Paris in May: Weather, Events, and 12 Reasons to Visit

Is Paris in May right for you?

Do you like sunshine? Blue skies? Gentle breezes along the Seine? The stirring of the high-season crowds — but not, yet, their full-on appearance? 

There’s loads to love about Paris in May, as shoulder season turns to high, but summer weather hasn’t yet translated into summer crowds and ultra-high prices.

Here, everything you need to know about traveling to Paris in May:

Paris in May: Quick Reference

Paris in May: Weather breakdown

Having for the most part shaken off April’s occasional chill, May is lovely, while it can be rainy. If you don’t like very hot weather (that you’ll find here in July and August), I would put this in a top three month weather wise, after June and September.

Let’s be specific. The average high temperature in May is 66, up from April’s 62. Here we see the average high progress from 63 on May to 69 on May 31. This chart, from WeatherSpark, shows the continuing upward trend:

While mornings in April can be chilly, this is less the case in May. You can take off a thread now! We shake off the very cold and cold portions of the day (seen below). Note how the warmest parts of the day comes later than you might think — around 4. This will be particularly important later in the summer, when you’ll see that the super highs (100+) actually come from 4-6 PM, not earlier in the afternoon.

Sunrise advances from 6:30 AM to 5:52 AM on May 31 (hurrah!) and sunset pushes back, from 9:06 PM on May 1 and to 9:44 PM on May 31. Fantastic.

May can be rainy: It is has the second-highest number of days with precipitation (after December), and the highest chance of rainfall. So, as with all things, it becomes a trade off: July and August will almost certainly be drier, but they can have oppressive heat. June will likely be drier, and not as hot as July and August, but it also has bigger crowds and higher prices.

In terms of what to pack: You won’t want to go completely without a jacket — but neither will you want to rely on floaty dresses. It is still sweater weather, or at least sweater-y weather, on the whole. Those in sandals will be daring the weather gods to send rain or chill. You could very well see the French wrapped in scarves at this point, and you’ll definitely want a substantial layer if you’re headed out of town to any of the Channel destinations, though anyone headed south (to Provence, Marseille, etc.) can probably get by without.

Crowds, Prices, and Travel Atmosphere

May in Paris is excellent. It can, as noted above, be rainy — but this might be a suitable trade for late summer’s occasionally terrible heat and getting in right before the summer’s real crowds (with longer lines/higher prices). In May, I always feel like the city hangs a little bit in suspension, as it awaits the end of the school year and the tourists that will come with the real start of summer. They’re not here yet, though.

This is also a terrific time for exploring France outside of Paris: Brittany can offer chilly moments year round, but you have good odds for nice weather there and in Normandy, along with all the satisfactions of being in a beautiful place as it comes into full bloom.

It is, in a word, fantastic. Expect a little rain.

12 Reasons to Visit Paris in May

1. La Nuit des Musées
Officiellement c’est la nuit européenne des musées, a continent-wide effort to promote Europe’s wonderful and diverse museums. Expect free entry, later hours, and special programming, along with a push toward Paris’s less-visited museums and those in rural corners of the country: Last year’s spotlight fell on the Musée Des Arts et Métiers, Guimet – Musée National des Arts Asiatiques, and Musée National Jean-Jacques Henner. Look for it mid-month. 

2. The French Open
This iconic clay-court tennis tournament takes place in late May at Stade Roland Garros, in the 16th arrondissement, on the southern border of the Bois de Boulogne — it’s easy to reach by metro. For tennis lovers, it’s an essential visit — for everyone else, a fascinating snapshot of French sports culture. Many seats are highly exposed to the weather, so bring a hat/jacket/sunscreen.

3. La Fête du Travail and all the holidays
May offers French workers no fewer than four holidays: la Fête du Travail (Labor Day, May 1), Victory in Europe Day (May 8), Ascension (40 days after Easter), and Whit Monday (50 days after Easter). If one of these holidays occurs on a Tuesday or Thursday, expect the French to faire le pont — to make the bridge — by skipping work that Monday or Friday, as well. Shockingly, should May 1 or May 8 fall on a Sunday, the following Monday is not a holiday — it’s squandered! (And even worse, if May 1 is a Sunday, May 8 obviously would be as well.) Do not expect the French to be very happy about that at all. 

4. La Fête du Pain (pictured above)
Organized annually by the Confédération Nationale de la Boulangerie-Pâtisserie Française, the Fête du Pain sets up shop on the pavilion in front of Notre Dame on the dates “autour de” (lol) May 16.— the feast day of St. Honoré, the patron saint of bakers and frankly a man whose relics have been used wielded (against drought, etc.) more than once on their behalf. If you can imagine a whole bunch of tents with bakers had at work inside on their baguettes, plus just about all the honeybees in Paris, you have the idea — it’s festive, well located, and low key. 

5.
The Paris Book Fair is a sweet fair for book lovers — even better if they read French. The three-day festival welcomes over 100,000 visitors to the Grand Palais, to celebrate books, authors, and reading.

6. BNF – Richelieu and the Vivienne Garden
The bulk of the Bibliothèque national de France (the National Library of France) is held at a huge, modern site in the 13th arrondissement — but the Richelieu location is the historical home of France’s library system, and an absolute jewel. The famous round reading room is open to the public, and for free — but the reason this site deserves a visit in May is thanks to its beautiful Vivienne garden. Reopened as part of a massive, six-year rehabilitation effort in 2022, it now includes the incredible Paper Garden — a “garden-work of art” that focuses on plants used to make paper and ink, like mulberry, hemp, and papyrus.

7. Terrasse dining on Île Saint-Louis
Île Saint-Louis was my first real home in Paris, so I can say with surety that come June 1, you don’t want to be anywhere near it, unless you absolutely must have ice cream and absolutely must get it from Berthillon — reportedly, if not convincingly, the city’s best source. This island is, though, an idyllic place to sit outside for a meal, perhaps at the foot of the pedestrian bridge connecting it to the better-known Île de la Cité, home to Notre Dame. 

8. Day trip out to Auvers-sur-Oise
Indelibly linked to the painter Vincent van Gogh — who came to his end here. You won’t see much of his artwork here — the best thing to do would be to pair a visit here with the Musée d’Orsay: Go there first, and spend time with his landscapes, and then come here and see the beautiful meadows that inspired them. 

9. Versailles
May offers the best mix of weather suitable for exploring the gardens without the absolute worst of the crowds to come.

10. Festival Jazz à Saint-Germain-des-Prés
Jazz experts will need to weigh in on the excellence of the musicians who gather here to perform for six days every May, but the venues are exquisite: Come and you’ll hear music in Odéon Théâtre de l’Europe, the Monnaie de Paris, the Église Saint-Germain-des-Prés, and more.

10. Sardine season
While the height of the season comes in July and August, you’ll see sardines start to show up at Paris markets in April. Also look for them to show up on the menus here, especially at Provencal-themed restaurants like Kalank.

11. Versailles etc
Before their summer skyward swing. Remember: You can always save money by booking early or looking outside city limits.

12. Normandy/D-Day
While recent actions by the U.S. government have strained French-American relationships, the bond is most durable here, when in June 1944 thousands of American soldiers (and their English and Canadian comrades) gave their lives to ensure that France would be free after four years of German occupation. If you happen to be here during Memorial Day weekend, there’s no better time to explore the carefully tended American cemetery and memorial here — a moving commemoration of the Allied war effort in booting the Nazis out of Normandy.

Downsides of Visiting in May

The downsides of visiting in May include:

• rising crowds
• higher prices, less availability for hotels and airfares
• lots of vacation days? I’m struggling here

May is a first-rate time to visit Paris, so as noted above I struggle a bit to list the downsides. Crowds are rising — but they’re not yet terrible. Airfares are getting higher, but they’re not as bad as they’ll be come June 1. And hotel occupancy is high, but not yet at June’s peaks — it’s about the same as September and October. The weather can still occasionally be blustery, but I’d rather risk bluster than the oppressive heat that will come in late July and August. And as noted above, there really are many vacation days: Great news for the French, but it can mean service interruptions. 

In short: the downsides to visiting in May are limited. It’s a terrific time to come.

Verdict: Is May Right for You?

Probably yes!