Please sign in to post.

Weather in Burgundy/Rhone/Provence in August/September

We are planning a trip during late August/early September and trying to get a feel for temperatures to expect. All of the temp charts show an average of 80s during this time period.

I read reports and everyone is remarking about how hot it is and unbearable. Since we live in the Sacramento Valley area, hot isn't really an issue. For me, it is just getting warm at 90!

Should we expect to see 70-80s during this time period?

I know that you can't predict, just interested in what people have experienced during the late summer/early fall.

Thanks!

Posted by
26840 posts

There are two problems with averages: One is that they hide extremes, and it's the extremes that are miserable; the other is that there are averages floating around out there (such as on cities' Wikipedia pages) that are based on timeframes that cut off in the year 2010. It's my impression that weather has gotten considerably more erratic since then, so I don't think those averages are necessarily very accurate.

I prefer to look at actual day-by-day weather data for my proposed travel period over the most recent five years or more. That information is usually available from timeanddate.com. I've linked to the August 2018 stats for Avignon (destination chosen randomly). Do check multiple years.

One other point: If this is your first summer trip to Europe, you may not realize how comparatively under-air-conditioned Europe is, or how much being a traveler in Europe differs from your normal life at home. At home most of us move from our air-conditioned homes to our air conditioned cars to an air-conditioned work place, store, etc. Unless we are employed as gardeners or golf-course groundskeepers, we are not moving around outdoors in the heat for large chunks of the day. It really is a completely different situation when we play tourist on a trip to Europe.

It will help if you are traveling by (air-conditioned) rental car rather than depending on public transportation, but you'll still encounter many museums, cafes, restaurants and shops without air conditioning. Note: It's not that buses and trains aren't air-conditioned; they usually are. It's the frequent lack of air conditioning where you wait to board the bus or train.

It is a very good idea to try to select lodgings that are close to the tourist center of town so you can take a mid-day break in your air-conditioned room if you need to. Unfortunately, that won't help when you're on a day-trip; that's where the air-conditioned car comes in.

We joke sometimes about looking for a supermarket so we can hang out in the frozen-food section to cool off. Unfortunately, it's not really a joke.

This public-service message brought to you by someone who spent mid-June to mid-July 2015 in Sicily and Puglia. Obviously, I lived to tell you about the experience, but that was really poor planning on my part, and that portion of the trip would have been a lot more pleasant earlier or later in the year. A few days of extreme heat is something you just gut out with the help of lots of cold water; it gets tougher the longer you're exposed to it.

If you decide to proceed, I suggest you look at a product called a "Kool Tie", which I find somewhat helpful, though I'm not going to claim you won't know it's hot when you use it. There seem to be similar products out there, but this is the one I have used.

Posted by
1542 posts

I can't speak to Rhone or Provence, but Burgundy should not register too high temperatures during that time period and is one of the drier areas historically.

Posted by
26840 posts

Sacramento - San Francisco. Yes, that could be a shocker.

Posted by
5955 posts

We just spent the month of Sept in France. Paris-Normandy-Loire-Sarlat-Provence- Nice. We followed weather forecasts and historical temps as we planned for our trip. It was forecasted to be mid 70s/low 80s. Turns out we were there during a surprise! heat wave- it was mid to high 90s for over 2 weeks of our trip- from about 9/9 thru 9/25. We were prepared with the right clothing but mentally we really were not. It was "hotter than Dutch love" as my grandmother used to say. We never wore about half of the clothes we brought- long pants/fleece.
It finally cooled down to mid-high 80s for our last 4 days in Nice.

So you really can't predict- just be prepared. Make sure your lodgings and car if you plan to drive have AC. As acraven points out "AC" in Europe is nothing like we in the US are used to. It often does not work well, many public buildings- museums, chateaux, churches are not AC, public transpo is HOT, ice is impossible to find. Mid day breaks in AC saved us and we had booked places with a pool in Sarlat and St-Remy- never thinking we would actually need or want to use. We were in those pools every day of our stay!

Posted by
540 posts

Thanks so much for the replies! I love the website with historical info.

I have traveled to Europe in the summer before, and in late August, just never to this area.

I know that I'm on the strange side, as I really don't like AC. I'm actually happiest when the temps reach high 80s, 90s! I enjoy traveling when it is warm. Especially because I don't have to pack as much!

Posted by
26840 posts

You are probably going to the right place at the right time!