France travel tips

Best time to visit France

Every guide's best months, checked against its own thirty-year rainfall: a filled month is recommended, a hatched one has over 250 mm of rain. Most of France agrees on Apr, May, Jun, Sep, Dec.

PlaceJFMAMJJASONDIn words
ParisApril to June, September to OctoberApril to June, September to October
NiceMay to June, September to OctoberMay to June, September to October
ProvenceApril to June, and September to October (lavender flowers late June to mid-July)April to June, and September to October (lavender flowers late June to mid-July)
ChamonixDecember to April for the snow, and late June to September for the walking — the lifts and much of the town shut in the two shoulder periods between the seasonsDecember to April for the snow, and late June to September for the walking — the lifts and much of the town shut in the two shoulder periods between the seasons
BordeauxMay to June, and September to October (harvest is late September and the best time to be here)May to June, and September to October (harvest is late September and the best time to be here)
LyonMay to June, and September to October (December for the Fête des Lumières)May to June, and September to October (December for the Fête des Lumières)
MarseilleApril to June, and September to October — the high summer is hot and the calanques are rationed thenApril to June, and September to October — the high summer is hot and the calanques are rationed then
StrasbourgMay to September, and December for the markets — the winter is cold and the Christmas weeks fill every bedMay to September, and December for the markets — the winter is cold and the Christmas weeks fill every bed
CorsicaMay to June, and September — the high summer is hot, full and the roads are single file with hire carsMay to June, and September — the high summer is hot, full and the roads are single file with hire cars
AnnecyJune to September for the lake, and December to March as a base for the nearby resorts — the old town is at its most crowded through high summerJune to September for the lake, and December to March as a base for the nearby resorts — the old town is at its most crowded through high summer
Val d’IsèreDecember to early May for the snow, and July to August for the summer glacier and the passes — the resort closes almost completely between the seasonsDecember to early May for the snow, and July to August for the summer glacier and the passes — the resort closes almost completely between the seasons
CourchevelDecember to April — the resort is built for the snow and most of it closes outside the season, with a short summer opening at the higher villagesDecember to April — the resort is built for the snow and most of it closes outside the season, with a short summer opening at the higher villages
TignesLate November to early May for the snow, and July to August for the glacier — the resort shuts almost entirely in the two shoulder periodsLate November to early May for the snow, and July to August for the glacier — the resort shuts almost entirely in the two shoulder periods
MéribelDecember to April — the lifts and most of the village close outside the winter, with a short summer walking seasonDecember to April — the lifts and most of the village close outside the winter, with a short summer walking season
Alpe d’HuezDecember to April for the snow, and June to September for the cycling — the road climb is what brings people in the warm half of the yearDecember to April for the snow, and June to September for the cycling — the road climb is what brings people in the warm half of the year

best month · over 250 mm · the letters are the months, January to December.

The guides in France

bridge during night timeParisFranceThe city of light, love, and croissantsan aerial view of a city next to the oceanNiceFranceThe French Riviera at its most liveableRows of lavender in flower on the Valensole plateau in Provence at first lightProvenceFranceLavender, limestone villages and a light that brought half the painters of Europe here and kept themsnow covered mountain under blue sky during daytimeChamonixFranceThe town at the foot of Mont Blanc, where alpinism was invented and where the Aiguille du Midi cable car puts you at 3,842 metres in twenty minuteslow angle photo of white concrete buildingBordeauxFranceAn eighteenth-century city of pale stone, with the world’s most famous vineyards half an hour outbrown concrete building near river during daytimeLyonFranceTwo rivers, Roman ruins on the hill, secret passages through the buildings, and the food capital of Francea harbor filled with lots of boats next to a cityMarseilleFranceFrance’s oldest city, a Mediterranean port with limestone fjords on its southern edgeHistoric buildings reflected in a calm canal waterwayStrasbourgFranceHalf-timbered houses over canals, a cathedral that was the tallest building on earth for two centuries, and Germany across the riverwhite and black rock formation on blue sea under blue and white cloudy sky during daytimeCorsicaFranceA mountain range in the sea, with the GR20 down its spine and water the colour of a swimming pool around itgreen lake surrounded by mountains under white clouds and blue sky during daytimeAnnecyFranceA canal town on the clearest lake in Europe, an hour from Geneva and forty minutes from the nearest ski lift — the base people use when the whole family does not skiman in orange jacket and black pants riding ski blades on snow covered mountain during daytimeVal d’IsèreFranceA high resort that links with Tignes into the Espace Killy, holds snow into May, and has a village underneath the ski area rather than a car parka snow covered mountain with a ski lift in the distanceCourchevelFranceFour villages stacked up one mountainside, from a working valley town to the most expensive address in the Alps, all of them on the Trois Vallées lift passa couple of people walking across a snow covered fieldTignesFranceA resort built high and ugly on purpose, with a glacier that skis in summer, a lake that freezes hard enough to walk on, and the snow record to justify all of itMéribel at dusk, the village lights under a pink skyMéribelFranceThe middle valley of the Trois Vallées, built in wood and stone by a Scotsman who thought concrete resorts were a mistake, and still the only one that looks like a villageaerial view of snow covered mountainsAlpe d’HuezFranceA sunny plateau above Grenoble with the longest black run in the Alps dropping off the back of it, and twenty-one hairpins of Tour de France road climbing up to it