3 Reasons to Visit Paris in the Fall (and 3 Things to Keep in Mind)

Paris in the fall! Is it a good idea? After spending a week in Paris near the end of November, I am happy to share that I do think it is a great idea! While we are glad we went for it (because of the 3 reasons I share about in this post!), there are also a few things to keep in mind (which I also share in this post!). In other words, I’ll share both the good and “the bad” (although “the bad” wouldn’t keep us away!).

My husband and I knew we wanted to go on a babymoon when I was pregnant with our daughter, and we needed to go in November, during my Thanksgiving break (I was teaching high school full-time at the time). I had a week off work and I would be 27 weeks pregnant, which seemed liked a great time to travel (not too early in my pregnancy and not too late). We looked at several destinations and found a great deal on flights to Paris. We loved the idea but weren’t sure if it was a great destination choice for the fall. I did a little research and we decided to go for it. We are so glad we did!

After spending several days in the city of lights in the fall, I’m excited to share my top 3 reasons why you should consider visiting Paris in the fall, and 3 things to keep in mind if you decide to plan your trip at this time.

 

3 Reasons to Visit Paris in the Fall

1. No Crowds- Anywhere!

November is considered an off season for Paris, making fall a great time to visit the city. The summer crowds have died down and people aren’t yet visiting for the Christmas and New Years holidays. My husband and we’re able to visit all the major spots with very few lines. We walked right through the main entrance of the Louvre (twice!) and were able to take a selfie with the Mona Lisa without having to wait. We didn’t have to stand in long lines to enter Versailles either. In fact, we only waited in two lines on our entire trip. The first was the security line to enter the Sainte-Chapelle, which took about 10 minutes. The second was on our last full day, when we waited for about 30 minutes to take the elevator up the Eiffel Tower (the wait would have been much shorter if we had taken the stairs).

We took the metro a majority of the time, and it was never crowded. I was almost always able to sit down when I wanted to (a nice break for my pregnant body). We never had to wait for a table at a café. We were able to take photos at major attractions without a swarm of accidental photobombers. We were there during the USA’s Thanksgiving holiday, and we were surprised to find that several stores offered Black Friday sales. We enjoyed taking advantage of shopping on Black Friday with no crowds!

We also did not have to worry about crowds during our Flytographer photoshoot (the Trocadéro was almost completely empty at 8:30am). If you’re interested in booking your own photoshoot in Paris, I highly recommend Flytographer. We loved capturing our memories in this way! You can use my link to save $25 off your first photoshoot.

 

You might also be interested in: Maternity Photoshoot in Paris / Our Flytographer Experience

2. Cool Weather

This is a major concern for a lot of travelers who do not want to be cold on their vacation. But Paris in the fall was perfect for us. While I do enjoy a nice warm beach vacation, I’m not a fan of feeling hot and sweaty on trips to a city. It is never fun to be cramped inside a metro train like sweaty sardines. And the smell during those hot summer months? Let’s not even go there…

It was chilly in Paris- much chillier than we were used to, but we loved it (the highs were in the mid 40s all week [Fahrenheit]). It was great because I was pregnant, so the cool air helped keep me comfortable and less nauseas. We did our research beforehand and came prepared with warm clothing. My husband and I lived in Orange County at the time and did not own a lot of warm winter clothing, but this coat by Columbia kept me warm (I had purchased it earlier in the year for a trip to DC in January), and my husband purchased this warm jacket for the trip, which he often layered under a rain jacket. We were prepared for rain, but it only sprinkled on us one time on our last day (while we were waiting in line for the Eiffel Tower, but it cleared up beautifully!).

For more clothing ideas, check out What to Wear in Paris in the Fall.

 

You might also be interested in: 5 Days in Paris: A Perfect, Relaxing Itinerary

3. Autumn Colors and Holiday Decorations

Fall colors are my personal favorite, so seeing the gorgeous colors in Paris was amazing. We were there toward the end of the season, so a lot of trees had already lost their leaves, and there were several other areas that were still green. This gave us a lot of variety, but we found several areas where we got to enjoy the crisp orange and red leaves.

The gardens at Versailles were a personal favorite (and again- notice the lack of crowds!).

Some areas of the city were decorated for Christmas, and it was beautiful! We stayed in the Place Vendôme area (a square in the 1st arrondissement of Paris) during the first half of our trip. The area was particularly decked out with gorgeously lit Christmas trees (moreso than other areas of the city).

You might also be interested in:10 Places to Eat Gluten-Free in Paris

 

3 Things to Keep in Mind if You Visit Paris in the Fall

While the reasons I listed above sold us on loving our visit to Paris in the fall, it is important to note that there were a couple of disappointments, so I also wanted to share 3 things to keep in mind.

 

1. Fewer Outdoor Opportunities

Some outdoor opportunities are closed during the off-season. For example, my husband and I were really hoping to rent a paddle boat during our day trip to Versailles. (We LOVE to rent boats on our trips- those moments have created some of our favorite trip memories.) Unfortunately, the boat house was closed to the public for the season. While this alone wasn’t a reason for us to skip Paris/Versailles in the fall, we were a little disappointed.

2. The Gardens are less Vibrant.
   

The gardens throughout the city will not be as vibrant as they would be during the spring and early summer. This was my first trip to Paris, but my husband had been one other time as a teenager, and he noticed a big difference in the beauty. We both noticed that most of the fountains had been drained of water for the winter, which is common in most cities with freezing weather. While Paris in the fall offers its own kind of beauty, it is worth noting that you will miss out on some spring scenery.

3. Fewer Opportunities for Day Trips

My husband and I decided to spend our entire trip in Paris (with the exception of the close day trip to Versailles), because I was pregnant and not feeling well. The less travel we did during our stay, the better. However, before we made our decision, we had a hard time finding very many options for day trips during this season. Many of the small towns that we were interested in visiting had strict seasonal hours, so we would have had a difficult time seeing the things we were interested in. Ultimately, you would just want to do your research on any day trips before venturing out.

 

Paris is a beautiful city that can be truly be enjoyed during any season. We loved our fall visit, but we would love to visit again soon during another season next time to experience the variety that the amazing city has to offer. If you have the opportunity to visit in the fall, I would highly recommend it. 😊

Curious how we spent our time? Read our full 5 Day Paris itinerary!

 

 

 

 

 

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