Paris This Summer Was Brutal. Here's Why September and October Are the Smarter Choice.

Let's be honest about what Paris summer 2026 has actually been like. It started in late May with a record-breaking heatwave that pushed temperatures 10 to 15 degrees above normal. Then came a second wave in early July. Then a third, the worst of them, which put all eight departments of Île-de-France under a red alert around Bastille Day weekend, with temperatures hitting 39°C in the city itself. The Eiffel Tower closed early. The Louvre shut by 4pm. The Tour de France had to reroute stages. At its peak, it was being compared to the catastrophic 2003 heatwave, the one that changed how France thinks about summer heat forever.

And through all of this, tourists still came. Hundreds of thousands of them, many arriving without knowing what they were walking into, spending the hottest hours of the day wilting on the Trocadero esplanade or queuing in the full sun outside the Musée d'Orsay, wondering why Paris felt nothing like the romantic city they had been imagining.

A lot of people quietly rescheduled. And honestly, they made the right call.

September and October Are When Paris Actually Rewards You

Here is something that anyone who has spent real time in this city knows: the tourists who get the best version of Paris are rarely the ones who come in July and August. They are the ones who come in the shoulder season, when the city exhales, the light changes, and everything becomes a little easier.

September arrives with temperatures between 19°C and 24°C during the day, dropping to a comfortable 13°C in the evenings. After the brutality of this summer, that coolness feels like a completely different city. The sun rises around 7:15 to 7:30 in the morning and sets close to 8pm, which gives you long, generous days with beautiful light from mid-afternoon all the way through to dusk.

October takes it further. Temperatures settle between 12°C and 18°C, the afternoon light drops lower in the sky and turns the limestone facades of Haussmannian Paris into something that looks almost amber, and the crowds thin by 35 to 45 percent compared to the August peak. Hotel prices follow, dropping 25 to 30 percent from summer rates. The foliage in the Bois de Boulogne, Jardin du Luxembourg, and along the Champ de Mars starts to turn mid-month, and the city starts wearing its autumn coat.

Sunset in October moves from around 7pm at the start of the month to closer to 6pm by the end, which changes the rhythm of a day in Paris but in a good way. Golden hour comes earlier, which means you are working with extraordinary light from 4pm onwards rather than having to wait until 8 or 9pm the way you do in the height of summer.

What This Means for Photos

If you were thinking about a photo session in Paris and the summer heat put you off, September and October are genuinely the best months to do it.

The light in autumn Paris is unlike anything you get in summer. Lower sun angles, warmer tones, longer shadows. The kind of light that photographers spend years chasing. When that light hits the iron of Bir-Hakeim or the stone of Pont Neuf, it does things that midday summer sun simply cannot replicate.

The crowds being thinner matters more than people realise. In July, getting a clean shot at Bir-Hakeim without strangers walking through the frame requires patience and timing. In September, you have space to breathe. You can take your time under the arch, move between spots without feeling rushed, and let the session feel like a walk rather than a sprint between crowded locations.

Sunrise at 7:15am in September means that anyone willing to start early gets the entire city almost to themselves. The Seine is still, the bridges are quiet, and the light is extraordinary. That window between sunrise and 9am is one of the best-kept secrets of Paris photography.

What to Expect When You Arrive

September still carries warmth, especially in the first two weeks. Layers are your friend because mornings can be crisp while afternoons stay genuinely pleasant. A light jacket and comfortable walking shoes are all you need.

For a photo session, the same outfit advice from earlier in this blog still applies, with one addition: a well-chosen coat or jacket can work beautifully as part of the look in autumn Paris. A classic trench coat against the stone of the city is one of those combinations that never gets old.

October calls for slightly warmer layers, a proper jacket by the second half of the month, and an umbrella tucked into your bag. Rain in October is real, but Paris in the rain has its own particular beauty, and some of the most atmospheric images I have taken here were on overcast afternoons when the Seine turned silver and the city's colours deepened.

September and October Spots Are Going Fast

After the summer a lot of people have had, interest in autumn Paris is unusually high this year. If you are planning to visit in September or October and want to include a session, booking sooner rather than later is the right move.

My Eiffel: The Grand Tour session runs year-round and covers some of the most beautiful spots along the Seine, including Bir-Hakeim, where the autumn afternoon light is, in my opinion, the best it ever gets.

→ Book Your Session Here

Summer in Paris this year was a lot. Autumn is the reward.

Dan Umareta is a Paris-based portrait photographer specialising in travel sessions for couples, families, and solo travellers. All sessions include professional editing and delivery within 48 hours.