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Nice in late April or early/mid-May?

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I have a question about the timing of a trip to Provence my husband and I plan to take before or after we visit our daughter who lives in Paris. We were originally planning to start our trip in Nice (flying direct from NYC) the week of May 5 or May 19, rent a car to tour Provence, then take the train from Marseille to Paris. However, I am wondering if we’d be better off coming on or around April 24 to avoid crowds from the Cannes Film Festival and the various public holidays; higher hotel, car rental (and other) prices; and maybe even mosquitos.

Is the weather in Provence appreciably cooler or rainier in late April than in mid-May? I would be very happy to need to wear only a light jacket or sweater. I’ve looked at average temperatures for both periods but I’d like to get the perspective of people who actually live in the area.

Are there other factors we should consider as we decide on dates? For example, will all the wonderful outdoor markets be open at the end of April? With Plan B., we would end our trip in Paris on May 4th or 5th, where we’d stay a few nights.

Thanks very much in advance for your help.

Posted by
27138 posts

If you're interested in what is traditionally thought of as "Provence", you might do better to fly into Marseille rather than Nice. I liked Nice a lot more than Marseille, but it's better positioned for visiting the Riviera rather than Provence. Train service from Nice to Provencal cities like Avignon and Arles isn't particularly rapid.

To answer weather questions such as yours, I like to examine the actual, historical, day-to-day weather statistics available on the website timeanddate.com. I try to check the most recent five years; doing that gives me a good idea whether a particular time period is likely to produce reasonably acceptable weather. I don't find averages very helpful since they hide extremes, and it's the extremes that can make you miserable (or at least not happy).

Avignon weather -- April 2023

Use the pull-down box to the right, just above the graph, to change the month and year displayed. Use the Search box near the upper right to change the location. Don't just look at the highest temperature for each day!

Posted by
680 posts

The 4th could work out well, you are after May Day (and the probable strikes) but before the Film Festival starts. The weather does start to warm up in late April to late May, but any given day could bring rain (or even a storm, especially in April).

The markets are almost all open in the Luberon in late April/May -- but with reduced size/offerings compared to later in the month. A lot of seasonal things really open up after Easter. By late May, certain tourist popular areas like Les Baux are already crowded. (FYI, there is a poppy season in late April/early may that is pretty, as a counterpart to the lavendar that comes in late June/July).

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