Seeking reassurance in choice of travel month

Have not been to Paris in October, but if the issue truly is Convention and Trade Show traffic, keep in mind that they are a different crowd than tourists.

That crowd tends to stay in larger "business" hotels, likely a bit further out than the core, and their business occupies them during the day, so they likely won't be crowding tourist sights.

When I traveled for business, I had little time for getting out, it was mainly late afternoon and evenings, so if you have a specific restaurant pick, especially a bit higher end, make reservations, if you plan on using "points" to stay at the Holiday Inn, Hilton, or Marriot, that may be tough. Edit: Same for the sights, might want to reconsider the Eifel Tower after dark, or an evening opening of a museum.

Other than that, Paris is large enough to absorb a crowd, keep on planning.

The second half of October is my favourite time to visit Paris, to the degree that I make a point to visit then almost every year. The leaves are changing and the weather is brisk but not too cold - I just love it! In terms of crowds, you’re never going to find Paris empty, but it’s much more manageable this time of year.

Two things I love doing in the autumn in Paris are: (1) spending an afternoon in the Jardin du Luxembourg, to take in the autumn colours, watch the pétanque, and read a book in the last of the sun; and (2) visit the Musée Rodin, because I think the outdoor sculpture garden looks lovely with the autumn leaves.

Have a great time!

To my mind - and I've lived here for 15 years -- September is far busier for convention and trade show traffic than October.

We have been having the MOST glorious October these past couple of weeks. I would highly recommend an October visit.

Is it dead here? No, but then it never is. But it's not any more crowded than other times, and you have the possibility of some absolutely lovely weather. I would stick with your plan.

I agree with Kim! I just returned on Sunday after about a month in France. I spent the first 2 weeks in Paris and then again the last 4 nights. Be prepared for rain with a waterproof rain jacket.

I will add that I did a Road Scholar tour of SW France from Bordeaux to Toulouse which ended on Oct 20. Quite a number of restaurants were getting ready to close and only stayed open to serve our group, so if you plan to go to other areas of France I'd move your time frame up. If you plan to stay in Paris and just do day trips you'll be fine.

The peak convention/trade show period is September and the first two weeks of October. During this period, hotel prices are high and bookings must be made early. I think late October is a very good time to visit Paris, but there is no bad time to visit.

Kerouac, in what way to you mean terrible? Do you mean weather-wise? Or something else?

Usually, 2023 is an terrible year to travel.

We are in France right now. Weather has been perfect each of the 4 days we've been here,both in Paris and in the south. But,who knows what 2023 will be like.

One year in October I had to buy a pair of gloves at Monoprix bc it was quite cool. This year I brought my gloves but never used them. Could that be 1 out of 5?

I don't know where the OP is from but I found October to be really really cold at night, but I am a thin skinned California girl with that being said October is our favorite month to travel and I would go to Paris again, just making sure to bring a scarf, hat and gloves. And not just any scarf, no no no..it must be a humongous scarf that is wrapped all the way up to about 1/2 your face. When I first saw this in Paris I thought it looked a bit much..but then I understood!

Now that we are retired we always come to Paris in October -- it is by far the nicest month IMHO -- but we hate hot weather and so glory in the cool nights and pleasant days. We had a bit more rain than usual this year but in general our luck has been great then -- days mostly in the mid to high 60s and sunny just the way we like it.

When we were working we traveled in May which is also lovely but October has been more reliable in terms of pleasant weather.

We just visited France (Paris and the Dordogne region) from October 13 through the 28th. The weather was great for sightseeing— cool and comfortable, and very little rain. One thing to take into consideration for traveling in October/November is the French school half-term holiday break. All of the train stations and popular spots became very crowded once the families were on the move for this school holiday. Prior to this national holiday time, we felt like we had most places to ourselves. It was wonderful.