The best of Paris tour in winter

I've taken this tour twice - once in the autumn and once at Christmas. Paris around Christmas time is magical with stores and parks decorated for the holidays. Merry go rounds, public spaces filled with Christmas trees, ice skating rinks, store displays, remarkable confections in the windows of patisseries that make you stare in wonder. Other than Christmas Day itself, I remember all sites were open. And we even had an unexpected snowfall. Temperatures were in the upper forties to mid thirties and were bearable even for a Floridian. I've visited Paris summer, fall and winter. Other than more moderate temperatures and more crowds, there's not much difference between the seasons. The Christmas visit was the best!

If you can handle the weather, December sounds much better to me . . . Christmas decorations and markets, and the short days mean lots of after-dark time to enjoy the beauty of the monuments, buildings, bridges and fountains lit up.

I was there once for the second half of April, sunset isn't until 9 p.m. The city was all abloom (gorgeous trees festooned in pinks and yellows, lilacs in profusion) but it doesn't get dark until nearly 10.

I took the RS Paris trip over Christmas and it was wonderful. There is lots to do. It was cold and rained a few days.

It gets dark about 4:30 and does not get light until after 8 in the am. But things are less crowded and as an earlier poster has said there are lots of things to see. The Christmas markets are fun. The tour itself is great.

I have also been in the spring and it was more crowded. It did stay lighter later and there was no rain. but if I had a choice, I would go again in the winter.

Here's another thing to love about Paris in December. On sunny days it's nice to visit churches with their beautiful stained glass windows as the low winter sun shines through the beautiful glass. Also since most large trees won't have any leaves, you'll appreciate more architectural detail of the beautiful buildings.