Things to do in Paris in September: weather, events and outings

Paris weather in September: the end of summer, without the heat

According to Météo-France's 1991-2020 normals for the Paris-Montsouris station, September has an average high of 21.5°C and an average low of 13.0°C, an average of 17.2°C. It is noticeably cooler than August (average high of 25.6°C), but much milder than October (16.5°C). An average of 44.7 mm of rain falls, spread over about 7.5 days with at least 1 mm: September is one of the driest months of the year in Paris. Average sunshine reaches about 175 hours.

Daylight shrinks quickly: about 13 hr 30 min of daylight at the start of the month, less than 11 hr 50 min at the end. The sun sets at about 8.40pm on 1 September and about 7.30pm on 30 September. The autumn equinox falls on Thursday 23 September 2027. In early September, a few days of renewed heat are still possible; by late September, mornings can drop below 10°C.

La rentrée: Parisians return, crowds and prices

The 2027 school year begins on Thursday 2 September for all zones, according to the calendar published in the Journal officiel in July 2026. French families have therefore left the tourist sites, and queues get shorter at the major museums on weekdays. The next school holidays, for Toussaint (All Saints'), do not begin until Saturday 23 October 2027. There are no public holidays in September: museums and shops keep their usual hours all month.

Paris does not empty out, however. September is the month when conferences and trade fairs resume, which keeps hotel demand high. According to the Paris tourism barometer published in September 2025, the hotel occupancy rate reached 77.1% in late August and early September 2025, and bookings recorded for the week of 15 to 19 September, marked by several conferences and the Première Vision fair at Villepinte, were up 6.5% year on year. The busiest periods in 2027 should be:

• Mid-September, with Maison&Objet at the Paris Nord Villepinte exhibition centre and Paris Design Week in the city. The September 2027 dates for Maison&Objet had not been published in September 2026 (the 2026 edition was held from 10 to 14 September).
• The European Heritage Days weekend, 18 and 19 September.
• The end of the month, with the opening of Fashion Week on 27 September, which fills hotels in the 1st, 3rd, 8th and 16th arrondissements.

Book early if your stay overlaps with one of these periods, and compare neighbourhoods in our guide to Paris hotels by budget. On the first Sunday of the month, 5 September 2027, several national museums are free, with booking a time slot usually compulsory: the list is in our guide to free museums in Paris. For public transport, a single Métro-Train-RER ticket costs €2.55 (price checked in September 2026).

Events in September 2027

European Heritage Days: the third weekend

The Journées européennes du patrimoine (European Heritage Days) take place every year on the third weekend of September: in 2027, that is Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 September. The Ministry of Culture had not yet published the official dates or the theme of the 2027 edition in September 2026; the 2026 edition was held on 19 and 20 September. Ministries, embassies and buildings that are usually closed open their doors, and many museums offer free tours and activities. The most popular venues require booking or involve long queues: our guide to the European Heritage Days explains how to plan your route.

Paris Design Week: ten days in mid-September

Paris Design Week turns galleries, shops and showrooms in the Marais, Saint-Germain-des-Prés and other neighbourhoods into a free design trail. It takes place at the same time as Maison&Objet, the trade fair at Villepinte, which remains closed to the general public. The 2026 edition ran from 10 to 19 September; the 2027 dates had not been announced in September 2026. Neighbourhoods and visiting tips are gathered in our guide to Paris Design Week. If you are staying in the 3rd or 4th, our guide to the Marais lets you combine the trail with a walk around the neighbourhood.

Fashion Week: 27 September to 5 October

Women's fashion week, spring-summer 2028 collections, runs from Monday 27 September to Tuesday 5 October 2027, according to the calendar of the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode. The shows are reserved for professionals and guests, but you can feel the atmosphere around the show venues and in the flagship stores of the big fashion houses. See our guide to following Fashion Week without an invitation.

Grape harvest in Montmartre and late-summer terraces

September is the month when the grapes ripen in the Clos Montmartre vineyard, at the corner of rue des Saules and rue Saint-Vincent (18th). Planted by the City of Paris in 1933 to protect the plot from development, it has about 1,700 vines on just over 1,500 m². The vineyard is not open for self-guided visits, but you can see it very well from the street, and the gardens of the musée de Montmartre overlook it. To plan your walk around the hill, see our complete guide to Montmartre.

The harvest is celebrated in early October with the Fête des vendanges de Montmartre (Montmartre grape harvest festival), which is free, with a parade, a tasting trail and concerts at the foot of the Sacré-Cœur. The 2026 edition was held from 7 to 11 October; the 2027 dates had not been announced in September 2026. If your stay runs into October, it is the natural follow-on from a September trip; guided tours of the vineyard are offered during the festival, by reservation.

The rest of the month lends itself to outdoor outings. Terraces stay full as long as evenings stay above 15°C, gardens such as the jardin du Luxembourg welcome back their regulars after the summer, and the Seine quays are calmer than in July and August. To enjoy the view before some seasonal rooftop terraces close in the autumn, see our selection of the best rooftops in Paris.

Exhibitions to see in September 2027

Most of the major exhibitions for autumn 2027 had not yet been announced in September 2026. Three exhibitions at the City of Paris museums, published in their 2026-2027 programme, already cover the month:

• En volume ! (In volume!, provisional title) at the Palais Galliera, musée de la Mode de Paris (10 avenue Pierre-Ier-de-Serbie, 75116 Paris), until 17 October 2027: the techniques that give shape to clothing, from soft draping to tailoring and knitwear, from pattern-making to the prototype. Tuesday to Sunday 10am to 6pm, late opening on Fridays until 9pm.
• FLORE, Les amitiés romantiques (FLORE, Romantic friendships) at the musée de la Vie romantique (16 rue Chaptal, 75009 Paris), until 21 November 2027: photographs by FLORE on the friendships between Ary Scheffer, George Sand, Pauline Viardot and Frédéric Chopin, shown alongside the 19th-century collections.
• Carte blanche à Claire Tabouret (Carte blanche to Claire Tabouret) at the musée Cognacq-Jay (8 rue Elzévir, 75003 Paris), from 15 September 2027 until 12 March 2028: the artist's paintings, drawings and ceramics set against works from the Age of Enlightenment.

The permanent collections of the City of Paris museums are free; temporary exhibitions are ticketed. For other institutions, see our selection of current exhibitions in Paris, updated as announcements come in.

What to pack for September

• Layers: a T-shirt in the afternoon, a light jumper or jacket in the evening, when the temperature drops to around 13°C.
• A light waterproof jacket or compact umbrella: it does not rain much, but showers are still possible.
• Sunglasses for the still-bright days at the start of the month.
• Comfortable, closed shoes, already broken in, for the queues on the Heritage Days and the cobblestones of Montmartre.
• Photo ID, requested at the entrance to some official buildings during the Heritage Days.

September 2027 at a glance

Prices checked in September 2026. Dates shown are those published by the organisers at that time.

Further reading

To compare September with the other months of the year, read our guide to the best time to visit Paris. If you are staying on into October, the Art Basel Paris fair opens the contemporary art season at the Grand Palais. And for a family stay during the autumn half-term, our guide to the Toussaint holidays in Paris takes over.