Local Girl Travels

My husband and I had never been to France, and when inexpensive round trip direct flights popped up around my birthday, in January 2023, we decided it was time to visit Paris.

We weighed the pros and cons of going in January. Here were some of the ones we considered.

Benefits of traveling to Paris in January 2023

• Fewer lines and tourists (this was true pretty much everywhere except the Louvre)
• We could get day-before or week-before reservations pretty much everywhere, including some Michelin-stared restaurants and we even changed our visit to the Louvre up from Monday to Saturday on Friday night without an issue
• We picked the first entry time at Musée de l’Orangerie and had what I imagine is a very much less-crowded experience sitting in the Water Lilies rooms
• If you’re concerned about COVID: No vaccination cards were needed for travel/anywhere in the city, some people wore masks and most did not in and around Paris and on the flights

Drawbacks of visiting Paris in January

• The Eiffel Tower was undergoing its normal upkeep and was surrounded by work trailers and equipment at the base, and closed above the 2nd floor (see normal maintenance update overview here, typically this occurs from Jan 3 – Feb 3 every year)
• The beautiful flowers and gardens were impressive, just not as beautiful as I’ve seen in photos in the spring and summer
• We weren’t feeling quite warm enough to picnic on the Seine or sit outside at quintessential Paris restaurants like Girafe

A random note on picking your flight times from the US to Paris

Our flights left DFW at around 5 pm on a Tuesday night in early January, and returned the following Tuesday at 3:30 pm. This timing I mention because it worked out so well for us for transitioning to Paris time and back to central time! We took melatonin and had a bit of red wine on the way over to sleep as much as possible so when we landed around 9 a.m. Paris time we had the full day of exploring and could go off the excitement of being in Paris to keep us up and not fall asleep until 10 p.m. that night. We transitioned easily from day one and didn’t miss a minute of Paris exploration!

Questions I had about visiting Paris for the first time in January

So I had tons of questions about what our trip might look like, how to maximize our time, and how to look as little like an American tourist while staying warm and enjoying the city.

The below are the top questions my husband and I asked ourselves before heading out. Now that we’ve been I’ll take a few blogs to answer the below. This one will cover answers to 1 and 2. I will link to the answering blogs for each of the other questions as I complete them.

1. Would it be too cold or rainy to enjoy walking around Paris?
2. What were Parisians wearing in January and how could we not look like tourists? And how much should we pack?
3. Would 6 full days be too much in Paris?
4. Would we need to book as far in advance for museums and restaurants as I’ve heard you need to?
5. What arrondissement or neighborhood should we stay in?
6. How much should we spend on transit? And is it safe to use transit/walk around all parts of the city at night? And how hard is all of this to navigate?
7. Is the Paris or Paris Museum Pass worth it if we’re not that into museums?
8. How should we plan out our days in Pars in January if the weather will be unpredictable?
9. Should we eat at MICHELIN star restaurants? And how do we narrow down the restaurants from the tens of thousands to just a dozen or so for our trip?

Here are the answers to questions 1-2 from the list!

What is the weather really like in January in Paris?

Going into the trip we knew it’d be chilly and likely rainy, but we weren’t sure just how accurate the weather predictions were. And in looking closely as the trip approached, the rain was mostly predicted during the middle of the night or wee hours of the morning, so while it “rained” most days we were in Paris, a lot of it happened while we were asleep.

The temps were 40s-50s and until the last day when it dropped into the 30s I’d say we were pretty comfortable walking around Paris in tennis shoes, a sweater, and a mid to thick jacket. We both were glad to have rain-resistant layers with hoods, since the rain often came with wind, and that wasn’t as easy for umbrella usage.

I read others saying you need to bring long john underwear or shearling-lined pants. I don’t think that’s necessary as long as the weather isn’t 30s or below and you aren’t trying to sit outside or at the top of the hop on/hop off bus in the uncovered section for long periods of time.

We did the hop on/hop off bus on our first day in the sunshine (it was 55*) and we even sat on the top uncovered portion and were fine until the later afternoon chill hit.

What are Parisians wearing in January?

Across the board you can be sure that the Parisians are wearing:

• Solid colors
• Black
• Brown
• Tweed and herringbone in neutral colors
• Sneakers
• Black boots
• Wool coats
• Classic cut puffer-type jackets
• Scarves (men and women)
• A cross-body bag (yes, many designer, many non-label but all of them simple, classic shapes and designs)
• Usually they’re also carrying some other sort of shoulder bag

And not once did I see a Parisian wearing:

• A backpack
• Ripped or torn jeans (also brrr!)
• Any sort of loud print

There are a ton more blogs out there focusing on fashion so check those out for a more critical fashion eye, these are just my broad stroke observations/key items I was curious about. And interestingly, it seems the tourists also got the memo. Probably because in January the first concern is staying warm.

How much to pack?

We each managed to get all our winter clothes into our Away carryons and toiletries into our “personal item” bags. I came home with 3 items I didn’t wear and 2 small bags from YSL plus a mug and a few other small purchases in just this much space.

Here’s what I packed and what I wore in Paris over our six day trip.

1. Comfy walking shoes (Adidas on Amazon)
2. Sunglasses (Quay from Nordstrom)
3. Vegan cross-body (Anthropologie bag + neutral strap on Amazon)
4. Black v-neck cashmere sweater (Quince)
5. Gray v-neck cashmere sweater (Quince)
6. Black Eileen Fisher Funnel Neck Long Sleeve Top (Nordstrom)
7. Black turtleneck (Amazon)
8. Nutmeg turtleneck (Amazon)
9. Dark green turtleneck (Amazon)
10. Waterproof tote (Amazon)
11. Skinny jeans (Amazon)
12. Black puffy jacket with hood (Amazon)
13. Neutral warm scarf (Amazon)
14. Comfortable water-proof black boots (Nordstrom)
15. Earrings (Gus & Bloom)

The above got me through all six days wonderfully. I thought I may want to go back to our hotel room and change to get a little more glammed up for dinner, but most nights we ran out of time, or just chose to stay out and get a cocktail as the French seemed to enjoy so much, versus spending the time going back and forth from the hotel to dinner. Read my note on transit here <coming soon>. I didn’t need heels or even boots with heels, and I didn’t need the second coat (wool trench) that I wore to/from Paris. I was just fine with my black puffer with a hood which worked wonderfully in the rain. It seemed like almost everyone was wearing a slightly puffy black coat in varying lengths. I did also wear a pair of straight leg jeans (Banana Republic) interchangeably with the skinny jeans listed above.

Dress code: I felt totally comfortable and dressed appropriately for everywhere we ate and visited; except for our lunch at Garance, but thankfully it was lunch time so a little less formal. We did opt for more casual dining options, overall. Check out the restaurants we ate at and our reviews in this blog <coming soon>.

Now I’ll jump into the overall itinerary, how we built it, and address in retrospect if 6 days was too long, too short, or just right for a first-timer’s trip to Paris in January.