10 REASONS TO TRY PARIS IN THE SUMMER
I’d better get this up soon, as summer is fast disappearing and already the ‘la rentree’ ads are popping up along train station platforms.
Paris in August—why go then? Why not? Weather might be hot and sticky (although this year it was mostly cool and wet), and some restaurants and small stores might be closed, although most of the highly-touristy places stay open. But, the traffic is lighter (because many Parisians are away) and places are not so crowded as in other seasons, so it’s easier to get in, queues are sometimes shorter (although at the Louvre that doesn’t seem possible), you don’t have to jostle for space on the buses and the metro, and you may find a free bench by Notre Dame to take that wonderful sunset shot over the Seine. And Paris tries to make summer a fun time—see below for 10 reasons to try Paris in the summer.
As they say here, “Ça y est. Paris prend ses quartiers d’été” (Here we are, Paris takes up its summer districts).
You don’t have to leave Paris to enjoy the summer—although of course many do. The city plans many special events to help the summer residents have fun, and even imagine they are away and at a beach somewhere. With the arrival of summer festivals and temporary leisure activities the summer holidays really begin in the city around the week of July 20. For those locals who don’t leave the capital, and for those visitors who come, these free or not-expensive happenings allow people not to miss out on the summer.
(To see the 10 activities described in full, go to Paris Sights)
