conditioned rest and recharge. That night was a late night for the Louvre, so we went back again for another 1.5 hours until closing.

The Churchill and DeGaulle exhibit is the ONLY part of the Musee de l'Armée that was cool - the other galleries were hot as we made our way through. Same with the Rodin Museum. The Cluny wasn't cool, except for the Frigidaruim, of course! :)

I am a HUGE fan of the cool ties from REI - I used mine daily during the canicule (a new French word I learned - heat wave!)

My insulated thermos was worth its weight in that I could keep it full of ice for cold water to drink. That was a big help.

Skirts and sandals and sleeveless tops...my uniform for those hot days.

And finally, my friend offered me a mister can of water as a refresher to take with me after our visit. They were available in all of the pharmacies. This seemed like a luxury - but it was really cooling, and always made my daughter and me laugh as we misted each other's faces. :-)

Laurie

I also like the cool tie idea. I work out regularly during work week and the use a cooling towel I got from amazon.com which came with a convenient carry bottle (see link below). It's super effective and it really speeds up the "cooling" time and can be cleaned and reused easily.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QD7U306?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s01

Additionally, wear clothes made of high tech cooling fabric that athletes and golfers wear should help a lot. Sometimes covering up skin may be better than exposing it if you anticipate spending lot of time in the sun, e.g. full length pants/sleeve v. shorts and tank. Natural fabric such as cotton may sound like a good idea but if profuse perspiration is anticipated, cotton would only make you feel wet, heavy and warm. Linen would be the best bet of natural fabric to wear.

One other tip which may go against the local culture, avoiding caffeine and alcohol may help the body cool down more effectively! :)

Good ideas, qp - and yes, the wine consumption was very minimal for me as it made me feel even warmer! Fortunately that wasn't the case for our other wine drinkers, who really enjoyed trying all sorts of new wines and beers as we traveled.

As I look back on our photos, I'm more conscious of how happy we were than how hot and bedraggled I felt at the time. Happily, those good feelings have made the overheated memories begin to fade already! :-)

Laurie

I bought a little plastic mist-er in the travel section of Target. It weighs nothing, easy to carry around and can be filled (and emptied) at will. Wearing a hat is essential, and if you can wet your hair, that's even better. Put the hat back on your wet head and no one will know :-) Dehydration can be a danger. Avoid caffeine and alcohol during the day and drink a lot of water.

Adopt the locals' habit -- Siesta !!!! Especially for Spain.