Paris in the Spring 2026

Pat, I just returned home on Monday after a week in Paris. The weather was glorious and the cherry trees and redbuds were in bloom. It was dry and in the mid 60s to mid 70s. But, I know this beautiful weather was unusual for this time of year.

As far as flights, I flew British Airways from CDG to London Heathrow and then American Airlines on to Chicago. Everything was on time and my transfer in London was very smooth. As you will be flying all BA, you probably won't even have to change terminals at Heathrow.

If you plan on getting around Paris by bus and metro, in addition to walking, try to plan your stay to take advantage of the weekly Navigo Découverte pass that runs from Monday to Sunday. A bargain at €31.60 currently plus the €5 card fee.

Pat,
I would opt for May, or late April/early May. Giverny will be gorgeous in the spring. I don't believe it is even open in March. If you decide on using Amsterdam for your flight home, the tulips in the Netherlands should be abundant.

As far as returning to the US from CDG we have never had a problem. We spend the night before at a hotel at the airport if our flight is before noon. If it is in the afternoon, I would stay in Paris and take a cab to CDG in the morning. Cabs can use the bus lanes; Uber cannot. That saves time for them. I wouldn't add the expense of going to another country to fly home just to avoid CDG unless I was spending at least a few days there. In that case, I would choose Amsterdam. To me Brussels is a bit blah, compared to Bruges and Ghent. And Zurich is fine for a day or two but not the best choice for Switzerland.

French labor strikes are usually announced ahead of time and IMO more often entail trains and metros, not planes and taxis.

Your second week in France gives you lots of options...3 nights in the Loire Valley (that's 2 days of chateau-peeping), and 3 nights in Burgundy (Beaune, Dijon...wines), or 3 nights in Bordeaux (St. Emilion and Bordeaux wines, plus a chance to pop over to the Atlantic coast for a day, or Brittany with its unique Celtic culture and language (weather could be iffy, even in May). An abundance of riches to choose from! (I forgot...Alsace...Strasbourg and Colmar with a toe into Germany!)
Just don't shortchange Paris. It has tons of different places to go for day trips if you want to stick around Paris for the two weeks.

we are presently in Paris and everything seems to be in bloom now, although I have not been to any of the major gardens like Luxembourg. Peter

current Paris resident: Jardin du Luxembourg looked pretty great last Friday. Lots of blooms.
This weekend is forecast to be low 20s C / low-mid 70s F. But this seems unusually warm to me for this time of year. Forecast for next weekend is cooler with rain likely. Of course, weather in general is warmer than it used to be, but April is likely to be unpredictable in most parts of France.

Regarding strikes- the ones that generally impact flights are air traffic control strikes. Unfortunately, these impacts are felt beyond France itself as they effect any planes flying over France. I once had a flight from London to Olbia (Sardinia) cancelled because of French air traffic control strikes. Either way, I think you should be generally safe flying out of Paris, unless you were wanting to see one of those other destinations.

Jeanm thanks for the recommendation on the Navaho Decouverte timing, and I'm so glad you had a great experience.
JUDY I am also considering the Alsace area for the second week. An additional motivation is to have the small towns experience after the big city adventures. And we had the wonderful tulip experience in 2024, which I wouldn't mind repeating. But the Belgium chocolate and Bruges keeps calling me back.
adodd and clawssmith I'm encouraged by your reports of the blooming status and weather.
CatVH I do want to revisit other beloved areas, it's not just avoiding CDG. However, we were caught in the major labor strike in December, 2019. We almost walked the three miles from Strasbourg into Kehl, Germany, train station, but our taxi did arrive!

We are off to Tuscany soon, ( been to Northern Italy several times) and I can't wait to start the Paris and surrounds planning.

Thanks for all the on-the-ground reporting. It very impressive that so many Forum members have current boots on the ground. Thanks so much, you all are priceless!

Pat, another idea is to explore Alsace during your second week, which is an easy 2-hr train ride from Paris. You could then come home easily from Basel (Switzerland).

I've been all those time frames. March was cool and things were not in bloom yet. Locals on the Metro were still wearing wool coats although as I am pretty cold-tolerant I was fine with long sleeves and a puffy vest). I'd go for mid-April since Easter is early.

I also would not worry about strikes affecting your Paris departure. I've been going about yearly since 2014 or sometimes twice a year and have never been affected. As mentioned above the strikes are planned well in advance so if there is an issue you'll know and can do a work around.

I will ask if you have any pollen allergies? I was there in April 2023 and was really affected by the pollen from the Horse Chestnut trees. So much so I could not sit in the Tuileries unless I was out from under them. Take allergy pills with you, lol!!

I'd probably do a couple of nights in Paris to start, then do your week elsewhere then return to Paris for your final 5 or 6 nights. Unless you go back to Belgium or Amsterdam. Or Zurich (probably too early to enjoy the Alps, though.)

Colmar this time of year is wonderful. I was there in April 2022 (just looked at the pictures and it was April 19, lol) and it was beautiful. I had no idea they had a "Spring Market" there. They use the little chalets they used for the Christmas Market but decorate with bunnies, chicks and eggs. Really cute! Plus they had decorations across some of the canals in town. Anyway, just looking at the photos on my phone makes me want to return! I think I have started to plan my April 2026 trip, hahaha.

BTW, I stayed at Hotel Saint-Martin in Colmar for 3 nights and really liked the location. Right in the middle of the pedestrian area. In fact, I liked Colmar so much I skipped the day trip I had planned to Strasbourg and just spend another day in Colmar.

Sorry to post again BUT France with Vero (a Rick Steves guide) just posted a short Facebook reel today from the Luxembourg Gardens. The flowers behind her are absolutely lovely!!

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/12EDyPFNvcy/

Pam pls post as often as you like. That was a great peak into Paris gardens and weather.
I've been to Colmar and Strasbourg for Xmas markets, but who knew there were spring markets? ( I did run into Easter markets in Prague pre- covid.)
I am seeing that many folks here make multiple trips so Paris, it's not a "one- and-done" city. Upon reflection, Paris may be one of the most revisited cities among folks here on the Forum.
I'm already excited, and the trip is pretty far out.
Thanks so much to all for the practical and helpful insights .

HappytobeHere Alsace is in the running, has been ever since my 2019 Xmas markets trip, thanks so much!

Honestly, Pat, seeing the background of the Luxembourg Gardens in that short clip plus knowing 2 close local friends are in Paris right this minute makes me want to jump on a plane and BE there, lol!! And yes, I answered your other post, hahaha.

Also put on your list of things to see...the Jardin des Plantes which is the botanical garden. There are some beautiful flowering trees plus gorgeous flower plantings. Plus I always like to walk thru the arboretum area at one end - no flowers but who can resist trees that were planted in the 1600 and 1700's? I have only walked thru the free parts, never actually have gone in to the buildings for which there is a charge but they are on my never-ending "to-do" list, hahaha!!

https://www.jardindesplantesdeparis.fr/en/jardin-des-plantes

And you can see this cool sculpture!

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/lion-of-the-botanical-gardens

Are you willing to rent a car ? My first thought was to do the Loire and Normandy. But after Alsace was mentioned, Imwould consider that. Easy train ride - we did Strasbourg to Paris last year. Easy to go over into Germany from thete for a day or more

Pam you are getting me even more excited!
Stephen no car, and Alsace is very tempting.
Thanks to you both.

Pat,

Fall of 2022 I spent a week in Colmar. I based there because I didn't want to deal with a car traveling solo. Between a day tour, local bus & train and the Kutzig bus, it was very easy to visit the wine villages.

I see that the Kutzig bus starts up on April 18 this year.

It's mid-April, and things are, finally, getting green. Right now we have the last of the daffidils and tulips are blooming. The really early trees, like almonds, are just past, but a lot of the white and pink fruit trees are in full bloom too. The hedges are budding out, roses won't be good for another month, but a lot of the spring flowers are killing it. High pollen counts too.

The week after Easter is a holiday, so avoiding that should be okay. I drove to Nancy last weekend, all backroads, and it was very pretty. This past Saturday I was also over the border, and it was noticeably greener.