Paris in the Spring

We landed in Paris this past May 18th. There were many flowering bushes and flowers in all the major and minor gardens, along the streets, in window boxes, etc. Monet's garden was in full bloom. After three days in Paris, we then traveled to Sarlat where the poppies exploded!

I must say, though, that the time we spent in Paris in May (18-21 and 27-31) were cloudy and rainy. Be sure to take umbrellas. The rain did not stop us.
Enjoy your special time with your grandson!

May is lovely but of course the bulb plants are long over by then and the roses are not in full bloom yet. The chestnuts in blossom are done by late May and so is the wisteria which is a particularly beautiful plant and quite amazing in several spots in Paris. Paris more likely to be rainy -- we have had weeks then that are chilly and rainy -- but IMHO the flowers are at their best. Either of these times will be fine -- I'd choose late April, early May with your calendar and be back for the graduation.

I have been in Paris in early January, the 3rd week of April, June, August, a few times in October, November, and late December. I prefer traveling in the Fall, but we enjoyed our time in April very much. I don’t believe it rained at all. The weather was pleasant and I loved seeing the flowers in bloom, particularly the wisteria.

In April and May weather is unpredictable. We have arrived in May to have our friends talk about how sunny and beautiful it was in late April as we planned around chill and rain. Odds are better for good weather in May but no guarantees. And the last three trips to Paris for us have been rainy. Last October was the rainiest October in history in Paris -- and it rained every day -- often all day long. We have been there many an October and the weather has generally been cool and sunny -- it was really dank last October. And last spring and this spring it was much rainier than usual as well. Climate is changing and all bets are off.

We arrived on a Saturday in Paris mid-April this year. It happened to be hot and sunny. Nearly 80F but cooled later in the week. So it was unpredictable weather wise, but there were blooms to be seen. It was delightful.

One could very well enjoy Paris in April and May provided the weather does not interfere with your expectations and enjoyment .

I was in Paris towards the end of May and re: the weather this time I miscalculated. Instead of the warm weather it was often cold and rainy. I spent a total of 16 nights in Paris from May going into June and it was not the hot weather I had expected and am used to encountering in Paris.

The next in the summer of 2025 the Paris part will be planned for late June and July. Of course, on 26 July the opening ceremony of the Games it was rainy too in Paris. That morning I got back to Metz on the night train from Berlin and the weather day time in Metz was nice.

We plan vacations in spring and fall to avoid heat -- we would rather deal with cold than heat. We were in Paris in August of 2003 when it was 105F for days on end and barely cooled at night -- it was pretty terrible. We don't risk that anymore but it means we do get dank cold rainy weather sometimes. (and the rain at the Olympics was so unusual -- Paris is often showery but rarely pours all day -- weather is changing). The hottest we were other than that awful August of 2003 was in early June where we had a room at Hotel de Grand Ecoles for a couple of days -- we were returning from a side trip and spending just the last couple days in Paris. the room measured 100F during the day and we couldn't get it below about 84 at night although it was in the 70s outside and it can heat up by the end of May and if you don't have AC which we don't in the apartments we use in Paris, it can be hot at night.

Paris is "Always a good idea"

Thank you for your responses. We are going to look at late April and be back for our grandson’s graduation. I’m not as concerned about the weather - we can plan for that. Or shop when we get there! It was mainly about not missing the spring flowers.