We visited Paris at the end of November, we had a lovely time, but was it the best time we could have visited?

Every season has its different ups and downs. For the best scenery though, I would not recommend it. The thing that sets Paris apart is its long, straight parks and well maintained garden, like the famous Jardin de Tuileries behind the Louvre, and the entire city has plenty of them. These parks unfortunately are not designed for the autumn colors, they were designed for the time when the trees are fully leafed, or in the spring when the blossoms start popping up. Not to mention that nearly every fountain we ran into was shut down. And a lot of these fountains looked like they would be totally spectacular when turned on. And Paris does not have that many trees and plants beyond its parks, so it needs anything that it can get.

My guess for the best time would be spring. You get the view of the trees in full foilage, either with leaves or blossoms, yet the huge masses of tourists that come over the summer have not arrived yet. It’ll still be busy, but you’ll avoid the largest crowds.

Paris does have a number of good autumn spots, but you have to know where to look. They’re usually away from the beaten path. The two best examples we found are if you take a stroll alongside the Canal, that flows in North from the Seine: Canal Saint Martin and its remnants. And just west of the Eiffel Tower in the Seine, you have L’ile aux Cygnes, which offers a beautiful stroll across all kinds of differently coloured trees that looks stunning.

Oh en from what I’ve heard: in August the entire country shuts down and goes on a holiday, so most of the museums close down. Depending on your plans you might not want to go then. These are just my views. Do other people think differently?