BMarieL

Hi all,
These are just some practical observations on our travels in Paris during extreme heat. We were in Paris for 6 full days. On each day it was over 90 degrees F by early afternoon, over 100 degrees on 3 of our days -- reaching 106 F/ 41.11 Celsius. We had an amazing trip, though we did drastically curtail our walking and also did not sit outdoors in cafes much as it was simply too uncomfortable. We were so thankful that our hotel was deliciously air conditioned. I hope that some people may find it helpful.
BMarie

Yucky Stuff: We took bandanas with us to use for sweat, and our shirts were soaked through every day. A sun hat is a must, as is water. None of the bathrooms at any of the museums had toilet paper or soap, in either mens or womens bathrooms.

Delicious Stuff:
Near the Louvre -- Liza's, lebanese, down a quiet side street, no traffic, so good! Liza's 14 rue de la banque 75002 Paris www.restaurant-liza.com
Near Versaille -- Les Crepes a TonTon, 53 rue du Vieux Versaille 78000 Versailles walkable close to the palace, just off of the side street full of restaurants -- delicious, substantial dinner and dessert crepes, inexpensive, charming staff
Near the D'Orsay, across the Seine from l'Orangerie & Louvre -- Cinq Mars 51 Rue de Verneuil, 75007 Paris, France, fantastic food and desserts, the favorite for everyone in our family

Best Stuff: Le Fete Nationale fireworks!!!! The beautiful light at the late sunset. Bateaux Mouches. Seeing all of the charming cafes. And the ultimate: witnessing everyone being happy to travel and sightsee again, taking one another's photos and smiling.

Attire: We wore clothes we had brought as "back up" that we typically would not wear -- (nice) loose tank tops with skirts for me, and shorts and short-sleeved shirts for my husband. Everyone was similarly dressed, and in walking shoes, cute tennis shoes (OnCloud for many), or sandals. The teen-agers looked just like our daughters in California: Short shorts, little skirts/sundresses, white tennies, cropped tops. We took jackets/sweaters with us expecting the museums to be very air conditioned, but they were not.

Museums: We had reserved times/tours at the Louvre, D'Orsay, L'Orangerie. A reserved time a week or so ahead was a must; the time slots were sold out on many days. Louvre: Has no real air conditioning, several rooms were quite uncomfortable, the usual crazy amusement park line for the Mona Lisa. The crowd thinned out dramatically around 5 pm, so recommend going later if you can on Fridays when it is open into the early evening. It also got pretty warm at the D'Orsay so we took a pleasant break in their cafe.

Versaille: Inside of the palace was stifling, with most windows shut. The crowd so thick you could only shuffle along with the herd, and as traffic moves one way there is no opportunity to escape the crush. Outdoors there is no shade. We wished we had brought umbrellas for shade. There is a small open air trolley that takes you down to the Petit Trianon area, and if you walk farther you can reach Marie Antoinette's hamlet. There are also small golf carts to rent, though they were sold out when we were there mid-afternoon. All lines are in the full sun. Long lines indoors for Angelinas, but it was nice to sit and rest for lunch. Again, no tp and no soap in the bathrooms. Of course it was amazing to see the palace, but we definitely covered much less ground than on previous trips due to the heat.

lavandula

I like your trip report style so far (sunglasses for the heat wave). What was your hotel? Will you divulge?

Lavandula

BMarieL

We stayed at Hotel Montelambert, on Rue Montelambert, which was about a 10-15 min walk to Louvre, D'Orsay, L'Orangerie. The hotel kept the a/c at a chilly 22 C/ 71 F the entire time, and asked us to keep curtains shut against the heat. Continental breakfast included which was fresh fruit cup, scrambled eggs, any type of coffee/espresso drink, croissants (regular and chocolate), yogurt. They also have a small a la carte menu and lunch later in the day, which was quite good. There is a nice small bar in the breakfast room also that is open until late I believe. The concierge was helpful for making reservations and suggestions. We booked through a service called Magellan, which we have also used for hotels in NYC. They secured us an upgrade to the next level room at no extra charge. We had 2 connecting rooms, and it looks like they have 2 sets of connecting rooms on several floors (the inner doors connect). The hotel is old construction with heavy doors/walls and very soundproof. Rooms are a good size. Daily housekeeping and turndown service, free waters in the room each day and a big chocolate bar on the first day too!

I will say also that the Montelambert bathroom is good for tall people! High sink, very high rain shower head. Both bathrooms were good sized for Europe, one bathroom had a bathtub with showerhead, the other room had a walk-in shower. Bathrobe, slippers, hairdryer provided.
Might be more info that you want, but hope this is helpful!
BMarie

kerouac

Some people are sure to find this useful.

TDudette

Thanks for this super info, BMarieL. I'm so sorry you had to endure such heat. Your hotel sounds great. I used to carry a partial roll of tp with the tube removed for visits to such loos. Standing over a hole in the ground in Greece remains too vivid a memory still!

kerouac

People are so naive about toilet paper everywhere in the world. I think I was the most popular person on tourist bus trips in Vietnam and Laos because everybody came to me for a supply. This totally destroyed the myth that the Dutch and the Scandanavians are the most savvy travelers in the 3rd world, but of course this is not the place for that debate.