How to spend a perfect rainy day in Paris – dodge the drizzle and have fun in the city of light!
“You get yourself some rain, not just a drizzle, but some honest-to-goodness rain. The rain is very important, because that’s when Paris smells its sweetest” – says Audrey Hepburn in the film Sabrina.
Audrey/Sabrina may well be right about that, but even if you’re one of those people ‘who feels the rain when others just get wet’, Paris is a brilliant place for rainy days! Here Janine Marsh shares some of her favourite places to stay dry in the city of Light.
Myriad museums
Perfect for a rainy day – there are around 140 museums in Paris, from the world’s most popular – the Louvre, to the magnificent former train station turned Musée d’Orsay! Then there are the museums that are hardly known and utterly fascinating including the Musée des Arts Forains (arts-forain.com) – the Museum of Fairground Arts (which made an appearance in Emily in Paris) – think vintage carousels (great for all ages). Or how about the fabulous, fragrant and free Fragonard Musée de Parfum.
Wine, dine and keep dry!
Bouillon Chartier are a Paris institution, serving traditional French dishes since 1896. They have three restaurants in the city (I like the one at Montparnasse best for its Art Nouveau décor) and are as much loved by locals as tourists. The menu sticks to classic recipes – entrees start from €1, main dishes from €7 (2024). Expect to queue – you can’t reserve, but you generally don’t have to wait too long, service is swift. Great for lunch or dinner 365 days a year!
Must-see monuments
Head to the Atelier des Lumières, a former iron foundry turned Paris’ first digital art centre, this vast venue provides the perfect backdrop for art projections from Van Gogh to Monet and more.
Take a tour of the Versailles-like Opera Garnier, home of the French Ballet and the largest stage in Europe, with a celling painting by Marc Chagall and a box reserved for the Phantom of the Opera who is said to live in a lake beneath the building!
Go backstage at the Comédie Francaises, where performances have been held since 1860 (tours are available in English: comedie-francais.fr).
A spot of shopping
Department stores were invented in Paris and Printemps, Galeries Lafayette and Le Bon Marché are architecturally worth visiting, let alone for the shopping, and they also have super cafes! The shopping galleries of Paris are under cover and often utterly gorgeous like Passage Verdeau, Passage de Jouffroy, Passage des Panoramas (the oldest in Paris!), and Galeries Vivienne et Colbert.
Tea and cake
Afternoon tea makes for a perfect rainy day treat and Paris is teeming with gorgeous cafés. Aside from the famous Ladurée and Angelinas, there are loads of little-known (to visitors) Parisian gems like the Café de la Rose Lancôme on the Champs-Elysées where the cakes are made by the Best Pastry Chef in the World (2023) – Nina Métayer. Or maybe Odette’s in the Latin Quarter, famous for their cream puffs. Or how about Cordelia’s Coffee Flower Shop in rue du Bac, created by Cordelia de Castellane, Artistic Director of Maison Dior.
Evening fun
Been raining all day – and still raining as dusk falls? Who cares – there’s loads to do in Paris. Take in a film, head to the theatre, cabaret (so Paris) – maybe the Moulin Rouge, or listen to a live music concert.
Café de la Huchette is one of the most popular jazz clubs in Paris, famous since the 1940s when jazz masters such as Sidney Bechet and Lionel Hampton played there. Music from boogie-woogie to blues, swing and jazz, plus dancing and cocktails – a basement club Parisian experience. Or maybe the Philharmonie de Paris with its three concert halls, and a year-round programme.
Last but not least… Audrey/Sabrina was right – Paris is beautiful when it rains. Open an umbrella, take a stroll and enjoy the wonderful views.
Top tip: Did you know that some RATP (Public transport in Paris and Île de France) stations will lend you an umbrella – pay a €7 deposit that you get back when you return the umbrella. And if you want to keep the umbrella, that’s fine, they’ll keep your deposit! Find details of participating stations: ratp.fr/en
Janine Marsh is the author of several internationally best-selling books about France. Her latest book How to be French – a celebration of the French lifestyle and art de vivre, is out now – a look at the French way of life. Find all books on her website janinemarsh.com
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