Paris Food Tour Weather, Month by Month
Weather changes which paris walking food tour you should book, not whether you should book one. The walking between stops is what gets wet; the eating does not. Figures below are the Météo-France 1991–2020 normals for the Paris-Montsouris station, read from the official climate sheet.
What the weather does to a Paris food walk
Three consequences, and they are the whole page. Rain does not stop one: some listings state outright that they operate in all weather conditions, and others name a raincoat in what to bring, because you are indoors at every stop.
Heat changes the hill. Montmartre in July at 25.7 °C is a different afternoon from Montmartre in April. If you are booking the climb in high summer, take a morning departure.
Cold is a packing problem, not a booking one. The Champagne and Loire cellars sit at about 10 °C all year and their listings tell you to bring warm clothes — in the middle of a July day trip, that is the easiest thing here to forget.
Paris month by month
January
7.6 °C average daily high, 3.2 °C average low, 47.6 mm of rain across 9.9 days with at least a millimetre. The quietest month in the city and the easiest to book late. Walks run; the eating is indoors and the walking between stops is not long.
February
8.8 °C average daily high, 3.3 °C average low, 41.8 mm of rain across 9.1 days with at least a millimetre. The driest month of the year on these figures. The baguette competition is judged in late February, so the winning bakery is news while you are here.
March
12.8 °C average daily high, 5.6 °C average low, 45.2 mm of rain across 9.5 days with at least a millimetre. The first month you can stand outside a counter comfortably. Terraces reopen in earnest and the Marais walks stop feeling like a dash between doors.
April
16.6 °C average daily high, 7.9 °C average low, 45.8 mm of rain across 8.6 days with at least a millimetre. Book three to five days ahead from here on; this is where the season starts. Notre-Dame’s free timed reservation becomes worth using.
May
20.2 °C average daily high, 11.1 °C average low, 69.0 mm of rain across 9.2 days with at least a millimetre. The wettest month on the normals, and still one of the best to come. Carry the raincoat two operators ask for and it changes nothing.
June
23.4 °C average daily high, 14.2 °C average low, 51.3 mm of rain across 8.3 days with at least a millimetre. Long light and warm evenings. The Montmartre climb is harder in the afternoon than the morning, so take an early departure if you can.
July
25.7 °C average daily high, 16.2 °C average low, 59.4 mm of rain across 7.4 days with at least a millimetre. Hot, and the cellars on the Champagne day trips sit at about 10 °C whatever the city is doing. Take a layer for the drive out.
August
25.6 °C average daily high, 16.0 °C average low, 58.0 mm of rain across 8.1 days with at least a millimetre. The month with the reputation. Independent bakeries and small food shops still take holidays, so a guide who can swap a stop earns their fare.
September
21.5 °C average daily high, 13.0 °C average low, 44.7 mm of rain across 7.5 days with at least a millimetre. Arguably the best month here: warm, the second-driest on the normals, and everything is back open after the holidays.
October
16.5 °C average daily high, 9.9 °C average low, 55.2 mm of rain across 9.5 days with at least a millimetre. Cooling and wetter. The Salon du Chocolat lands at the end of it, and the seated tastings start to look like the better afternoon.
November
11.1 °C average daily high, 6.2 °C average low, 54.3 mm of rain across 10.4 days with at least a millimetre. Beaujolais Nouveau on the third Thursday, and the bistros make a night of it. Otherwise a month for the indoor half of this site.
December
8.0 °C average daily high, 3.8 °C average low, 62.0 mm of rain across 11.4 days with at least a millimetre. The wettest month by rain days. Markets close on 25 December along with 1 January and 1 May; the walks themselves run through the holidays.
The seasons, and which one you want
Spring (March to May) warms fast and books up from April. It is the best light of the year for a walk and the wettest of the four seasons on these figures, which matters less than it sounds.
Summer (June to August) is hot, long-lit and the busiest. Book earlier, take the morning departure, and read the August section below.
Autumn (September to November) is the season this site would pick. September is warm and dry, October brings the chocolate fair, November brings the Beaujolais.
Winter (December to February) is grey, wet by days rather than by depth, and the easiest time to get onto a walk at short notice.
August, and the shops that shut
The rule everyone half-remembers is gone. A prefectural rota used to split Paris-region bakeries into two groups that alternated July and August closures; the law of 20 December 2014 removed the power to regulate it, and the government has confirmed it will not restore it.
What happens now is voluntary and local: independent bakeries and small food shops still take one to several weeks off, and neighbours still tend to stagger it so one stays open. Tourist-area cafés, bistros and every major monument stay open throughout.
The practical effect on a food walk is one stop, not a whole afternoon. A reviewer on the Devour route in late July found a shop closed for the holidays and the guide swapped in a neighbouring one.
Best time of day
Morning for the pastry walk, which is built for it, and for Montmartre in summer.
Early afternoon for most of the Marais and Saint-Germain walks: the shops are all open, the lunch rush has passed, and you finish with the evening still in front of you.
Late afternoon for the full-meal walks, which are designed to replace dinner rather than precede it.
Rain, and the walks built for it
If the forecast is genuinely bad, book one of the two seated tastings. Both sit down in one room for two hours and never step outside, and both pour five or six glasses against cheese, which is a better wet afternoon than a museum queue.
Otherwise take the raincoat and go. The Marais is the most sheltered of the quarters — narrow streets, arcades on the Place des Vosges, and a covered market at the top of the Rue de Bretagne.
The figures
| Month | Avg high °C | Avg low °C | Rain mm | Rain days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 7.6 | 3.2 | 47.6 | 9.9 |
| February | 8.8 | 3.3 | 41.8 | 9.1 |
| March | 12.8 | 5.6 | 45.2 | 9.5 |
| April | 16.6 | 7.9 | 45.8 | 8.6 |
| May | 20.2 | 11.1 | 69.0 | 9.2 |
| June | 23.4 | 14.2 | 51.3 | 8.3 |
| July | 25.7 | 16.2 | 59.4 | 7.4 |
| August | 25.6 | 16.0 | 58.0 | 8.1 |
| September | 21.5 | 13.0 | 44.7 | 7.5 |
| October | 16.5 | 9.9 | 55.2 | 9.5 |
| November | 11.1 | 6.2 | 54.3 | 10.4 |
| December | 8.0 | 3.8 | 62.0 | 11.4 |
| Year | 16.5 | 9.2 | 634.3 | 108.9 |
Source: Météo-France climate sheet, station Paris-Montsouris (75114001), 1991–2020 normals, read 2026-09-13.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best month for a Paris food tour?
Do Paris food tours run in winter?
Is August really a bad month?
Know your month?
Every walk here runs year-round, and the indoor ones run whatever the sky is doing.
What is on at the time you are coming is on the food calendar, and which quarter to pick is set out quarter by quarter. The walks are on the Paris Food Tours grid.