Ideas for beating the heat in Paris?

The massive heat is affecting much of Europe. Wednesday (21 June) and Thursday will remain hot in Paris but by Friday, temperatures will drop to a high of around 72F.

Just check out the temps in Phoenix and your 99 degrees in Paris will seem much cooler...count your blessings!

If your windows have shutters, close them and close any drapes.
Do not open the windows unless you are awake around 4 or 5 in the morning, when it might be a little cooler. Then close them around 9 or 10 AM.
Stay in the shade, wear loose-fitting clothing, walk very slowly, don't eat heavy meals and avoid too much alcohol. Drink at least 2 litres of plain water.
Next time, you might think about staying in an air-conditioned hotel...

James-Yes, saw that. Sadly, we leave Friday but since we are heading to Provence, it's still good news.

David--Saw that too. Gratitude is always a good strategy. This San Diego girl is spoiled though.

Chex--never stay in hotels. I like apartment rentals and Airbnb for a more local travel experience. Ha! So I guess I'm getting one!

Would normally never travel Northern Europe in summer but I made an exception so I could see the lavender in bloom further south. First world problems I suppose.

Mostly, I'm looking for activities. Where do Parisiens go to beat the heat?

Go to la Villette, in the 19th, where the city has just opened a new outdoor public swimming pool, acccording to the blog Bonjour Paris.

Thanks Norma! Love it.

Where do Parisian go? To work, metro, buses as usual, outdoor shaded cafes, parks, squares, gardens, the movie theater, along the Seine, including the pool, and follow chexbres advice about the windows. Also you need to be extra quiet because all the neighbors have their windows open too even if the shutters are closed. They need to get up for work, school, and childcare in the morning.

I just want to emphasize the advice about closing any shutters or drapes, and to keep them closed even when you open the windows behind them. During the blackout in New York in 2003 (August with no A/C), I learned it made a huge difference. You may feel a bit like a hermit sitting in the dark in the middle of the day, but the room will be cooler.

Back in my days of living without AC I did what is described. Open the windows at night to let the place cool down as much as possible, then shut everything up as tightly, and darkly, as possible to retain the cool as long as possible. It works pretty well for much of the day.

I'd try to spend the hottest part of the day in air conditioned places. If you're museumed out, you might go to a department store. It will be air conditioned there too.

I spent one summer in Washington DC without air conditioning. It was not fun. I found that taking a tepid shower cooled me off a lot, and the feeling lasted for a while. Try it at mid-day if you're back at your hotel then, and before going to bed at night.

Merci a tous! I do use the closed window strategy for 1 to 2 weeks every summer at home in San Diego. Fifty weeks a year are just fine with no A/C but two are inevitably rough.

We are taking a mid-day rest in the apartment every day. I'm surprised it stays so warm though late into the evening, esp since Paris seems to be about at the same latitude as the Canadian border. Off to the department stores we go!

I'd recommend visiting Picard, or the freezer section in a supermarket, instead of department stores which will be crowded and not necessarily air-conditioned.
I was at BHV today and almost succumbed to heat stroke...

^^Chexbres: LOL!

Chexebres--I'm not surprised. I felt so wrung out after yesterday that I stayed in most of the day. DH went out and about in the am, and now appears to have either heat stroke or food poisoning. I took FIVE cold showers today. Personal record by far. Parisians are tough.

PS. Anyone know if either the Cluny or Musée Marmottan has air conditioning? That's my top priority for tomorrow.

We are here in Paris too with no AC in the apartment. We have had to rearrange our plan to accomedate the heat.
We were at Cluny today and other than the room with Lady and the Unicorn, the rest of the museum was very warm. You could go there in the morning then Pantheon in the afternoon. It was very comfortable there and the crypt was cold. I could have stayed there for hours.

Stay cool and enjoy your time in Paris!

The Cluny is only cool in the "frigidarium" in the very back of the museum. Don't go on weekends, it's too crowded.
Haven't been to the other museum in years.
If your husband ate a heavy meal, it might not be food poisoning, but simply stomach cramps due to heat exhaustion.
I find it very difficult to eat in extremely hot weather and am astounded by those who can pack in a heavy meal, especially around noon...

Chexebres--he's STILL down out here on day 2 which is extremely unusual for him. He's very fit and healthy normally. Hard to believe it's food poisoning as it hit him yesterday afternoon after a simple sandwich from a cafe in the Tuileries garden. I think it's the heat from walking Paris!

Try to keep him cool and don't let him go outside in the heat at all. Do you have fans?
Most people who are used to air-conditioning just can't bear the heat when it arrives in Paris.

I would never stay in an un-airconditioned apartment if I didn't live here, because it's torture for the few days that it lasts.

Yes, we have fans! We aren't used to air conditioning, but being from San Diego we aren't used to heat like this either! Dinner tonight with Parisian friends so hoping he can rally!

ok I am going to say it, I told you so.. lol.. ok I didnt tell you but I always post to get AC in Paris
. Of course most hotels have it ( I always get it and I never stay in fancy or expensive hotels ever)

And I have also rented three apartments in Paris , all with AC. Its just non negoitable for me for any visit from june thru mid september.

Ok, now for a constructive comment.

Check out the Invalids Armee Musee. !!!

It has ac.. but its not really very good ( its NEVER very good in public buildings) however the museum is never crowded and there are these lovely cool marble ledges in many areas of exhibits that are cool to sit on.. been perched on those more than once. Its also an interesting museum .

I like Chexeres have ducked into grocery stores and hung out in the freezer sections . I get sick from heat and those places seem to be the only truly cool places to get relief.

I have also stuck my head under the taps for water in the Luxembourg Gardens. as I said. I get sick from heat easy.

I too would never venture to Versailles during a heat wave.. the palace is a sweaty mosh pit.

We survived the 2003 heat wave when the temperature was 105 and didn't cool off at night that much for many days. We discovered that big shopping centers like the one at la Defense were not air conditioned (at least not sos you'd notice), that the Pompidou was not well air conditioned but that the Louvre basement sections were cool and many galleries fairly well cooled. We usually went to a park in the morning and at about 11 would seek an air conditioned venue. We spent 3 full days in the Louvre.

Not sure if anyone mentioned Les Halles (Forum des Halles) - we popped in there in April and it's so new that there must be some good AC going on. There are movie theatres in there as well - not sure if they show movies in English, but usually a good place to cool off. And also a swimming pool!

PS - and thank you for reminding me why we always travel in Sept/Oct generally! We had some heat and humidity here over the weekend and we dragged out the AC window unit - thought I was going to melt until that sucker went in. We did Italy in early Sept a few years back, and had to take afternoon breaks back to our apmts when we were close by - many days I took two short showers because I hated feeling grimy and sweaty.

It's been only 1 or 2 degrees cooler than Paris in Lyon, Annecy and Dijon. Today I took the train from Annecy to Dijon via Lyon. It was interesting to look out the window at all the abandoned towns. Of course, they weren't really abandoned; it's just that everyone had all of his shutters closed.

I felt no difference in the degree of air conditioning on the TER and the TGV. On both there was some cooling going on, but not quite enough, because you were overheated by the time you got on the train. It took forever to cool down. The French are stoic; no one seemed to be grumbling, so I assume the trains are always like that on really hot days. My mostly-2-star hotels are doing just fine, a/c-wise. I know others have complained about a/c units that didn't cool their rooms adequately. I haven't had that problem, most likely because the budget hotels I try to stay in have very small rooms.

Edited to add:

I have sometimes experienced digestive upsets as a result of overheating. Multiple nights of grossly inadequate sleep can do the same thing to me. But my symptoms were not terribly severe, so I wonder if this is a case of norovirus. I picked one up a few years ago and went from feeling fine to vomiting within about 5 minutes. The onset can be very sudden. I was fully recovered within 24 hours except for being weak. By then my roommate had it.

Acraven--Not happy to hear this about the trains! Headed to Avignon today via train. Last night the heat finally broke and Paris was glorious! We met French friends for dinner and then walked Île de la cité, saw the Louvre all lit up, watched the Parisians playing pétanque. Sad we are leaving! Even sadder that it's going to be lovely weather now but looks like the heat will be following us south. At least we will have AC there!

Unfortunately, it looks like the cooling weather system will take a while to reach the south. It's going to be just 3 degrees (C) cooler in Dijon today than it was yesterday, but Sunday should be much better, and by the end of the week it will be down to the low 20s C. It appears that it may take an additional 2 days for the cooler air to reach Avignon, but perhaps it will be a bit faster. Although this weather system has been persistent, I've found that the forecasts for 3 or 4 days out are not always very reliable.

I hope your husband feels better soon. Dehydration can exhaust you; drinking fluids is so important. Could be food poisoning too.

I saw a funny video on Facebook from France; a woman entered a frozen food store like Picard, and opened many freezer chests and door to enjoy the cool air! Very cute.

Please post a trip report about Provence and the lavender. It is on my bucket list but I do not like heat.

I will be near Nice for a week in early September this year, much earlier than I usually travel. I am planning to take it really easy in the heat.

Provence at lavender time is on my bucket list as well, but not sure I could take the heat. I may just amuse myself with a lavender farm nearby that is having an open house in July and pretend I'm in Provence... ;)

June and Nicole--DH has recovered and happy to report we are nestled into our lovely air conditioned Aibnb studio in Saint Remy. Yes, it's still crazy hot but a lot more bearable with AC in the car and apartment.

Lavender tomorrow! Heading early am to L'abbe de Senenac and other Luberon destinations. Look for my trip report shortly after we return on 7/2!

Glad to hear that Chris! The heat always does a number on me. Even not heat...we were in NL in April and I don't know if I had food poisoning or what but something made me throw up, and for about three days after my throat was so sore, to the point that one day it hurt really bad to swallow. I've never experienced that before. Luckily, it started clearing up the day we left Amsterdam and within a few days I was back to normal.

A sandwich in the heat in the Tuilleries could certainly have been a source of food poisoning although heat exhaustion is of course also a possibility. Our one experience of food poisoning in Paris was from a salad composee and it was grim and very clearly food poisoning with classic onset timing and luckily over in a day. There was shrimp in the salad in a small cafe off the beaten track. But whether food poisoning or heat exhaustion the remedy is the same fluids and rest. We can't handle the heat so travel in spring or fall and this time of year would never rent an apartment. that air conditioned hotel room is a godsend after a day in the heat. Our one summer visit necessitated because we wanted a 3 mos trip while we were still working and that meant my husband taking an unpaid leave for 3 mos, reminded us why we don't travel in the summer.

When I was in Berlin some daya ago, one of the days got to 28C. I will be in Paris the first week in July and expect it to be hot, even a broiler if that happens...most likely.

Nicole and Janette--I hear you on the summer travel. I feel the same way but.....OMG! The lavender today was totally worth it!! Even with the nightmare heat in Paris. It was 100 today but MUCH more doable hopping in and out of the car.

We spent all day driving Luberon hill towns (an itinerary recommended by a friend with a home here) and I'm sure we passed upwards of FIFTY lavender fields! It was everywhere, with lavender scented air to match.

Sorry Nicole, but a lavender farm at home is not at all the same thing! Suck it up and head to Provence. :)

PS I wonder if a month later we would have seen the sunflower AND lavender? I saw just one field about a month or so away.

Hi we just finished the past hot week in the Marais district in Paris in an Airbnb. We had a great week and tried our best to adapt to the heat. Wear a hat, carry and drink water. Make plans to head to air conditioned museums. We went to the Picasso Museum on the hottest day and the air conditioning there was great. When we are in Paris funny enough we enjoy buying bounty ice cream bars! We paced ourselves. Took breaks. Dress in cool clothes. We usually walked out and back but on super hot days took an Uber back. Tried to enjoy the warm evenings. Stays light longer here than where we live. Also as many suggest fans, showers, closing windows/blinds also helps.

Oh - I know Chris - Provence at lavender and sunflower time is still on my bucket list. Maybe when hubby retires in a few years, we could rent a gite with a pool for a week or two and just wander about in the car...I'd love to do longer trips where we can spend a week or 10 days in one spot. I have my next bucket list trips planned for the next two years (Scotland and Venice carnival), so Provence will have to wait a few years at least :) Enjoy you're time!