Paris on a rainy day: covered passages, museums and cosy ideas
Paris gets rain in every season, from spring showers to grey winter drizzle. The good news is that the city is full of indoor places worth seeing, and some of them, like the old covered shopping passages, are at their best when it is wet outside.
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Walk the covered passages
In the early nineteenth century, Paris built dozens of glass-roofed shopping arcades so people could stroll and shop out of the mud and rain. Around twenty survive, mostly on the Right Bank between the Palais-Royal and the Grands Boulevards.
Galerie Vivienne, near the Palais-Royal, has mosaic floors and elegant shopfronts. Passage des Panoramas, one of the oldest, is packed with small restaurants and stamp dealers. Across the boulevard, Passage Jouffroy and Passage Verdeau continue the route with toy shops, old bookshops and a wax museum. You can link several of them into a walk of an hour or two with only short dashes outside.
Choose museums that match your mood
Rainy days are when the biggest museums are busiest, so book a timed ticket in advance on the official website. The Louvre, Musée d’Orsay and the Orangerie are classics, and the Orangerie’s room of Monet water lilies is a calm place to sit while it pours outside.
For something smaller, try the Musée des Arts et Métiers, a museum of inventions housed partly in a former church, the Musée Carnavalet, which tells the history of Paris in the Marais, or the Musée Jacquemart-André, a grand private mansion with an art collection. Some city-run museums have free permanent collections, but rules change, so check each museum’s site for current prices and closing days. Many Paris museums close one day a week, often Monday or Tuesday.
Churches, chapels and grand interiors
Sainte-Chapelle, on the Île de la Cité, is famous for its tall stained-glass windows. Even on a grey day, the colours are impressive, though the light is brightest when the sun breaks through. Entry is timed and security checks can take a while, so book ahead.
The Opéra Garnier can be visited outside performance times and is one of the most lavish interiors in the city. Large churches such as Saint-Sulpice and La Madeleine are free to enter and make a quiet stop between other sights; please respect services.
Department stores and food halls
The big department stores on Boulevard Haussmann, Galeries Lafayette and Printemps, are worth a look for their architecture as well as the shopping. Galeries Lafayette has a famous glass dome, and both stores have had rooftop terraces with city views. Access to terraces can depend on the weather and season.
On the Left Bank, Le Bon Marché and its food hall, La Grande Épicerie, are a pleasant place to browse for picnic treats you can eat back at your hotel. Covered markets such as the Marché des Enfants Rouges in the Marais also give you a dry spot for lunch.
Cafés, tea rooms and bookshops
A long lunch or a hot chocolate in a café is a perfectly Parisian way to wait out a downpour. Tea rooms in the Marais and Saint-Germain, and the many bookshops along the Left Bank, are easy places to spend an hour. English-language bookshops near Notre-Dame and in the Marais are popular with visitors, so expect them to be busy on wet weekends.
Other indoor options
The Catacombs are underground, so the weather does not matter there, but tickets are limited and usually sell out, so book well ahead. The Philharmonie de Paris and the Cité des Sciences in the Parc de la Villette are good options for families. Paris also has many independent cinemas; look for “VO” (version originale) if you want films in their original language with French subtitles.
Where to stay for rainy-day Paris
Opéra and the Grands Boulevards put you next to the covered passages, the department stores and the Opéra Garnier, and close to several metro lines. Saint-Germain is handy for the Orsay, Le Bon Marché and cafés. Le Marais is good for smaller museums and covered markets.
Whatever the area, choose a hotel near a metro station, so a sudden shower does not mean a long wet walk. And pack a compact umbrella and shoes that can cope with puddles; Paris streets can get slippery when wet.
FAQ
What can I do in Paris when it rains?
Walk the covered passages, visit museums such as the Louvre, Orsay or Carnavalet, explore department stores and food halls, or spend time in cafés and bookshops.
Do I need to book museums in advance on a rainy day?
It is strongly recommended. Rainy days are busy, and many museums use timed tickets.
Where are the covered passages in Paris?
Most are on the Right Bank between the Palais-Royal and the Grands Boulevards, including Galerie Vivienne and Passage des Panoramas.
Which area is best to stay in for bad weather?
Opéra and the Grands Boulevards, close to the passages, department stores and several metro lines.