How to beat the Paris heat in July?

Hotels have air-conditioning.
There are many public swimming pools in Paris, but you have to wear a swim bonnet and men must wear close-fitting Speedo-type trunks, bring toiletries and a towel:
http://www.paris.fr/piscines
Most museums have controlled air, but are not actually air-conditioned.
If you're desperate, go stand in the frozen food section of the nearest supermarket.
Stores and restaurants are not air-conditioned, as a rule.
Sit on a terrace in the shade.
Walk slowly on the shady side of the street.
That's about all the advice there is.

Yup.. pretty well summed it all up there. .lol

But.. just keep in mind its possible you wont hit a hot spell.
I took a friend to paris once in August.. told her how hot it would be etc etc.. ( I had been many times in summer.. and been for entire summers) .. told her to pack skirts, sundresses, capris etc..

It was cool and rainy 7 out of 9 days.. lol It may have been a fluke.. but just saying, do not under estimate how nuts the weather can be.

I am a huge fan of visiting the cold sections of grocery stores. Yes public building sort of have ac.. but they are not any where near cool enough to me when I am over heated.

When its really hot they even have these cool misting fans on outside terraces.. they feel great but wreck your hair.

Dress in lightweight clothes.. but remember.. white on the bottom does not stay white on the bottom long.. so I avoid it.. I like to be able to plop down on a park bench and not worry if its clean. ( and theres not much grass to sit on in many places, or should I say, that you are allowed to sit on.. .lol )

The Invalides Army Musuem is one of the least crowded.. so good in summer.. and there are these stone/marble? set in ledges inside some sections that are so nice and cool to sit on. .The other big museums are never truly cool as there are thousands of bodies heating them up.. ( but there are some air vents in the Louvre that I was standing above discreetly or not.. lifting my top to allow the air to blow up.. desperate times call for desperate measures.. lol )

There is also the Paris Plage.. fake beach set up along the Seine.. usually from mid late july through mid August.. its got these water sprinklers for kids to run and play in.. and I am a kid when I am hot.. just saying.

We made sure we were in a hotel with AC (rather than AirB&B with no AC). Also, we hung out in Luxembourg Gardens one afternoon, first watching the sailboat area then sitting in the shade and relaxing like so many Parisians were doing. It is a good memory for us.

It was close to 100 degrees on our last full day in Paris a couple of years ago, and the family was balking at the idea of standing in line for hours in the heat to go up the Eiffel Tower. So we made our way to the Montparnasse Tower, where they have an air-conditioned observation deck that gives you a view of all of Paris, including the Eiffel Tower.

It's not the "classic" Paris experience, but if you're looking to beat the heat and enjoy a different view of Paris, it's not a bad choice.

We were there in the heat wave of August 2003 where it was 105F during the day and not cooled down much at night.

My daughter was visiting us; we spent mornings in a park chatting and having coffee then around 11 am when it was becoming unbearable we went to a museum. Most are sort of air conditioned. The Louvre is variable; the lower levels by the foundations of the old fortress are naturally cool, many of the more modern galleries have good AC, some of the older parts less so, but overall it was a good respite from 105F heat. We spent 3 full days in the Louvre and I think have seen everything on display; it was all very interesting. The Pompidou on the other hand was very hot. We tried the la Defense mall thinking a modern mall would have good AC; guess again -- it was not only a big ugly mall (I feel that way about most malls) but very hot. Restaurants with AC were maybe 20 degrees cooler than outside.

I am sure things are better now than 15 years ago, but it is hard to get good AC if you are not in a hotel with AC. Definitely get a hotel with AC so you have respite at night. This is why we don't travel in Europe in the summer but go either spring or fall as we get apartments and eat in. 2003 was a 3 mos trip and my husband took a leave to do it from his firm, which meant we had to build the trip around my academic year and thus summer so we didn't lose two salaries for 3 mos. I did forego my usual summer work, but not my base salary; it cost him 25% of that year's income. It reminded us why we had always traveled in May. Now that we are retired we travel in September-November.

Vacation rentals do not have air-conditioning. Or, if they do, it will be only a portable unit in one room. If you're used to central or window units, you will be miserable. Book a hotel with air-conditioning.

Most residents make a habit of sitting down at the river's edge, either during their lunch hour or after school or work is finished for the day, and having a picnic. It's a fine tradition, and there is always a breeze down by the Seine.

This is not always true in the various parks in the city - unless you find a lake.

Last year, most city parks stayed open all night, or at least until around midnight. Hopefully, this will be the case this year, since it gave families without air-conditioning a welcome break.

The Mayor's Office hasn't announced plans for ParisPlage, yet. There might be some changes, so you'll have to wait until around June to find out what's up.

Hi,

June or July sometimes it makes no difference in Paris regarding the heat. Except for one time most the visits to Paris were in June and July, the rest in August, where true you may not run into a heat wave but just hot. I'll be back in Paris this time the first few days in July. When it gets bad, it's oppressive; you get the feeling that it's beaming on you. Bottom line, don't count on AC. I've never stayed anywhere in Paris, be it at a hostel or small hotel or even at private residences that had AC. If the locals can put up with it, I had better also. At most they had a fan, and since I was the guest, am I going to suggest that the fan be turned on?

Fred really.. you have never had ac even in a small hotel. I have never stayed anywhere in paris without it.. neither an apartment or hotel.. and I have been visiting since 1972.. lol..

Relatives that live there.. yes. they do not have ac.. however.. they have fans.. and they turn them on.. I don't where people get this attitude the locals don't feel hot when it is hot, they all seem to me to feel it just fine. Actually my closest relatives always just left paris for the summer.. to summer houses with thick stone walls.. some near the sea. Much nicer, but of course that's not why we tourists go to Paris.. to leave.. we go to stay!

phsharpard.. I can give you names of small cheaper hotels that have ac.. and I have stayed in three apartments with AC.. two had BUILT IN ac, only the one had the portable unit. It was Parisbestlodge. They list more than a few apartments with ac. ( but not all )

That's correct, Pat, to answer your question. They were two star hotels at Gare du Nord, one charges 85 Euro for a single now. The other one is now the Kyriad. The first one offered AC if you wanted to pay extra for it. I didn't want to. At the time I thought it was a rip off to charge extra but now I know better from the perspective of the owner, ie, that providing AC is an extra expense for the owner which does not come cheap for him. Like you I've been in Paris when it was a broiler in the summer (true, it can be stifling ) and when it rained too in Aug, at least on one trip as I remember, which surprised me since it doesn't in Calif.., might have been more, I don't know. In 2005 I stayed at the Ibis in Clichy, or near there, can't remember if it had AC. Yes, people go to their beach houses located in the Pas-de-Calais area, ie, to Berk-Plage, Stella Plage, La Touquet. Pas-de-Calais is normally a bit cooler than Paris.

Just a little clarification: Fred: yes, the Ibis would have had AC but you just don't remember. Also, Paris can be very cool in June, too, jacket with a sweater underneath cool. And then change to very warm overnight.
Pat--I've rarely stayed anywhere with AC too, but then I'm with friends or family most of the time. There's more available since 2003, however.

We don't stay in hotels much in Paris but when we have stayed in 100 Euro rooms we have had AC; if you are there in summer just don't book anything without.

The portable units in apartments are not only somewhat worthless for cooling, in my experience they are moldy/musty and I found that I was better off with a window open than breathing the musty air from those things. We have had them in several apartments and could not use any of them.

Very likely that the Ibis in 2005 in Clichy did have AC; as you say, I don't remember as it wasn't important. I do remember it was warm enough since this was at the end of June/first of July.