Easter in Paris…sounds nice, doesn’t it? Spring flowers, warm temperatures, enjoying the view from the Eiffel Tower. Sure, that sounds nice, but it’s not always the reality. You could get cold weather, rain showers, and long queues to get into the most popular tourist destinations.
I would love to tell you that Easter in Paris is a glorious experience, but that’s not necessarily the case. There are some things you should know before planning that Easter weekend in Paris.
About Our Experience
We spent three days in Paris in 2018. This year, Easter was on April 1. We arrived on Good Friday and spent Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in the city. On Monday, we left Paris, taking a morning train to Luxembourg.
This was our third visit to Paris in the past ten years. Our prior visits were in mid-April (not during Easter) and mid-October. We’ve since returned to Paris a fourth time, in September 2023.
During our three-day visit over Easter weekend, we experienced chilly, wet weather and the largest crowds we have seen yet in Paris. I wouldn’t call it “nightmare” level crowds, but the lines to get into the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame were hours long. Yes, hours is plural.
Easter in Paris: What to Expect
Paris Could Be Cold and Wet
Or it can be warm and sunny. It’s spring…anything is possible.
On average, daytime high temperatures range from 8°C to 18°C (45 to 65°F) from the end of March into April. Rain showers are very common during this time.
In 2018, Paris (and Europe) experienced a colder than normal winter. These cool temperatures persisted into early spring.
During our visit, the high temperatures only reached 10°C (50°F). It was overcast for most of our visit, with a few scattered rain showers during the day. The weather wasn’t terrible, but it was cold in the mornings and evenings and we got rained on a few times.
Since winter still had not released Paris from its grip, very few flowers and trees were blooming. This created a rather dreary atmosphere for a springtime visit to Paris.
However, those cold temperatures made it even nicer to pop into a café and get a warm drink. Few people were sitting outside at the street cafes during our visit, which is unfortunate, because it is one of the best things to do while in Paris. Some places have heaters, which we took advantage of.
During our visit, the weather was colder and wetter than normal. This isn’t always the case. A chilly day or a rainy day is to be expected, but not a whole string of them like we had.
Hopefully, you will get to see Paris with sunshine and warm temperatures.
Expect to Wait in Line
I was surprised at the length of the lines to get into the big tourist attractions. They were ridiculously long. We are talking several hours wait to get into places like the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, the Catacombs, and Notre Dame.
This is the line to get into Notre Dame on Easter morning (and this is just a small part of it!).
We have never seen lines this long in Paris. And to be honest, we have never seen so many long lines in one city at one time.
We tried to visit the Catacombs, arriving 45 minutes before opening time. The line was already so long that we were nowhere near the entrance to the Catacombs. And once it opened, the line painfully inched forward. We gave up, not wanting to waste our precious time in line.
What Will Be Open?
Easter is a holiday but this does not affect the hours of operation for the tourist attractions in Paris. If it’s open on a Sunday, then generally, it’s also open on Easter. All of the main tourist attractions (Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Musee d’Orsay, Arc de Triomphe, Catacombs, etc) are open on Easter.
Very few restaurants were closed and public transportation operates like normal.
Verdict: Is It Worth Visiting Paris at Easter?
Maybe.
If this is your first visit, I would not recommend visiting Paris at Easter. During your first visit, you want to take in the view from the Eiffel Tower, climb the Arc de Triomphe, see the Louvre, and climb the tower of Notre Dame. If you visit during Easter weekend, you will be waiting in queue after queue and you will have a horrible first impression of Paris. If you can visit one or two weeks before or after Easter, when lines are more manageable, I think you will have a much better experience.
If this is not your first visit to Paris, then a visit at Easter can be a very nice experience. For the attractions you want to visit, book your tickets in advance so you can skip the ticket lines. Then spend your remaining time wandering the less crowded neighborhoods and trying new restaurants.
The view from the Ferris Wheel on Place de la Concorde
Tips to Have the Best Experience in Paris at Easter
If you are set on visiting Paris at Easter, there are some things you can do to make sure you have the best experience.
Buy the Museum Pass/Pre-Book Your Tickets in Advance
The Museum Pass is a card that covers the main sites in Paris (the Louvre, Saint Chapelle, Versailles, the Tower of Notre Dame, the Arc de Triomphe, and more) and allows you to skip the ticket line. You will still have to wait in the Museum Pass line, and in some places, this still can be quite long (it was at the Catacombs) but it will cut down on your waiting time.
For places that are not covered by the Museum Pass, such as the Eiffel Tower, you should book your tickets in advance. Again, you still will have to wait in line for the elevator but you will get to bypass the ridiculously long ticket line.
Get There Early
Getting to an attraction before opening time will also cut down on how long you have to wait in line. This helps a lot, even if you have the Museum Pass.
Don’t Spend All of Your Time at the Touristy Spots
If you just wander five minutes away from the main touristy areas, crowds magically disappear. We spent a lot of time wandering and exploring different neighborhoods. There are a lot of great spots to visit in Paris other than the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre, so don’t be afraid to take an afternoon and explore one of the “less popular” neighborhoods.
The areas that were the most crowded during our visit were Notre Dame and Ile de la Cite, the Champs-Elysees and the Arc de Triomphe, Place du Tertre in Montmartre, and Champ de Mars and the Eiffel Tower. Le Marais wasn’t too bad, nor was Saint-Germain-des-Pres. Ile de la Cite was crazy but nearby Ile Saint-Louis was quiet and uncrowded. Even consider a visit out to La Defense, a place that almost felt like a ghost town compared to the rest of Paris.
This is Place du Tertre in Montmartre on Saturday afternoon.
Just a five minute walk from Place du Tertre are quieter (and prettier) streets in Montmartre.
Best Time to Visit Paris
Paris is a very popular destination, for very good reasons. It can be crowded almost all year, with the largest crowds between May and September and during the holidays of Easter and Christmas.
The best times to visit Paris are late April into May and the month of October. Temperatures are pleasant and crowds are not at their peak.
The weather in Paris from June through August is warm and sunny but this is also a time when many people take their vacations, so the city can get quite crowded.
Where We Stayed
On this most recent visit to Paris we stayed at Hotel Le Relais Saint Honoré. Our favorite thing about this small, boutique hotel is its excellent location. The Louvre, Tuileries Garden, Place de la Concorde, and Palais-Garnier are all within a 10-minute walk. The Tuileries and Pyramides metro stations are less than 5 minutes away. The rooms are small but tastefully decorated and the staff is friendly and speaks English.
For more recommendations on where to stay, read our article Where to Stay in Paris on Your First Visit. Learn where to stay for a great view of the Eiffel Tower and get recommendations whether you are looking for a budget hotel, luxury hotel, or if you are traveling as a family.
Have you visited Paris during Easter? Comment below if you have any questions or advice for other readers.
More Information for Your Trip to France
How to Plan a Trip to Paris: Tips & Itineraries for Your First Visit
Paris, the capital of France, is world renowned for its iconic landmarks, world-class museums, and picturesque streets lined with outdoor cafes and boutique shops. The Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Louvre, Notre Dame Cathedral, Seine River, Champs-Élysées, and hilly streets of Montmartre are some of Paris’ most famous sights, but you can also explore its […]
Your website has been so helpful and I feel a lot more confident about my trip now, just wondering in regards to the ques in Paris are the ques long for pre-booked ticket holders or are the images of the ques of people who have not booked a time slot in advance?
Hello Nicola. In this post, we show a queue for Notre Dame, but that is currently not open. If you have plans to visit Paris at Easter, it is best to book your tickets in advance, especially for the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, for Versailles, for the Catacombs, and any other museums you plan to enter. There still can be a short wait in line for security at some sights, even with a pre-booked ticket, but this wait is generally 15 minutes or less. Cheers, Julie
Thank you so so much for this post! I am visiting Paris for the first time with mom in April and it just happened to be the Easter weekend. When I realized, it was too late because we’ve already bought the ticket 🙁 wish I could’ve avoided it but, oh well, When will I ever celebrate Easter in Paris? Just like you, we will get there on Good Friday and stay until Monday. This post gives me some idea of how I should plan my trip!! Again, thank you lots!
You’re welcome. It will still be wonderful…just make sure you book your tickets in advance! Cheers, Julie
We are also visiting Paris for the first time over Easter holiday. Would you recommend a lunch or dinner cruise? We will have our 11 year old daughter with us. What is a reputable company to purchase “skip the line” tickets? I have read that some have been rejected. Thanks for your valuable insight.
Hello Victoria. Yes, a Seine River Cruise can be a very nice, leisurely experience. In our things to do in Paris article, we recommend some skip-the-line tours for several sites as well as some Seine River cruises. There are many options, but I chose the tours that get very good reviews, and have many reviewers, so you should not have any issues with being rejected. Also, if you book your tickets ahead of time on the official website (these links are also in the article), you will have skip-the-line tickets with a small savings over skip-the-line tours. I try to explain your options with our recommendations, but if you have any more questions, let me know. Cheers, Julie
I was in Paris for Easter of 2014. It was still chilly but the flowers were blooming. I arrived on Good Friday ( April 18th that year). Having been to Paris many time previously, we really didn’t hit any of the main tourist spots so didn’ t encounter horrid crowds. The only tourist thing we did was attend the ringing of the bells before Mass at Notre Dame on Easter Sunday. There was a lot of people there, but not crazy. What WAS crazy was the people shopping on Saturday. The major department stores were NUTS and if I’m ever in Paris over Easter again I will avoid them on the Holiday weekend. We stayed in Paris for the following week and things pretty much were back to normal.
Thanks for sharing your experience!