Paris & Rome in February what to wear?

We spent 2 weeks in Paris December 2005 & it was COLD! It was around 30 degrees F every day, but, thankfully, dry. We made sure to dress in layers as we were out and about all day every day. Hubby & son wore long under wear, jeans & long-sleeved t-shirts and/or sweaters & jackets, gloves (sometimes hats). I wore pantyhose or tights under my jeans, a sweater (usually a lightweight wool blend, acrylic or cashmere - sometimes thinner fleece)& a wool peacoat. I noticed on a trip to London the year before that wool peacoats seemed to be the winter "uniform" of locals and I felt quite "blended in" in Paris wearing mine - in fact, I was asked for directions or recommdations several times during the trip. I had a pr of cashmere-lined leather gloves, wool "hiker" socks & sturdy boots that were rugged, but looked somewhat dressy - mine were Doc Martens (sorta like these: http://www.zappos.com/n/p/dp/18087235/c/10473.html). I don't like hats. This outfit made me comfortable outside and I was able to shed enough outerwear (without undressing) to be comfortable in museums, restaurants and other indoor attractions. One day we DID have to buy scarves to wrap around up at the Marche de Puces - that was a VERY cold day!

Ditto the comment for a long wool coat at least in Paris - dark color, nothing flashy. If you wear anything Gortex, they'll spot you as a tourist. Which is fine, since you are, but I felt a bit uncomfortable being so "flashy" in purple Columbia Sportswear. I wore a solid black gortex rain coat in Italy and felt less conspicuous. Pack plenty of thin layers, including base layers of breathable material. Duofold, for example, makes lightweight base layers that keep you quite warm (check out Campmor.com, sierratradingpost.com, backcountry.com).

Hello Shannon. We spent 1 week in Paris, February 2000. The weather can be all over the place. It was overcast and cool (40s) to cold (30s) to Sunny and 50. We are from the midwest where we are used to cold and take winter vacations. I don't recall wearing long johns but I would advise if you have a 3 in 1 jacket, bring it. A hat and gloves would be advisable. There was 1 day when we were uncomfortably cold, that was Disney Paris. The day we went to Versaille it was sunny and beautiful. Hope this helps. Bon Journee

Shanan, Lots of layers, especially on your feet. If your feet are warm it will go a long way in keeping the rest of your body warm. Also a very warm and nondescript hat. You're there to be a tourist, not make a fashion statement.

Bring a lightweight wool sweater and my wife always brings silk long underwear. That's a European winter travel MUST! You won't be able to have too many layers unless you can't move.

That being said, it's not like it will be so frigid that you can't go outside. The challenge of European winter travel is that you will be outside for a long time, you'll be sleep deprived because of jet lag, and you never know when you'll be in a situation where you can't pop in somewhere to warm up. Being outside when it's 35-45 degrees wearing the proper clothes isn't a big deal, but it becomes a big deal once you're outside for 2-4 hours and it's damp.

Very true about making sure your feet are warm. I got wool "hiking" socks from www.sierratradingpost.com for pretty good prices. They're thinner than the old regular wool socks and you can wear a couple pr if need be. I also had a couple of silk "longjohn" tops or camisoles to wear under sweaters. I found wool blends (thin & lightweight, of course) and cashmere to be excellent insulating layers, comfy & smart looking for when we were actually inside and I took off my coat. We spent basically the whole day every day "on the move" in the Metro, walking, riding trains (Versailles, EuroDisney, etc.), touring around so it was imperative we be warm, yet able to shed layers easily for museums, restaurants, churches, etc. It's interesting how Europeans don't let the cold weather stop them from enjoying their cities - there were a lot of people out & about in Paris even when the temp was in the 30s and the year before we saw tons of people hanging out & eating at outdoor cafes during a cool November in Zurich! We hardly ever see that here in Oregon (of course, the "humidity" is also quite a factor here!).