Autumn is the season for dipping our toes into the impending chill of winter without having to wrap up so much we all look like walking sleeping bags when we leave the house. Autumn is the season where we get back to work or school, meaning the Parisians can reclaim the city from the summer’s hordes of tourists. Autumn is the perfect time for a trip to the French capital to soak up “the real Paris” and live life like a local. Here are our top 5 things to do to embrace the autumn season.
Top 5 Things to do in Paris in Autumn
#1 Study French at ACCORD Paris
Of course this is top of our list of things to do in Paris! Especially given it’s the October half term or Toussaint as we call it here. ACCORD French language School is right in the heart of Paris, just a 7-minute walk from the Eiffel Tower, giving you an amazing base for visiting the capital with convenient public transport to and from your accommodation. The French school has a slightly different and more laidback vibe after the summer, making it the perfect place to brush up on your French skills in the morning or afternoon before heading out to explore the city with your new-found friends. There’s space on all the courses too, so take your pick from a budget-friendly course (15h/week), A-Level prep course or a French super-intensive Course E (35 hours per week).
You’ve seen the sleek blue, white and red logo for Qualité FLE on our website, social media and at the ACCORD Paris school itself, but what does it mean exactly? What does it say about the school? How does it affect you and your fellow students? Let’s lift the lid on the certification so you can see how important it is to choose a school approved by Qualité FLE: Qualité FLE certification
#2 Sample Fine Wine
Did you know that there’s a vineyard in Montmartre? Local residents and Parisians have been meeting up at the top of Butte Montmartre in October to be part of the grape picking action in the French capital for over 90 years. Since starting out almost a century ago, the Fête des Vendanges harvest (Grape Harvest Festival) has evolved to become a 5-day festival with the 18th arrondissement playing host to live music, performances, guided tours of the vineyard, tastings and the unmissable Bal de la Paix dance that ends the event on a high. If you’re not around for the Fête des Vendanges between October 8th and 12th, just make sure you’re in the city on November 20th for Beaujolais Nouveau Day. The nationwide festivities see events and tastings celebrating the famous French wine spring up all over the country, and Paris is no exception.
#3 Get Spooky
No trip to Paris around Halloween would be complete without paying the Catacombs a visit. The Catacombs were built because the cemeteries in the city were overflowing so much that one restaurant owner in the late 18th century found his cellar “invaded” by corpses from the neighbouring cemetery. It was a public health hazard. All the bodies in the nearby cemeteries were moved underground to form a sprawling ossuary in the Roman limestone quarries, with the bones arranged into stylised displays and engraved with poetry about how fleeting life is when the site opened to visitors in 1809. Despite being surrounded by skeletons and urban legends, only one person is known to have died inside the Catacombs in the late 1700s after going down to explore and his light going out. Nevertheless, the Catacombs remain a popular visitor attraction among dark tourists and anyone with an interest in the macabre. It’s worth remembering that you can only book your ticket up to 1 week ahead of your visit: Tickets
#4 Feast on Fall Flavours
Forget about summer salads and picky bits; autumn is a time for indulgence and cosying up with delicious food. On top of that, you’re in Paris! What a great excuse to tuck into hearty French fare on a daily basis. What’s on the menu? Look out for soupe à l’oignon (braised onion soup served with a slice of bread floating on top and smothered in melted cheese), bœuf bourguignon (beef stew slow-cooked with vegetables in red Burgundy wine with little button mushrooms), cassoulet (a meat lover’s dream with duck legs, sausages, pork, haricot beans, garlic and herbs all slow-cooked until crispy on top and unctuous underneath), raclette (boiled potatoes served alongside charcuterie and pickles with little pans for you to melt your cheese in ready to pour over whatever you fancy on your plate) and tartiflette (similar to a pizza but with potatoes, cheese, ham and onions on a creamy base). Don’t worry about the calories though, you’ll burn them off with our 5th favourite thing to do in Paris in autumn.
#5 Stroll Through the City
Now your tummy’s full and you’re all warmed up, take some time out of your schedule to soak up the capital on a relaxing walk. Make a beeline for the Seine’s riverbanks for a nosey at the bouquinistes, take a deep breath of roasted chestnuts being cooked over makeshift fires, wave at the people on the bateaux mouches and listen into the animated conversation between passersby (you won’t believe how much you can understand since studying at ACCORD Paris!). If what you love about autumn is the red and golden trees and crispy leaves strewn across the ground, one of the city’s many parks will be your happy place this season. Place des Vosges is full of fiery foliage whilst Jardin de Luxembourg is a feast for the eyes with lots of leaves for you to jump into. The Promenade Plantée is a 3-mile high line taking you from central Paris to the leafy Bois de Vincennes so you get the best of both worlds: nature meets the city. Is it time for a chocolat chaud yet?
If you’d like to book your trip to Paris to study French at ACCORD Paris this autumn, there’s still time! Email our friendly team on info@activelanguages.co.uk and let’s make it happen before 2025 is behind us.
