During the autumn months as Parisians return from their holiday homes to their daily routines, the city falls back into a more stable rhythm compared to the tourist-packed summer season, making it ideal for your Paris weekend break.
Autumn is the perfect time to visit for a relaxed experience in the French capital, when you can explore its many museums, celebrated art galleries and magnificent parks at a slower pace. To show you why it's the best time to see Paris, we've rounded up the nine things to do in autumn.
Wander through golden parks
Tucked out of the way of the usual tourist track in the 19th arrondissement, Parc des Buttes-Chaumont might be lesser-known than the Jardin des Tuileries, but that means you’ll be able to explore its water features, quiet corners, grotto and miniature temple in relative peace.
Here, you can enjoy the dazzling display of orange, yellows and browns as the leaves turn before winter. You’ll also be treated to wonderful views towards Sacré-Coeur. Parc Monceau, in the 8th arrondissement, is another locals’ favourite.
Beat the crowds at cultural hotspots
While world-famous galleries like the Louvre are going to be pretty packed all year round, you’ll definitely find some of the city’s more unusual museums quieter during the autumn months.
These include the Museum of Comparative Anatomy and Paleontology, which, like London’s Natural History Museum, has plenty to offer nature enthusiasts. Peer into 19th-century Paris’ scientific scene indoors, with animal skeletons and medical curiosities, then pop into the Jardin des Plantes botanical garden outside.
Attend one of the world’s most prestigious horse races
The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is one of the biggest events in the horse racing calendar, taking place every year – usually on the first Sunday in October.
This year, you can bag tickets to sit in prime position in the Winning Post Enclosure at ParisLongchamp racecourse, and enjoy a private dinner hosted by TV presenter Clare Balding, with a fantastic offer for Good Housekeeping readers.
Find a cosy café
With temperatures dropping and rainy days becoming more commonplace, autumn in Paris is a wonderful time to cosy up with a good book and a chocolat chaud or café au lait at one of the city’s many charming cafes.
Explore Oscar Wilde’s time in Paris
After deserting London following his imprisonment for public indecency, Oscar Wilde fled to the more liberal Paris in 1897, and lived there until his death three years later.
Visit Père Lachaise Cemetery to see his tomb, a grandiose monument featuring ancient Egyptian-style masonry, where you can also see the graves of Chopin, Proust and rock singer Jim Morrison. Afterwards, sip a coffee at the gilded Café de la Paix on the Place de l’Opéra, one of Wilde’s favourite hangouts.
Discover the Paris passages
In 19th-century Paris, the city’s growing middle class were developing a habit for retail therapy. Long before department stores made their debut, people could enjoy this new hobby by wandering through ornate, glass-roofed passages connecting adjacent streets, which housed traders of all stripes side-by-side.
Nowadays, most are gone, but around 25 of them are still accessible, including the oldest, the Passage des Panoramas.
Pull an all-nighter
For a unique perspective on some of Paris’ best-loved cultural institutions, plan your stay around ‘White Night’ - Nuit Blanche - when many museums, galleries and other attractions are open all night for free.
There are also special art installations and live music performances around the city centre, while public transport stays running all night to get you around. For 2019, it falls on October 5th.
Visit an urban vineyard
Autumn is grape harvesting season and while Paris might not be the first place that springs to mind when you think of vineyards, the region was once covered with them. As Paris became the busy capital city it is today, the number of vintners dropped dramatically, but there are still a couple hiding around its various districts.
The most famous and central is tiny Clos Montmartre, which is open to the public every September. It’s also on top of Montmartre's hill, meaning you’ll have great views of Sacré-Coeur.
Descend into the Paris Catacombs
This one might not be for the faint of heart, but a trip down into the spooky Paris Catacombs is the perfect autumnal activity – especially as Halloween draws closer. With Paris expanding rapidly during the 18th century, the city had to find somewhere underground to store the bodies that were piling up in its cemeteries and posing a threat to public health.
The solution? Transfer the bones to a disused quarry outside of the (then) city limits. Later, politician and scientist Inspector Héricart de Thury re-arranged the piles of bones, stacking them in neat ‘walls’.
Book your place on a three-day trip to Paris, with tickets to the Prix De L'Arc de Triomphe and an exclusive evening with much-loved TV presenter Clare Balding.
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The clever travel essentials you never knew you wanted
LAY-N-GO Cosmo make-up bag
Selfridges
£29
Lay out all of your make-up in one place and quickly pack it up again with the ultimate cosmetic bag for travellers. There’s even a pocket to store your jewellery.
Take control of the sound in your holiday environment with this USB-charged machine that masks noise which can disturb sleep or concentration through its sound options, including bright white noise, deep white noise or gentle surf.
Ideal for sleeping in dry hotel rooms, this portable dehumidifier secures over a water bottle to add moisture to the air.
Not just trendy-looking cabin luggage, this smart case uses a lithium ion battery so you can charge your phone on the go. It's a great gift for the traveller in your life, too.
...And you can keep tabs on your bag with this intelligent little tile that you pop into the luggage tag and attach to you case before tracking it with your phone. It makes for a great travel gift, too.
Inflatable, foldable and lightweight, these blow-up hangers are ideal for packing in your suitcase, as you never know if there will be enough in your hotel wardrobe.
Comfortable to wear on the plane, in the car or in your hotel room when noise stops you from sleeping, these earplugs use sound reduction filters and feature personal volume control.
If you're not staying in a fancy hotel with a Nespresso coffee machine in your room or just want to enjoy your favourite brew whenever and wherever you are on holiday, this portable espresso machine will come in handy.
Washing your clothes on holiday is now quick and easy with this portable washing machine. Just add your clothes, water and a drop of washing liquid, seal tight and rub for a few minutes on the internal, flexible washboard before rinsing.
The ultimate baggage compressor, this little device sucks up all the extra space in your luggage within minutes by easily compressing your clothes in a vacuum bag so you can buy more and pack more.
Designed by a former flight attendant who watched endless passengers struggle to sleep on flights, this travel pillow with a three-way support system helps keep your head, neck and chin completely supported while you snooze.
Keep your valuables close with this silk pouch you simply snap over your bra strap. The small pocket is great for stashing your money and credit cards.
This easy-to-use steamer is a the perfect alternative to carrying a travel iron. It's harmless to even delicate fabrics and will remove creases and unfresh odours.
Just what you need for packing light on a beach holiday, this lightweight and water-resistant blanket can be used for picnics too and features weights at each corner to stop it being blown away.
For when the in-flight pillow just won’t do, this mulberry silk pillow with a matching sleep mask was created to provide the ultimate combination of shine, thickness, softness and durability
Want to be a more organised packer? These nifty cubes help you pack your clothes neatly while providing compression so you can fit more into your case. Genius!
A great gift for the business traveller who has everything, this hard case will protect a shirt from creasing and is lightweight and compact enough to pack in a laptop bag or backpack.
