Novembre · Practical guide
The quiet month between the autumn crowds and the Christmas rush. What the weather is really like, the dates worth planning around, and how to fill the gray days.
Updated October 26, 2026 · Prices checked October 26, 2026 · Tour prices refresh daily
November is Paris between seasons. The leaves come down in the Tuileries and the Luxembourg, the days shorten fast, and the autumn tour groups thin out before the Christmas crowds arrive. Expect cool, gray, often damp weather, with highs around 11°C (52°F) and rain on about ten days of the month.
What you get in exchange is a calendar worth planning around: free museum days on Sunday, November 1, Armistice Day on the 11th, Beaujolais Nouveau on the 19th, and the first Christmas lights, windows and markets in the second half of the month. Here is what to pack, what is happening when, and how to spend the gray days. If you are staying into the holidays, carry on with Paris in December.
N° 01Short on time
1erSmall groupBest rainy-day tour
Devour France
Ten tastings and two glasses of wine across the Marais, Île Saint-Louis and the Jewish quarter, built as a full meal, in a group of up to 12. More than 3,000 reviews back it up.
Free cancellation
From$108.13
lowest listed option
2eBest on a budget
ExperienceFirst
A 90-minute guided walk past the Moulin de la Galette, the vineyard, Place du Tertre and the outside of Sacré-Cœur, one of the cheapest well-reviewed tours in Paris. It runs whatever the weather, so bring a coat and an umbrella.
Free cancellation
From$36.42
lowest listed option
3ePrivateBest for the lights
With Love From Paris Tours
A private guide collects you at your hotel in the early evening and takes you on foot and by taxi past the Christmas lights and the department-store windows. Book it for after November 22, when the Champs-Élysées lights are on.
Free cancellation
From$341.45
lowest listed option
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N° 02Le temps
Météo-France climate normals for Paris-Montsouris (1991–2020), and sunrise and sunset times for central Paris in November 2026. France moved to winter time on October 25, so the evenings are dark early.
| Measure | November |
|---|---|
| Average high | 11.1°C (52°F) |
| Average low | 6.2°C (43°F) |
| Rain | 54 mm (2.1 in), with 10.4 days of rain |
| Sunshine | About 70 hours in the whole month |
| Frost | About 1.6 days with a low at or below 0°C |
| November 1 | Sunrise 7:38am · sunset 5:31pm |
| November 15 | Sunrise 8:00am · sunset 5:11pm |
| November 30 | Sunrise 8:21am · sunset 4:57pm |
November gets about 70 hours of sunshine, against 119 in October. Sun times are calculated for central Paris. Source: Météo-France climate sheet, Paris-Montsouris.
N° 03Dans la valise
Think damp and cool rather than cold. Frost is rare (fewer than two nights in an average November), but drizzle and wind make 11°C feel colder than it sounds, especially by the river after dark.
Our what to wear in Paris guide has a full packing list by season.
N° 04Le calendrier
Every date below comes from the organizer or an official French source. Where something is only reported by the press, we say so.
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| Sun Nov 1 | Toussaint (All Saints’ Day), a public holiday. First-Sunday free entry at Orsay, the Orangerie, the Arc de Triomphe, Sainte-Chapelle and the Conciergerie |
| Oct 31–Nov 8 | Rolex Paris Masters tennis at Plenitude Arena, Nanterre; final on Sunday, November 8 |
| Fri Nov 6 | Louvre free from 6pm (first Friday of the month); booking recommended |
| From Sat Nov 7 | Disney Enchanted Christmas at Disneyland Paris, to January 6, 2027 |
| Wed Nov 11 | Armistice Day, a public holiday. Ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe; the Arc is closed in the morning |
| Nov 12–15 | Paris Photo art fair at the Grand Palais |
| Thu Nov 12 | Galeries Lafayette Haussmann unveils its Christmas windows and dome tree |
| Thu Nov 19 | Beaujolais Nouveau goes on sale from midnight |
| Sun Nov 22 | Champs-Élysées Christmas lights switch on; the lower-avenue market opens |
| Thu Nov 26 | Notre-Dame Christmas market opens in Square René-Viviani |
The Galeries Lafayette date is confirmed by the designer of its 2026 windows, not yet by the store. Printemps had announced November 5 for its windows, then postponed the unveiling with no new date, so check before you go. Source: service-public.gouv.fr, public holidays.
N° 05Les temps forts
France marks the end of the First World War with a ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier under the Arc de Triomphe, usually led by the President in the late morning. The Arc itself is closed on the morning of the 11th, and its reopening time is not published. The 2026 traffic plan was not out when we checked, but in recent years cars were kept off the Champs-Élysées and the streets around the Étoile until early afternoon, and several Métro stations nearby closed. Plan the morning elsewhere.
The rest of the city works normally for visitors. The Louvre is open (Wednesday is its late night, to 9pm), and so are Orsay, Versailles and the Catacombs. Some shops and restaurants close for the holiday, and banks generally do. The Eiffel Tower lists November 7 to 11 as a busy period, so book a time slot.
The new Beaujolais can be sold from midnight on the third Thursday of November, which in 2026 is the 19th. Many Paris wine bars and bistros mark the day with “Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé” on their boards. It is a light, young wine and a good excuse for an evening out rather than a reason to plan a trip. A food tour with wine tastings, like the one below, is the easy way in.
Small groupSecret Food Tours
Free cancellation
From$91.04
lowest listed option
The international photography fair returns to the Grand Palais for its 29th edition. It is aimed at collectors but open to anyone with a ticket, and it is a good rainy-day plan if you like photography. Tickets are sold on the fair’s official site.
N° 06Noël approche
Christmas arrives in Paris in the second half of November. If you are here before the 20th, you will catch the windows going up but not much else; from the 22nd, the city is lit.
The Tuileries Christmas fair is listed by France’s national tourism agency from November 14, but its organizer had not published hours when we checked. Every market, with how firm each date is, is in our Paris Christmas markets guide.
Once the lights are on, this walk for six or fewer passes the Palais-Royal, Place Vendôme and covered passages dressed for Christmas, with a hot chocolate or mulled wine. Its run dates are not listed, so check them when you book:
Small groupDayin
Free cancellation
From$78.53
per person
N° 07Par temps de pluie
November is museum weather, and the queues are shorter than in spring or summer. A few ways to use it:
Go on November 1 if you can book: Orsay and the Orangerie are free on the first Sunday of the month but need a free timed ticket, and those slots sell out (more were being released on October 30 when we checked). The Arc de Triomphe, Sainte-Chapelle and the Conciergerie are also free that day, with no booking. The Louvre is free from 6pm on Friday, November 6. On other days, Orsay is open late on Thursdays, to 9:45pm, and closed on Mondays. Note that the Centre Pompidou is closed for renovation until 2030.
A guided visit is the fastest way through Orsay’s Impressionists on a wet afternoon. This semi-private tour caps the group at six:
Small groupBabylon Tours
Free cancellation
From$71.70
lowest listed option
The nineteenth-century glass-roofed arcades of the 2nd and 9th arrondissements, such as Galerie Vivienne, the Passage des Panoramas and the Passage Jouffroy, are the original rainy-day walk: small shops, tea rooms and restaurants under glass.
A food tour is a good use of a gray day, with plenty of time indoors at the stops. Our Paris food tours guide compares the best of them.
N° 08À réserver
Year-round tours with thousands of reviews, plus two Christmas-lights tours that only make sense after November 22 and carry few reviews. Prices shown are the lowest listed option.
| Tour | Format | Length | Reviews | From | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Devour, Le Marais and Île Saint-LouisDevour FranceA full meal on foot in the Marais, if your diet fits the listing Free cancellation | Walking · full meal | Full meal on foot | 4.933,350 reviews | $108.13lowest listed option | Check |
| Secret Food Tours, by neighborhoodSecret Food ToursA wet afternoon when you would rather eat than queue for a museum Free cancellation | Walking · tastings | From 2 hours | 4.815,441 reviews | $91.04lowest listed option | Check |
| ExperienceFirst, Montmartre walkExperienceFirstA supported hill walk when you want the route written down and can handle the slopes Free cancellation | Walking · group | 90 minutes | 4.862,890 reviews | $36.42lowest listed option | Check |
| Orsay semi-private guided tourBabylon ToursA cold January day when you want the museum handled and the group small Free cancellation | Museum · semi-private | 2–2.5 hours | 4.971,100 reviews | $71.70lowest listed option | Check |
| City of Lights Evening Bike Tour + Seine CruiseBoutique Bike ToursActive travelers who want night views by bike and boat Free cancellation | Mixed · small group | 5 hours | 4.92200 reviews | $66.75 | Check |
| Private Christmas Illuminations Tour with Hotel PickupWith Love From Paris ToursCouples and families wanting a door-to-door private Christmas lights evening Free cancellation | Mixed · private | 3-4 hours | 5.0047 reviews | $341.45lowest listed option | Check |
| Christmas Lights Small-Group Walk with Hot Chocolate or Mulled WineDayinTravelers wanting an affordable small-group Christmas lights walk Free cancellation | Walking · small group | 2 hours | 4.7919 reviews | $78.53 | Check |
N° 09Le soir
With sunset before 5:30pm all month, evenings are long. The Eiffel Tower sparkles for five minutes on the hour after dark, and the Seine is at its best lit up at night. Our guide to evening Seine cruises picks the best boats. For something more active, this small-group evening tour combines a bike ride past the lit monuments with a river cruise:
Small groupBoutique Bike Tours
Free cancellation
From$66.75
per person
N° 10Hors de Paris
Some day trips shut for the season in November and others get easier.
Low season starts on November 2: the palace opens 9am–5:30pm (last entry 4:45pm), it is closed on Mondays, and the gardens are free every day. The Passport ticket drops to €25 from November 1. Versailles’ official pages disagree on whether the first Sunday of November is free, so do not count on it. The A13 motorway is closed toward Versailles from November 16, 2026, so take the train. Our Versailles day trip guide has the options.
A Champagne day is spent mostly in cellars and inside Reims Cathedral, so the weather barely matters. See our Champagne day trip guide.
Monet’s house and gardens close for the season after November 1, 2026. If Giverny is on your list, plan it for another trip.
N° 11Bon à savoir
01
The Eiffel Tower lists November 26 to 29 (US Thanksgiving weekend) as a busy period, and the lights bring crowds from the 22nd. The first three weeks are the quietest.
02
Sunrise is between 7:38am and 8:21am and sunset between 5:31pm and 4:57pm. Do day trips and outdoor walks early, and keep museums and food for the afternoon.
03
Its lift has been out of service since July 2026 and is due back in 2027, so the roof means 284 steps. It is free on November 1 and closed on the morning of November 11.
04
From November 2, the hop-on hop-off river shuttle runs 10am–5pm Monday to Thursday and 10am–7pm Friday to Sunday.
05
A Métro-Train-RER ticket costs €2.55 and a bus-tram ticket €2.05 in 2026. Load them on a Navigo Easy card or your phone.
N° 12Good to know
Yes, if you do not need sunshine. The first three weeks are among the quietest of the year, museums are easier to get into, and the second half of the month brings the first Christmas lights, windows and markets. The trade-off is cool, gray, often wet weather and short days.
Météo-France’s averages are a high of 11°C (52°F) and a low of 6°C (43°F), with rain on about 10 days of the month and only about 70 hours of sunshine. Frost is rare. Pack layers, a water-resistant coat and waterproof shoes.
The Champs-Élysées lights switch on on Sunday, November 22, 2026 and stay up until January 4, 2027, according to the Paris tourist office. Galeries Lafayette unveils its windows and dome tree on November 12.
Some are. La Défense opens on November 12, the Champs-Élysées market on November 22 and the Notre-Dame market on November 26. Before mid-November there is nothing to see. Our Christmas markets guide has every date.
Yes. Armistice Day is a public holiday, and in 2026 it falls on a Wednesday. Most museums open as usual, including the Louvre, Orsay and Versailles, but the Arc de Triomphe is closed in the morning for the national ceremony, and roads and Métro stations around the Champs-Élysées are usually closed until early afternoon.
Thursday, November 19, 2026. By law the new wine can be sold from midnight on the third Thursday of November, and Paris wine bars and bistros celebrate that week.
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