When to Go

Holidays by Destination Europe France General When to Go 

The weather offers a large number of variants. The Loire for example, offers a particularly balmy micro climate most of the year. The far south may be warmer but sees winds. Provence has the cold Mistral, particulary in spring. Roussillon sees the northwestern Tramontane.

Broadly the north and west see a maritime climate with warm to hot summers and cool but mild winters. Winters are actually colder in Central and Eastern France though the sumers are warmers. Rain falls mainly in summer in those parts.

In the Alps and Pyrenness thunderstorms are common in summer and in the norther Alsp there are often heavy rains in autumn.

In addition to the issue of temperatures it is worth noting that the big tourist areas (mostly the southern coasts) are very crowded in July and August and expensive.