Dress code in Paris museum

Finally! a shorts question to stir the pot!. You're one of the first in some time to ask a shorts question. We were afraid everyone had finally gotten exhausted and given up on this topic. Don't get us wrong: we love shorts questions!click here for 17 discussions of "Paris & shorts" had here in the last year, enable All Results to get 200+ discussions (I kid you not)Shorts in Paris and elsewhere in Europe has been a hot button topic here in the past, no consensus here: Some say wear whatever you want, you gotta be you, blending in is not important. Others say Parisians rarely wear shorts in the city, so if blending in, even a little, is something you'd like to do, then you should be aware that Parisians themselves don't generally wear shorts to the Louvre. But you're in there with a lot of tourists, so go figure, take your pick.So, click the link above if you want to access the collected wisdom of all of us here on the subject of shorts in Europe. Technically, shorts in Paris is a subset of the more general topic of Shorts in Europe. Some say do what Europeans seem to do: wear shorts at beaches, hiking, lake resort areas--but not in downtown Paris, Milan, etc. Others say: if you wanna wear shorts, wear 'em no matter where you are (except some churches, esp. in Italy, that prohibit churches).I'm not aware of any actual "dress code" in Paris museums, except for the obvious minimal sartorial requirements in civilization in general (shirt, shoes, etc).

Kent, we have to wear shoes? Oh, no. Can they be open-toed? What about crocs? What about bright orange crocs? Geeze Louise. Shoes.

Shorts in museums are fine. Remember, you're going to be in there with other tourists - some of whom wear umbrellas on their heads.

Any tourists who wear shorts in Paris either:

1) Don't know any better.

2) Just don't care.

(Norma) yeah, I know, shoes--Parisians can be so fussy. Personally, what I've found works well in the Louvre and Orsay is the hardhat with 2 slots up top for the cans of Bud, with beer cans and plastic hoses in place, of course.

Chister there is no dress code for museums in France that I have ever seen . In fact, the only place where dress code seems to really count is in places like Catholic Churches, in ITALY specifically( they seem the most strict) . The Vatican Museum seems to not allow shorts or bare shoulders either,, again this is Italy, not France.

I wouldn't feel comfortable in shorts and I never really found Paris so hot that pants were uncomfortable.

Kent, I'm afraid my beer hard hat will be confiscated by TSA, and it's an heirloom so I don't want to lose it. Is there a good place to buy one on the Champs d'Elysees?

You can take them anywhere; you just can't dress them up! Just watch any Rick Steve's DVD to learn about Paris chic! How about if we try to improve the image of americans traveling abroad!

My recommendation? Whatever you find comfortable, both physically and socially. If you feel comfortable in a NASCAR t-shirt and a John Deer baseball cap, nobody should tell you not to where them (although personally, I wouldn't...). It's your vacation, it's your hard-saved money that being spent, so wear what you want.

Karen: Glad you asked. There's a store on the Champs, next to the McDonalds (predictably) where you can buy la hardhat de booze (I think it's called). But as we all know, the French are different from us--and so their version of this American icon headgear is a hardhat with holders on each side for une demi-bouteille de vin, instead of Bud.