Heatwave - dreading holiday in Paris next week

[HotGrapefruit]

DH and I are booked to go to Paris next week. The average highs in June are around 23 degrees, which is about the max I can handle. But the forecast is up to 40 every day. This wasn't what we were expecting at all.

I'm dreading it. The metro doesn't have aircon and neither do any of the places I've booked to eat (I've now cancelled them all). We had an assortment of walking routes planned, but none are going to be realistic.

We've spent a fortune on a lovely hotel room and Eurostar travel, so I can't bear to cancel the whole thing.

Does anyone have advice or reassurance or am I just going to absolutely hate it?!

Go to the Louvre during the day - it’s cool in there

Same here, I'm a heat/sun hater but we were in Rome in August in 40 degree heat and it was fine, just accepted we would be sweating buckets, I had a cotton bucket hat that I soaked in water and wrung out.

Take folding paper fans (I keep one in my bag all summer, bulk buy on Ebay), a water bottle. The cooling scarves do work, I have one for my allotment. Go out early, stay in the shade where you can. Also we now have a portable USB fan that can sit on a table or bedside table and is very useful.

It is not a case of just accepting it and being fine. People die due to heatwaves, I lived on the European mainland through many heatwaves and you can't just carry on as normal especially if you are not used to such heat. At 30 degrees visits outside should be short at 40 they should only happen if they are essential. The saying only mad dogs and Englishmen springs to mind.

Perhaps you can use Uber to travel between churches, museums and the air conditioned restaurants you have found. More comfortable sitting down and hopefully they will have aircon.

But perhaps accept that you will now do less than you would have, had the weather been more temperate. And if your lovely hotel room has aircon - then that in itself is a winner!

Another discovery - it's poncy - but you can filter the Michelin guide for restaurants with air con.

Museums, and art galleries, they tend to be cooler and/ or be air conditioned. Maybe a boat trip on the Seine. Some restaurants will have air con, just do your research.

I had the same issue last Summer. I also struggle with heat. The only thing that I found unbearable was the lack of air conditioning in my accommodation. The daytime is manageable if you can cool down properly at night and get a decent sleep. The Metro was surprisingly fine. Restaurants we're ok if you could sit outside in the shade as there was a bit of a breeze in some areas. French air conditioning isn't particularly cool. You never get that cold blast as you walk in that you get in other countries. I found walking from place to place was pretty unpleasant. I had a nice trip but next time I'll go in Spring or Autumn. You are being perfectly reasonable to adapt your plans in advance rather than sticking to your original schedule.

I went to Paris in August once. It was ghastly. Everyone was bad tempered and I was boiling. I swore I'd never do it again.

I never travel in July/August but June is usually okay. This is a freak heatwave, even the schools are closing.

People die in heatwaves when they don't/can't take appropriate precautions. If OP takes all the advice given in this thread she will be fine!

If you're that heat intolerant then why book a holiday in the summer. You're quite likely to find heatwaves at this time of year in much of Europe. Maybe book a holiday to Norway or even Iceland in future.

I mean you either cancel entirely or you just get on with it. Wear a big hat, I would get some neck fans or handheld fans, carry spare batteries and just get on with it. Take the metro to a museum like the Louvre and stay inside for an extended period of time. We were in Paris during the first week of the Olympics, it was really hot (35+), but we managed Disney and we managed to sit outside at Olympic events and it did cool a lot in the evenings.

I did the same when I went to London 4 years ago when it was over 40 degrees. I cancelled a big birthday meal in a posh restaurant because i couldn’t face the journey there. I went round the corner from the hotel instead and had a meal somewhere much less posh and really enjoyed it!
I did find it very difficult to walk about a mile during the day, it affected me much worse than my (very slim) partner. I still enjoyed myself but restricted what I did to avoid the embarrassment of huge sweat patches on the tube. Some good tips on here but do what you think is best and enjoy yourself

Very good advice - accepting that you are a sweaty mess makes it easier to cope a way, we did that when travelling in Asia.

You can find water mist sprays in most supermarkets in Paris.

A walk on the Seine bank should be nice I think, with the weather there will be a nice summer vibe.

@HotGrapefruit

If you are looking to eat in a Michelin * restaurant, some do formules at lunch, usually weekdays, same food but less expensive.

e.g. Benoit in the 4th

We did Disneyland Paris last June and it was 38-40 the whole time we were there. We were there with my 3 year old, 1 year old Nephew and my parents who are late 60s/early 70s. It was manageable. I’d been terrified in the days before due to the heat and dreaded going but I’m glad I did!

Things we did:

• drink loads
• we took lots of fans, electric and manual. They were so helpful
• UV umbrella. It’s not the prettiest thing but having constant shade was so helpful, especially for the kids

The one thing I will warn you about it that the Eurostar did have major delays due to the heat. Our actual train got cancelled as it broke down due to heat but fortunatly we made it to the station so early we managed to get an early train (Eurostar allowed this and printed us new tickets free)

Plan a trip to the catacombs, we did that when it was very hot in Paris a few years ago and it was very cool down there and extremely interesting place to go.

If go thinking you’re going to hate it, you will! You’ll ruin it for your husband aswell. Does he get a say?

Make the best of it, spend time in shady spots by the river or air con buildings. Pack some flight floaty clothes. Eat ice cream Find a lido. Re-book the restaurants and enjoy the lovely food.

I have a misting hand held fan something like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/Handheld-Misting-4000mAh-Rechargeable-Portable/dp/B0GCZNDVJ2/ref=sxin_14_pa_sp_search_thematic_sspa?content-id=amzn1.sym.76a45fff-1b4d-4d92-aa0d-4ea711ecd370%3Aamzn1.sym.76a45fff-1b4d-4d92-aa0d-4ea711ecd370&crid=1N43KTZGGUNP9&cv_ct_cx=Mating+hand+fan&keywords=Mating+hand+fan&pd_rd_i=B0GCZNDVJ2&pd_rd_r=104de75f-7aaa-4fe5-8d67-83ab03e4ad46&pd_rd_w=NvF98&pd_rd_wg=bx9Af&pf_rd_p=76a45fff-1b4d-4d92-aa0d-4ea711ecd370&pf_rd_r=8JF9VAT6P199X731MKD6&qid=1781784399&sbo=RZvfv%2F%2FHxDF%2BO5021pAnSA%3D%3D&sprefix=mating+hand+fan%2Caps%2C181&sr=1-2-76163601-3bc5-4bd6-b454-ded14c50366a-spons&aref=0ddOjtLaoO&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9zZWFyY2hfdGhlbWF0aWM&psc=1
fairly sure I saw a fan on a bottle in Tesco the other day

My variation on this is to keep cool when walking - spray the mist in front of you, and you walk through it - no fanning required. Very effective - I learnt this from watching a chap in Rome years ago.

My friend was in Paris with young kids during a 35 plus heat wave. They spent a lot of time riding round on air conditioned sight seeing buses!
sympathies OP, i used to love the heat but wouldn’t volunteer to go anywhere over late 20’s now.

Make sure you drink lots of water. Few years back, I was in Paris for work, rushing around in the sun, not drinking and I ended up fainting on the Metro. Came from with all these people looking down at me, it was very crowded and very hot.
That said I was surprised by the kindness of the people, they helped me up, and one lovely lady got off the metro with me (yes I was that person who stopped the Metro) brought me a bottle of water and waiting with me until a guard arrived. Luckily it was the Eurostar stop, so I got help to the terminal.

Do not under estimate just how much water you need and suggest getting a UV umbrella to stop the sun on your head.

I did Paris in a heatwave with a baby. People were sitting in foundations. My main regret was not having air con in hotel, lesson learnt.
Otherwise it was fine.

No one is saying they are carrying on as normal, they are recommending wet hats, water sprays, cooling scarves, fans, going out early and pacing yourself. The whole of Paris isn't going to grind to a halt apart from a few "mad" English people.

I’ve been to Paris in very hot weather and very cold weather and I know what I preferred! Ok, so it wasn’t 40c but was def at least 30. Our hotel was like an oven. Keep in shade and take it easy.