Visiting Paris in the Spring

The buds are starting to appear, the birds are chirping again, and lovers are kissing on the riverbanks. There's no doubt that spring has arrived! It's the time when city dwellers rush to catch every ray of sunshine, trying to warm their winter-paled skin before summer arrives. The capital's parks and gardens fill up rapidly, café terraces are taken by storm, and the banks of the Seine become the favorite meeting place for picnickers and post-work aperitifs.

Numerous events start at this time of year, including the Foire de Paris, a real Ali Baba's cave where you can discover and test a multitude of products for your daily needs. It takes place every year during the last week of April at the Parc des Expositions in Versailles. The Foire du Trône is the largest and one of the oldest funfairs in the capital. With over 300 attractions, it occupies the Reuilly lawn between late March and late May and can be a great idea for a pleasant family afternoon.

A Time for Strolling...

The significant advantage of visiting Paris in spring is that you don't need a car to see a bit of greenery! Gardens with exotic scents, romantic walks in the shade of plane trees, leisurely boat rides... With its 500 hectares of parks and gardens – not counting the Bois de Boulogne and Bois de Vincennes - Paris has no shortage of green spaces. If you want to find a small patch of fresh grass to sunbathe, the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont is the place for you. Traveling with family? Prefer La Villette, where themed gardens will amuse both young and old. Need more vast spaces? Opt for the Bois de Vincennes - and its zoological park, which reopened on April 1, 2014 - or Parc de Montsouris. Sports enthusiasts will enjoy the relative tranquility of the Jardin du Luxembourg - a place that picnickers and sunbathers avoid, as lying on the grass is forbidden. Spring is also the perfect season to stroll through the garden of Giverny, where the painter Claude Monet lived and which inspired many of his impressionist paintings. With the arrival of beautiful weather, Parisians can finally travel... without leaving the city walls.

Culture enthusiasts can hurry to discover the new cultural exhibitions. In spring, there are plenty of them, at the Louvre Museum, the Centre Pompidou, or the Musée d'Orsay, for example.

And for Sports Enthusiasts?

Paris in spring also offers a multitude of activities for the most sports-minded among us. Whether you enjoy fishing, swimming, kite-flying, or pétanque, there's something for everyone once the sunny days arrive. For rollerblading enthusiasts, the "Rollers et Coquillages" rollerblading event, organized every Sunday, is perfect for you. If you're more comfortable on two wheels, bike rides will allow you to explore Paris with the wind on your face and the handlebars in hand. Finally, those who prefer running and other fans of running races can participate in the Paris Marathon, which takes place around mid-April and attracts over 50,000 runners from around a hundred different countries each year.