Paris in February

I was in Paris in February 1999. It was not "brutally cold" the way Moscow, Minneapolis, or Montreal can be. But it was like New York City at the same time of year. It snowed for a short time on one day, but the snow didn't stick; I don't remember much other precipitation. It certainly wasn't too cold to walk around comfortably, since I was wearing a winter coat, scarf, and gloves. I don't know how cold it gets in Houma. One thing I've seen repeatedly is that "cold" and "hot" are very subjective, and are largely determined by what you're used to. When it's 60 degrees, people from Hawaii are bundling up; people from Minnesota are wearing t-shirts and shorts. This, of course, is a generalization. But only you know if Paris would be too cold in February to be comfortable for you. Paris certainly has enough indoor attractions to keep you busy. But the days will be short, and if there's precipitation, you won't want to be walking around much. On wunderground.com, you can play around to get average temperatures, precipitation, etc for each February: http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/LFPG/2012/2/12/MonthlyHistory.html

I guess our main concern is if we will miss out a lot on the beauty of the city not being able to stroll around if it is way too cold. Will we feel we are not getting as much out of our trip if we missed out on the flowers, green, outside cafes, etc?

We went in mid-February 2010 for my 40th, and it was brutally cold for the first 5 or so days. It wasn't nice walking around the city in that cold. Ice was forming on our faces as we walked. The upside to the story is that that was an unusually cold snap. By the end of our stay it was quite beautiful. If you get lucky, you'll be fine. But be ready for extreme cold. We planned on plenty of museum visits knowing the weather could be an issue. Bring warm hats, scarves and coats, and consider long underwear. If you are there over Valentine's Day, don't choose that day for the Eiffel Tower. Millions of tourists have the same idea.

We were in paris in january and while there was some snow and cold it was not piercing cold. We had good warm coats w/ hoods and it was fine (like ski wear jackets).
I would not hestitate to go , you might also look at french Riveria as another option of add on.

You don't think the Riviera would be too cold? How far is it by train?

>>I guess our main concern is if we will miss out a lot on the beauty of the city not being able to stroll around if it is way too cold. Will we feel we are not getting as much out of our trip if we missed out on the flowers, green, outside cafes, etc?<< Of course, if you don't see these things, you will miss out on them. But, you will see other things instead. And "flowers" and "green" are only visible in parts of Paris - it's a big city, not a botanical garden. The outside cafes often use large outdoor heaters, so you will see people, bundled up, seated outside as long as it's not raining. If you want to see outdoor places, like Giverny or the gardens at Versailles, definitely don't go in February (I believe Giverny is even closed then). But from you questions, you seem quite cold averse (just as you said you are heat averse). The typical temperatures in February are probably about 35-40 degrees F by day, and 25 by night (maybe warmer). Is this too cold for you? What if you hit a cold snap like Andrea did, and it's 15? Only you can say if this would ruin your trip. One more thing. I know someone who worked in Rome for a year, and she said that it was the coldest winter she ever experienced. Not the temperatures themselves, which never went below 40 and were often 50. But many of the buildings she was working in were not heated, so she was FREEZING when she was indoors (and not wearing a winter coat). I've read similar things about Portugal, Spain and Greece; if you're thinking of going to any of these countries in winter and want to stay in cheaper hotels, make sure they're heated! At least interiors in Paris are heated (and, as I said about the cafes, some exteriors too!) BTW, Paris to Nice is less than 6 hours by train, or you can fly (numerous flights a day from both CDG and ORY to NCE).

You know that Forrest Gump saying: "Life is like a box of chocolates..." Well, you could replace "life" with "weather in Paris" and get an accurate forecast for any time of year. This year we had a brutally cold snap in Europe in February. At first the cold would make your eyes tear up and nose run, and then the cold would make the tears and snot freeze. If you had been there during that period, you definitely would have called Paris "brutally cold." If you had been in Paris during that period the previous year, you would have described it as a "mild winter." The last week in March this year was warmer and better weather than anything we had in June. Go figure.

We were in Paris in March of 2010. Only really cold one day (wind, rain & sleet). Like you, we do not travel in the summer (hey, it's hot in Texas for 7 months each year!). Just get some silk long underwear and dress in layers. Paris in the winter is still much better than most places in the world (IMHO). And you will find many places much less crowded.

Thanks everyone!!!!!

I spent January until June of 2008 living in France and there was exactly one weekend (Easter weekend) where I found it brutally cold. Paris is still so lovely in the winter, much fewer crowds but you can still sit outside at a cafe and still eat Berthillion ice-cream. And if it does get too cold you you, it's the perfect opportunity to warm up with some amazing hot chocolate.