Paris in Spring
The second in my series of blast from the past posts will be on Paris. I first visited Paris in Spring in February 2008, partly to see Ireland play France in rugby. I made it back to Paris, again for a rugby match, in March 2014 and also celebrated St Patrick’s Day with my couchsurfing host.
On both of these trips I was able to enjoy fantastic weather, especially in 2014 when it was over 20 degrees! “It’s not usually this nice at this time of year”, I was constantly told. Maybe I just had a lot of good luck on both trips!?
Le Relais Gascon restaurant in Montmartre. MASSIVE salads here
The tomb of Oscar Wilde in Père Lachaise Cemetery
The tomb of Oscar Wilde in Père Lachaise Cemetery
Random cobblestone street
Cool and old style English bookshop
Parc des Buttes-Chaumont
Parc des Buttes-Chaumont – the sky has not been edited
Random small square at about 8am – great weather!
Le Rugby
The ‘Love Wall’ with ‘I love you’ written in many languages
The ubiquitous metro station shot 😉
Looking down the side steps at Sacre Coeur
The Eiffel Tower, but you already knew that. Go early to beat the queues
Looking out from the Eiffel Tower
Reminiscing
When you think of Paris, the obvious thing that comes to mind is the Eiffel Tower. While I am not saying not to go, my advice would be not to spend time going up unless you get there early in the day. The queues can get very long and you wait for a long time and of course when you do climb the tower, you can no longer see the one thing that everyone thinks about when they think of Paris!
For me, the area in Montmartre near Sacre Coeur is much better. If you manage to have great weather like I did, then you can view Paris with a picnic and some drinks while watching the sunset over the city.
Springtime in Paris is a bit of a cliche, but I had a great time on both of my trips. As you can see from the photos, I was definitely spoiled with the weather. It was a much different story at the same time of year in 2012! Ireland got hammered in 2008 but won in 2014 by the way. Allez les verts!
19 Comments
Mel Butler
November 15, 2017 at 18:18I just love Paris it is so magical there 🙂 I can see why it is even more magical in Spring with all those lovely colours. It also would have been a lot of fun being there during St Patrick’s Day too…. You photos make me want to get on a train and head there now for a visit
Nic
November 13, 2017 at 02:57Love these photos of Paris, reminds me that it has been over 10 years since we visited!
Damien
November 13, 2017 at 14:06Thank you! You are long overdue a return visit I think 😉
Amy
November 10, 2017 at 14:26We loved Paris, and visited in June, so were able to walk right up the tower with minimal crowds. We also loved Sacre Coeur, but found it to actually be busier! Such a beautiful city, would love to visit in the spring someday.
Damien
November 10, 2017 at 19:00Wow that is interesting. Sacre Coeur was very busy for me in the evening when it was warm as people went there to party and have food and drinks 🙂
Roaming Roman
November 10, 2017 at 07:21That’s a great time to visit Paris. I lived there from September to December, and it was pretty gloomy and rainy, still I enjoyed it a lot.
Damien
November 10, 2017 at 18:59I have been told by a couple of Parisiens that I was very lucky on both my trips. I should go back again
Alice Ford
November 7, 2017 at 03:57Great photo of the Church of the Sacred Heart, I agree that there is much more fun to be had in Paris away from the Eiffel Tower. Great photo essay
Damien
November 10, 2017 at 18:55Thank you very much! I think that photo was actually taken with a very basic £30 ebay bought camera
Jennifer
November 6, 2017 at 07:09I am not usually a city person, but I fell in love with Paris. The city is beautiful and has a great energy. We only had rain one day, so it sounds like we were lucky too.
Damien
November 10, 2017 at 18:54I am the same really. London didn’t interested me at all in my visits there but Paris does. There is certainly something about the place
Tom
November 6, 2017 at 01:40Yes, you were lucky with the weather. I don’t think most people realize how crappy the weather is in Paris so much of the time. Grey, rain, sunless, much of the time. You must have pleased the gods to get good weather both times.
Damien
November 10, 2017 at 18:53Haha I think you are right!
amit
November 5, 2017 at 14:00Really love your pictures, you really bring out bits of Paris to life. My brother travels to Paris a lot, he can’t get enough of it, he always no two times have been the same, there’s just so much to explore. Spring time in Paris would be an amazing time to visit 😀
Damien
November 10, 2017 at 18:52Thank you very much! I think your brother is correct, my two times in Paris have both been different, with the exception of rugby matches! At least Ireland won the 2nd time!
Dada
November 5, 2017 at 12:24What a great blog serie! I wish to do one myself from my travels from the pass especially the ones from our backpacking tours in SEA in 2011 or my interrailing month in Europe in 2003 but I have like zero photos or documentation.
Damien
November 10, 2017 at 18:47Thank you very much! Oh that is a shame. Perhaps there are ‘stock’ photos that you could use and describe your experiences?
Jennifer
August 12, 2017 at 21:52Paris is such a great city at any time of year, but I can imagine the liveliness that comes with spring. Beautiful photos here. It makes me want to go back:)
Damien
August 15, 2017 at 13:09Thank you very much! I have the same thoughts when I see photos of it as well!