Lifestyle · 3 min read
Paris in Spring, One Day at a Time
Spring gives Paris back to its gardens and its terraces. From the Luxembourg to the Palais-Royal, how to live the season from an apartment, from the morning market to the dinner that lingers.
There is a day, every year, when Paris changes season. Nobody knows in advance which one: one morning the cafés put their tables out, the windows stay open, and the whole city seems to have decided to live outdoors. Spring in Paris lies in that shift, and it is better lived from a home than from a room.
The gardens first
In spring, the gardens become the city's living rooms. The Luxembourg sets its green chairs back around the great pond, and its chestnut alleys come into leaf. At the Palais-Royal, the square-clipped lime trees frame the garden while the arcades keep the shade.
In the Marais, the gardens are more secret: the courtyards of private mansions, the Square du Temple, the Place des Vosges a little further south. You read there, you wait for someone, you do nothing at all.
A spring day
In the morning, a market. Rue Montorgueil, in the 2nd, is a pedestrian street of food shops: cheesemongers, greengrocers, fishmongers. The Marché des Enfants Rouges, in the Upper Marais, is the oldest covered market in Paris. You come home with the makings of breakfast, since the apartment has a real kitchen.
Late in the morning, a museum, before the rooms fill up. In the Marais, the Musée Picasso and the Musée Carnavalet are a few streets from each other.
At noon, a terrace, or a neighbourhood bistro.
In the afternoon, the slow hours: a bookshop in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, a gallery in the Marais, the covered passages of the 2nd if it rains.
In the evening, an aperitif that lasts as long as the light, then a dinner that starts late.
The season's occasions
Spring gathers several moments you may want to plan around: the art fairs and their satellite events, the European Night of Museums when galleries open in the evening, and Roland-Garros as the season draws to a close. Their dates change every year; check them when you book. For a particular table or visit, our concierge takes care of it before you arrive.
Where to stay
In the heart of Paris, spring is within walking distance: the Luxembourg, the cafés and the bookshops of the Left Bank; the museums, galleries and designers' streets of the Marais; the Palais-Royal, the covered passages and the Opéra. Our apartments are chosen one by one across Paris, with living spaces made for entertaining, and our neighbourhood guides introduce each of our addresses.
The season is in demand, and apartments with several bedrooms go early. Booking direct gives you the best available rate, with no service fees added to the price, and free cancellation more than 30 days before arrival.
Living the season
Spring in Paris is not something you visit: you live in it. A window open onto the street, a bunch of flowers from the market, a walk home while it is still light. Everyday becomes theatre.
Find our apartments in the collection and, if you are torn between seasons, our calendar season by season.
The ACT 3 Team