See Fireworks at Carcassonne
Perhaps the world’s most famous and iconic Medieval walled city, Carcassonne sees more than 3 million tourists every year and while this site is sure to be a little crowded in the summer, it is also the site of a great festival that takes place through July. There are lots of special music performances and fireworks nearly every night.
Go Wine Tasting
Of course, wine tasting can be enjoyed at any time of the year, but being able to escape into a dark, cool cellar in the hot summer months makes summer an especially appealing time to sample French wines. Plus, you can totally enjoy outdoor picnics with your wine finds after you’ve been tasting.
Articles about French Wine:
Visit the Chateaux of the Loire
Again, this is definitely an activity that can be enjoyed year ’round, but there is something especially nice about being able to tour the gardens of the many Castles of the Loire during the warm, pleasant summer months. While there will certainly be more tourists to fight your way through, there will also be plenty of beautiful flowers in the gardens and the Loire Valley is beautiful in the summer months.
While temperatures will vary across the country, it is generally warm to hot almost all places in France in the summer months. July and August can get muggy and quite sticky in Paris, however, and the sundrenched valleys of Provence can scorch. Plan on plenty of long, hot, blue-sky days.
Where you are planning on hanging out in France will largely determine what exactly you should bring, but the weather will most likely be hot or warm anywhere you go. If you aren’t sure exactly what you should bring along with you, check out my post on what to wear in France in the summer.
While the summer months are a lovely time to be in France, you will certainly not be the only person who has realized this. Summer is most definitely high tourist season in France, which means it is more challenging to find a good deal on airfare to France in the summer. That being said, it is by no means impossible to get a good fare on a flight to France. You are probably best off booking either very far in advance or waiting and hoping for a great last minute deal to pop up (the latter is clearly more risky).
I’ve said it a whole bunch of times already, but I’ll say it again: Summer is high tourist season in France, which means that you are going to have to do a little more planning ahead when it comes to finding a place to stay during June, July and August. You should also expect to pay higher rates both at hotels in France and at hostels in France. Book well in advance, seek out budget friendly options like bed and breakfasts in France and you should be just fine!
