Visiting Paris in January
If you’re a regular reader of this blog (I think there are like 2 or 3 of you out there), then you know we are big fans of offseason travel. Nothing ruins a trip like massive crowds, and in our opinion dealing with “bad” weather is usually a worthwhile price to pay for a more relaxing and authentic experience. Whether it’s the Azores, England, Quebec City, or the Rockies, we’ve never had a bad experience traveling in the “offseason”, and our trip to Paris in January was no exception. While January is certainly not a month when you’ll be lounging outside in the sun, you can still see and experience most of the highlights of the city while spending less money and waiting in fewer lines.
Weather
January is the coldest and darkest month of the year in Paris. Are you sold yet? While January is cold by Parisian standards, with an average daytime high temperature of 45-F, it’s really not that cold. In fact, as we sit here in below zero temperatures in New Hampshire, 45 sounds practically tropical. If you dress appropriately, exploring the city on foot is perfectly comfortable when the temperatures are in the 40’s.
Smaller Crowds
Crowds are unavoidable in Paris. The city of lights welcomed 17.44 million visitors in 2017, making it the third most visited city in the world behind Bangkok and London. While Paris is always bustling with tourists, it should come as no surprise that summer is the most popular time of year to visit. Foreign visitation peaks in July with a trough in January and February. Interestingly, as you can see in the graph below, visitation from French tourists plummets in the summer, probably because they want no part of the swarms of international tourists. Overall, January and February are the best months to visit Paris if you want to experience the city in relative tranquility. Again, there will always be crowds and lines at the main attractions like the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, and Notre Dame, but when you explore neighborhoods like Le Marais, St. Germain, or Île Saint-Louis in January, you feel like you’re experiencing the city more like a local than a tourist.
Lower Prices
With increased visitation comes increased prices for flights and hotels, the opposite, of course, being true in the winter. Airlines like Norwegian and WOW are practically giving away trans-Atlantic flights in the winter; we flew non-stop from Boston to Paris for $320/ticket including all taxes and fees. Hotels are also significantly more affordable in the winter. It’s very reasonable to find centrally-located, four-star hotels for under $200/night in January, and it’s not outside the realm of possibility to find a perfectly acceptable room in the city for under $100/night. Hotel rooms in Paris are the size of broom closets, but given how otherwise expensive the city is, a sub-$200/night hotel room is a bargain even if it is tiny.
Read More: Visiting England in the Winter
Cafes/Restaurants
One of the highlights of Paris is, of course, the food, and it’s just as delicious in January as it is in July. While you probably won’t be dining outside, holing up inside a cozy cafe, restaurant, or bar is the perfect break from exploring the city on a winter day. Many restaurants even have outdoor heat lamps so you can comfortably sit outside on milder winter days. Giving restaurant recommendations in Paris almost seems silly because the food is incredibly good wherever you go.
Museums
Paris is home to some of the most famous and most popular museums in the world. Not only are they less crowded in the winter, they’re also indoors so weather is a non-factor.
Explore the City
When you visit Paris, you of course want to see all of the highlights: the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame, etc. All of these sights and attractions are well worth visiting, but we found that simply wandering some of Paris’ more iconic streets and neighborhoods was far more enjoyable. Île Saint-Louis, St. Germain, and Le Marais were our favorite areas to explore.
Read More: Explore Île Saint-Louis
Shopping
Another indoor activity for which Paris is world renowned. I’ll give you two guesses which one of us was more excited about visiting the Chanel store.
Choosing when to plan a trip to any destination involves tradeoffs. There are of course certain things you can’t do (at least comfortably) in Paris in January, but overall, you aren’t giving up all that much in exchange for lower prices and smaller crowds. There’s also something magical about visiting European cities in the winter and Paris is no exception.
Thank you !