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Dec. in Paris and Provonce

My Husband hates crowds, but I want to see Paris and Provonce,
He thinks we should go in Dec. around Christmas for crowd control . Will it be to cold to enjoy, and will things be open Christmas week . Gina

Posted by
1360 posts

I agree with Jane. Fall in Provence is great and you should not run into any crowds. You will love it!

Posted by
12040 posts

If you want to avoid crowds, don't go during the Christmas holiday. There's usually a spike in visitors at this time, although still not as many as during the peak of summer. Temperatures are usually fairly mild (mid 40s during the day, mid 30s at night), but the last two years have been a huge exception to this pattern.

Posted by
9110 posts

Paris gets nippy in December and January. Low is right about freezing, high runs low to mid 40's. I've seen mid 20's for several days in a row as the low.

Everything is pretty much open except for Christmas day when you have to look around a bit to find a place to eat -- but you always can. Even with attractions closed, there's still plenty to do.

If, by Provence, you're thinking of the Rhone area or the twenty-five mile deep strip along the coast, it's about the same as above. The villages in northern Var are more or less shut down, but you could work the area with a bit of effort.

By way of clarification: "Millions of Parisians enjoy the city during the holiday season." seems a bit of a cutesy stretch. The metro population is about 2.2 million; surely more than a couple hundred thousand are sick, homeless, hospitalized, too young to know the difference, or don't give a rat's rear bumper about Christmas.

Posted by
711 posts

Most of the villages in the Luberon and the Cores de Rhone area are closed. I would go in the Fall. Lovely time and the colors are beautiful. Late September and October are nice.